Quick update:

This little monkey amazes me :) She is pretty alert this afternoon going as far as to ask to get out of bed to which we all quickly replied, not yet. She is eating and drinking a bit: grits, a boiled egg, some oranges and orange juice. Right now she is sitting up in the bed watching movies. Last night she told her nurse she wanted to watch princess movies so this morning that is what they found for her and her favorite, Arielle!!! She has melted the hearts of everyone who has been in her presence. MUSC is a teaching hospital so all of the students just smile and giggle as she waves at them and wants to know their names. Besides the 3 tubes, 2 IV's and various other things attached to her little body you'd never know she had surgery yesterday. I love how she explained it to a med student today, "The doctor unzipped me, fixed my heart and zipped it back up" isn't it amazing how her little mind works. Such a complex surgery but she put it so simply. Boy do I just love this little girl!!!

94%

Surgery is over and little miss Abby Grace is resting comfortably in the PCICU here at MUSC. The surgeon was totally pleased with how everything went. She is satting at 94% right now and her little bitty toes and fingers are PINK for the first time in her life. She has been opening her eyes and responding by nodding her head and blinking her eyes. They have her arms restrained in case she wakes up more and tries to pull anything out. (which given half a chance she'd manage to do)
I will update either update tonight or tomorrow with a few pics:)
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers and words of encouragement!!!

The longest pre-op in history

We reported to MUSC for our pre-op at 9 AM sharp only to wait, and wait and wait. We did all the routine stuff: EKG, Echo, X-rays, lab work. That was all done by 1:00 the time we were supposed to be done with our appointment. Then we waited and waited and waited for all of the doctors to come by for their consult. We met everyone and anyone who may be working with Abby Grace during surgery. She was a trooper lifting her shirt to show everyone her zipper on her chest, breathing in and out like she was a pro and generally being a social butterfly with the entire day surgery team. The childlife specialist was there to entertain her while the doctors each explained to us their role in the surgery. Ms. Betsy was so sweet trying to find butterflies for Abby to color and found a cool sand art fish that we worked on. We had a good day but there were a few tears shed because Abby was just through with the whole thing, after 8 hours wouldn't you be too






Surgery is scheduled tomorrow morning. We have to be at MUSC at 5:30 AM. They plan to take her back at 6:30 and surgery should begin around 7:30. Dr. Bradley said to expect 6-8 hours of surgery and most likely a 2 week stay in the hospital.

We really appreciate all of your prayers for us in the coming days and weeks ahead. I will update tomorrow after surgery is complete.

A little bit of fun before surgery

I think we were a bit crazy when we decided to take a day trip to Car*winds on the SC/NC border this week. We have not had a chance to take a vacation this summer so this was it. We had a great time despite the heat. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

MOOO!!!

We enjoyed our free dinner for National Cow Appreciation Day at CFA. These were the only 2 who dressed up, along with me, so they got the benefit of free dinner and a little playtime in the playroom.