Tuesday was fairly uneventful. The big development was removal of the pacing wires. These wires were put in during surgery and connected to an external pacemaker to help his heart beat properly after surgery. As his heart rhythms became more consistent the pace maker was used less frequently. The pacing team left them in as long as they could, just in case, but because they were holding up the discharge echocardiogram it was decided they would be removed on Tuesday. Supposedly it can be slightly uncomfortable but Wes was a trooper and only got a little teary at the end. It was a little rainy and overcast on Tuesday so we didn’t get out to the courtyard but Wes did get plenty of stroller time. Emily’s friend Tiffany came for a visit in the afternoon, bringing a lot of cheer. That’s a benefit of being here longer than expected, as a visit last week wasn’t in the cards.

Wednesday morning I walked into the room to this beautiful site…

And we began an unexpectedly busy day. Emily went back to the apartment for a shower while Dad and Wes went to radiology for a chest X-ray. After the X-ray we dropped Wes off for his echo with Dr. Levine and walked back to the apartment for a late morning drink on the roof deck, which was just opened for the season on Monday.

After we retrieved a groggy Wes we had lunch in the courtyard, followed by lunch for Wes in his room and then a nap. During the nap we were called back down to radiology for a lung scan which will provide a baseline for how much blood is being sent to each lung from the repaired heart. As he grows, a section of pulmonary conduit that was installed during surgery will have to be re-sized and having a baseline now will inform that future procedure. He handled the lung scan like a champ and then after a little coaxing decide to continue his nap.

That should be it for today but you never really know around here. Tonight will be his last dose of Ativan which helps with pain and discomfort. As long as he tolerates that, and everything indicates that he will, we’ll be on our way home tomorrow…after blood work, another chest X-ray and his chest tube stitches being removed. Tomorrow morning we’ll clean out the apartment and pack up the car and, if the timing is good, head out in the afternoon. We can’t wait to see Henry, our home, and even our crazy cats.