rollercoaster ride

Well, Maverick got out of surgery about 10:15 last night. He ended up having to go on ecmo - it's like a smaller version of the heart-lung bypass machine (check google for more info) around 1:30. It was a controlled situation. His blood pressure was getting low and his base deficit was high. They wanted him to go on before he had any organ damage. They placed the cannulas through the membrane on his chest. He will probably be on for the next several days. All that said, he looks good. He's nice and pink and not horribly swollen. They have taken him off the medicine that paralyzes him, but he's still on pain medication. He has opened his eyes and moves his little hands and feet occasionally and sucks on his tongue. His urine output is good and his vital signs are pretty stable. He's having a lot of blood out from his chest tube (the tube that is around his heart incision draining the blood that collects), so Dr. Mendeloff may open the membrane on his chest and see if there are any little bleeders that need to be repaired. They'll just do that in the room he's in. We just spoke with the cardiologist and she is very encouraged by how he looks and by his vital signs and urine output. She thinks he'll pull through this. That is very encouraging to me. Keep praying - love you guys. jc