Sunday July 3rd

This picture was taken on Wednesday in the CICU, two days after Audrey's episodes occurred.






This picture was taken in Audrey's step-down room when the kids visited.











Audrey is officially scheduled for ICD implantation surgery on Thursday 7/7. We don't know what time of the day and the date could still be shifted if any emergency surgerys bump us out or if someone ahead of us drops off of the schedule. The same doctor that implanted Audrey's pacemaker, Dr. Kanter, will do the surgery once again and will remove her pacemaker and replace it with the new ICD. They will examine the existing leads and reuse them for pacing as long as they are in good shape and they will have to also put in an additional lead from the ICD to her heart as well. If everything goes well then they estimate that the recovery will take 3-4 days following the surgery where they will also be monitoring her rhythms closely and adjusting the settings to ensure that it is pacing correctly.

We're still in discussions around the denervation procedure but we've established that we are not going to have that done here at CHOA. They want to build up that experience and ability here but we are unwilling to have Audrey be one of their first. We are working with a doctor at the Mayo Clinic in MN that is one of the leaders in the Electrophysiology field and especially Long QT and has extensive experience with this procedure. We believe that when we take that step then we will travel to Minnesota to have it done.

Audrey is really doing pretty well now. Her rhythm has been very stable and she's as happy and active as you can be when you're stuck in a hospital. We walk her all over the hospital and outside as much as possible. It is crazy how quickly perspective and patience levels can change when you are here. Not only do the thoughts around Audrey's situation and how it could have been tragic make us really cherish time with the kids and serve as a reminder that we must have more patience with them during those times when they are just being wild kids. Being here you also see all of the other children that are battling so many other awful conditions as well and its just such a reminder to not ever take the health and happiness of your children for granted. It is definitely a reality check on priorities.

- Mark