Vasco’s in surgery now

Our brave little man went in for surgery about 1:20 p.m. CST today – 2.5 hours later than expected. (Back up in the OR, apparently.)

We’ll keep you updated as we can. Surgery should take six hours or so.

UPDATE: 3:45 P.M. CST

Nurse practitioner just came out to brief us. Vasco is doing very well. They’re just finishing the (Gore-Tex) patch of his ventricular septal defect, have cinched closed another small opening at the top of his aorta, and removed an extra membrane between the chambers. The only thing left is to repair or replace his mitral valve. They’re assessing that now … More info about 5:15 p.m. CST. Thanks for your prayers!

UPDATE: 4:55 P.M. CST

Praise the Lord! Vasco’s surgery went extremely well. We just spoke to the surgeon and he’s very very pleased. They didn’t even have to repair his mitral valve. He’s off the heart/lung machine and should be out of surgery in an hour. I can’t thank you all enough for all of your prayers, love and support. Thank you for walking with us through this great adventure.

UPDATE: 6:06 P.M. CST

Vasco is out of surgery and in recovery/pediatric ICU. He’s strong and vital and everything went well, even better than expected, according to his surgeon. He’s still on a respirator and will remain on it at least overnight, but we’ll get to see him in a few minutes. Hallelujah!

UPDATE: 7:15 P.M. CST

Just saw our Wee Man. His heart is already smaller, says the surgeon, and you can already see the difference in how his heartbeat just flutters through his chest rather than rattling and shaking it as it has his whole life. He’s a fierce little dude. Strong and feisty. I love him so.