Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Heart Surgery, Now?

We are heading to Mayo Clinic in Rochester on Monday so Aubrey can have heart surgery on Thursday. For those that don't know the background, Aubrey has  heart condition called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM). It is a genetic heart disease that caused the septum between her ventricles to grow thick/enlarged. Her thickness obstructs blood flow to the aorta. She was diagnosed after her pediatrician heard a heart murmur and referred her to a cardiologist at 6 months of age. Now at six years old, Aubrey still has no symptoms, but her heart is always working really hard against the pressure built up in her left ventricle. The thickness makes her more susceptible to sudden cardiac arrest or other forms of heart failure. Brian, Mslakai, and Zoe also have HCM, but Aubrey's is the most severe. 

Nothing has changed with Aubrey's health recently, but the doctors feel this is a good time to do surgery. She will have lots of tests at Mayo on Tuesday and Wednesday, (Dec 3 and 4) and we will consult with the top surgeon for this particular heart surgery. If everyone agrees that this is the right thing to do, Aubrey will have surgery Thursday Dec. 5. She is supposed to be in the hospital for 5-7 days and then fly home to complete her recovery at home. 
Please pray for all of us. Pray for God's healing and protective hand to cover Aubrey. Pray he reveals his power and presence to her. Pray against fear for all of us. Pray for the logistics. Pray for her doctors. Pray that God would be glorified in all of it. 
I will do my best to keep this updated throughout the process of surgery and recovery. Feel free to share the blog with friends and family.