Post-Surgery Recovery

 8/21/22

Before and After Surgery

As we pulled out of the Ronald McDonald House towards UIHC for surgery day, we flipped on the radio and In Jesus' Name started. Courtney burst into tears right away as this song has been so near to our hearts through this journey. The emotions were rolling early as the surgery approached.

We were able to spend extra time with Macklin that morning as the surgery was slightly delayed, and we soaked up every moment. We had to take a step out for a bit as the nurses wrestled with trying to put in arterial and IV lines -- Macklin's blood vessels are never easy to find or access. Eventually, the time came to roll Macklin down to surgery and all we could do is continue to hope and pray.

The surgery took about four hours this round. Dr. Ortega met us in Mack's room drenched in sweat right after the surgery. He was pleased to announce that he was able to embolize four big feeder arteries with success. He also noted that they did a follow-up ECHO right away on Macklin and his heart pressure had dropped by 30 immediately. He did share that there was a momentary leak from the artery where some dye and maybe blood escaped, but that he was ready and able to embolize/glue it right away and did not think any complication should arise.

When Macklin arrived back in his room, we felt so relieved to see our boy and know that he made it through another risky surgery. Within the hour, they had done another ECHO on him. This one showed us that two big pressure numbers for Macklin's heart had decreased and the reversal blood flow in his heart had stopped. This was an answer to prayer! 

Overall, the surgery was a success and the next steps were to get Macklin extubated and recovered.

The Next Day

The next morning we met with Dr. Ortega again who showed us imaging of Macklin's blood vessels in his brain over the past three surgeries. It was amazing to see the immediate results following surgery number three. The Vein of Galen had significantly decreased and other healthy blood vessels were starting to show on the imaging that we hadn't seen before because the blood flow was finally traveling more efficiently. Dr. Ortega was very optimistic that this could be what Macklin needs to go home but does think he'll need 6-8 more of these surgeries down the road before the VOGM is completely healed.

All other checks by Dr. Ortega and his team showed that the dye/blood leak from the day before should have no complications but they'll continue to monitor it just to be sure.

The next steps of the day were to get Macklin extubated and take out his arterial line. Extubation went well and Macklin was ready to talk about how much he hated that tube down his throat. He continued on his ornery behavior as he later started to pull out the arterial line himself!

We were a little worried post-surgery about Macklin's baseline behavior. He was arching his back constantly and grunting as he breathed. Upon further review, they found his lungs had a little fluid. After having over 150 ccs of fluid pumped into him for surgery, they felt this was a normal issue and weren't too worried. The medical team monitored him overnight and now seems to be doing better.

A New Journey Ahead

The neonatal team decided quickly that they wanted to take Macklin off of milrinone, which is a drug Macklin has needed to help his heart and one he can't go home on. The hope with this most recent surgery is that it would take away the need for milrinone and get Macklin to the baseline he needs to start talking about going home.

The next few days will show us a lot as they do another ECHO on Macklin and we monitor what is all going on in his heart. Another risk of the embolization surgery is what Mack's body does with the rerouting of the blood flow. Hopefully, his body uses it efficiently, but sometimes the rerouting can not be taken kindly by parts of his body that have never seen efficient blood flow before.

If Macklin can successfully come off milrinone and his breathing and eating can improve, we may be back in the arena of talking about going home again. But, as we have seen before, nothing is guaranteed. So, we'll keep our focus on today and let tomorrow worry about itself (Matthew 6:34)!

Specific Prayer Requests

  • For a miracle, that on Macklin's next ECHO that his heart will be functioning perfectly and his VOGM would be fully healed.
  • For Macklin's heart, that it would not need the help of milrinone and can now function on its own with no extra stress or high pressures.
  • For Macklin's body, that it can recover from the pains of surgery and that he can return to the happy, smiling, moving baby that he was before.
  • For Macklin's brain, that no complications from surgery would impact his neurological state and that he could continue to develop and thrive normally.
  • For sister Keira -- that as she starts daycare this week she would be free of worry, anxiety, or stress and love every minute of it with new teachers and friends.
  • For Cory as he prepares for a new school year and welcomes back his staff and students.
  • For Courtney, as she begins a new routine of not having Cory or Keira with her and she pours time and love into Macklin.






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