Twelve Days...

Twelve days post-op and we went to see Teo's cardiologist in Calgary for follow-up on tuesday. All is well. Had an echocardiogram and ecg as usual, then Dr. G removed the bandages on the last sutures where the drainage tubes were removed last thursday and we saw all that remains in scars and marks of Teo's surgery. He is healing well. Amazingly well. That baby skin just heals so quickly and completely. When I look back at the pictures from surgery, I know that I did not expect this. I don't know what I expected but probably not this.
Once the final surgery date was booked, and now in retrospect, it all went so quickly. And with the scars fading even as quickly, it feels slightly less monumentous. Or perhaps I am just feeling tired from the intense relief of this all being over. Because the effect of surgery, scars big or small, on Teo's life is neither fading nor forgotten. That is understatement...maybe we just need to adjust our focus on celebration instead of worry!

Now, the worries are more everyday-type: We still need to ensure that no infection gets in the wounds - looking for redness and discomfort - but so far so good. We will also go back for removal of the stitches and another set of echo and ecg next week. We need to get some sleep and get Teo to sleep before midnight!
We're not sure if we will be visiting the doctor weekly or what the schedule will be - I aim to remember to ask! Perhaps its not surprising but I line up questions and then forget to ask - nothing critical - I'm sure they'll tell us of appointments. The critical ones, those questions I remember. The big one for me tuesday was to check on the results of surgery.
Me: "Do we need to keep watching Teo to see if he turns blue?"
Dr. G: "No."
Best answer ever. Will I be able to stop checking? Actually, I think so.
We feel a lot of relief right now - as though we've been holding our breath for a long time.
Funny, too, with all of this very serious heart business, Teo is still 100% typical baby in so many other ways. And the normalness of that is not lost on us either. Perhaps it even makes it more enjoyable in a strange and possibly sleep-deprived way! The first night of ten hour sleep overnight has not been repeated unfortunately and we feel like normal, tired parents of a normal baby. It feels a little more like he is a newborn but I imagine that will also fade as he gains strength in recovery.
So, we're enjoying seeing Teo recover, we're recovering from constant worry, and looking for ways to simply enjoy our family - to celebrate his healing heart and life in general.