Finally, after eight weeks and multiple postponements, it seemed as though there were no remaining roadblocks to Ari’s scheduled surgical date- Thursday, August 28, 2014. We were so frustrated by the constantly moving target that I made clear that rescheduling for anything other than Ari’s health was *not* an option.*
The day of her surgery, Sergio and I went up to the hospital early in the morning to see her off to the OR. After we kissed on her, told her how strong she is, how proud we are of her, and sent as much positive joo joo we could at her, they took her away. They had told us that there would not be any updates until early afternoon, so we left the hospital, on a mission to distract ourselves. We rented some bicycles and rode across Madrid, in search of a restaurant that I had wanted to try. I wanted to find someplace where there were not yet any memories for us, and possibly where we could create new, happy ones. We treated ourselves to some delicious seafood, and I calmed my nerves with a couple glasses of wine.
We then hopped back on our bikes, and rode back to the hospital. The timing worked out perfectly, and within 5 minutes of arriving, the infusionist appeared, and told us that Dr. Garcia was finishing up, but that everything had gone really well.
Dr. Garcia followed a few minutes later, and confirmed the good news- he felt very confident about the quality of the surgery, and its ability to stand the test of time.
Our baby girl was going to be okay.
* Poor Dr. Garcia- just two days before the surgery, he threw out his back. but rather than to have to face my wrath, he took steroid injections so that he could perform surgery. After 8 hours in the OR, bent over our daughter, he could barely stand, and had to be driven home, laid out in the backseat of his own car.
Ch. 1: The First 6 Weeks
Ch. 2: To the ER
Ch. 3: The Transfer
Ch. 4: The Diagnosis
Ch. 5: The Rashkind Procedure
Ch. 6: 8 Weeks in PICU
Ch. 7: Ari’s Arterial Switch (this page)
Ch. 8: The End . . . and the Beginning