October 10, 2006 by Brooke.

I went ahead and wrote the UVA Heart Center’s nurse coordinator to ask about the cold, how soon would they have to make a determination, and what criteria they look at for determining whether or not she’s healthy enough for surgery (runny nose? cough? fever?).

I just heard back from her and she said it’s fate that I wrote her today. She was just about to contact me and tell me there’s a chance they’d have to reschedule her surgery because several babies were just born at UVA that have urgent surgical needs, and so the PICU could be full next week.

She also said that even a runny nose next week can be enough to postpone surgery because, unless they’re sure it’s allergies, it’s a signal that she’s in a weakened state and they don’t want to do what is considered elective surgery (since she’s not currently in a life or death situation) if they can hold off till she’s healthier.

So, we’re still in a bit of a holding pattern, but there’sa good chance that her surgery will be postponed for one or both reasons. She said to keep her updated on Jade’s progress and whether she starts getting better or worse over the next couple of days.

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October 10, 2006 by Brooke.

Dylan started showing signs of a cold after we let him go to Children’s church the last Sunday, and since then I’ve been trying to keep Jade from getting it, but she’s got it.

(Public Service Announcement: Parents, please don’t bring sick children to church. You just don’t know who might get it - directly or indirectly - and how it might affect them. )

So far it’s just a stuffy/runny nose and crankiness, so I’m hoping that she’ll be better by the end of the week, and I can keep it from getting into her chest or turning into a sinus infection. I’m flushing her nasal passages with saline and using a bulb syringe to keep her cleaned out.

This could possibly delay her surgery if the cold gets worse. We’ll have to play it by ear. I’ll probably stay the course till about Thursday and if she’s not seeming like she’s getting better, I’ll call the doctor and see what she thinks, if she thinks Jade is healthy enough for the surgery, and then let UVA know what she says.

Of course, if she’s too sick for surgery, then that’s how it’s got to be. No sense subjecting her to major surgery if she’s in a weakened state.

So we’ll just see what happens. In the meantime, if you would, please pray that Jade will get over this cold, or whatever it is, quickly, and that it wouldn’t end up being anything more serious, like RSV.

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