Today was hard....

I love my babies more than life. They will always be my babies. 

Quick update:

Today was preop. We made the night before as special as possible- Aunt Mary got Kam an American Girl doll and won at life! We ate ice cream and stayed up way too late. Today was very organized and I can't say enough good things about the team of healthcare members at Ochsner Children's that we met. They were kind, informative, clearly knowledgeable about what they will be doing. We even got to talk to the anesthesiologists that will be taking care of her and took a hospital tour to the PICU. 

Information overload but it was all the answers that we really needed. The reality of what we will experience afterward, how long we will spend in ICU and the hospital, recovery time which will be around 6 weeks of no school. The cardiologist and surgeon were both confident that this is it- one surgery is all that is needed for this defect and she has an otherwise healthy heart. This kid is a trooper- I know she was taking it all in and fighting emotions about it which is hard for me to see. The child life specialist came in with a teddy bear and showed her where all of the bo-bos and tubes will be when she wakes up. They also will be going back there with her to keep her distracted until she is asleep. Great news to me.

Tonight, after a really draining day, we are bathed and piled in the bed watching movies and eating popcorn. Thank you for all the messages, thoughts and prayers. I appreciate every single one.