MUSC Heart Catheterization (& updates)

After a long, but fun morning of playing Barbies, singing, strolling around MUSC campus and waiting, Mary Clare finally went back into the cath lab. We were admitted around 7:00 AM and she was taken to the cath lab around 12:00. I’ll update as we hear news!

On a funny note, MC was given Versed a few minutes before they took her back into the lab. We all laughed as she sang slowly, and tried to wink at her nurse, Kate. Mel even asked her to whistle, which only led to her drooling and laughing. She sang, “The Caterpiller” song that Ms. Jordan taught her and stared at her little fingers as the inch worm. She was too funny. She had the entire cath lab rolling.

2:25 PM UPDATE 1: We received a page from the cath lab about on hour ago. Mary Clare had no trouble being put to sleep and has been intubated. So far, so good. Thank you all for your wonderfully kind words of encouragement and prayers for our sweet MC! Also, a heart catheterization is simply a way for her cardiology team to really get accurate numbers of her heart. The readings from today will help the team decide when to do her third surgery, the Fontan.

The following definition is from the Cardiovascular Perfusion Education Program & Life Support Departments of the Medical University of South Carolina…

cardiac catheterization: passage of a catheter into the heart through a blood vessel leading to the heart for the purpose of measuring intracardiac pressure abnormalities, obtaining cardiac blood samples, and/or imaging cardiac structures by injection of radio-opaque dye.

UPDATE 7:00 PM. MC was discharged and we are heading home! Cath went well!

UPDATE 9:00 PM. Heading home! I couldn’t post much earlier because Mary Clare was NOT a happy girl! It took all we had to keep her somewhat calm! She is still awake for now, but I’m sure we have a nice quiet drive ahead of us. The cath was a successful one, and diagnostic only! (No additional procedures were necessary!) A surgical request has been submitted and we are looking at 3-6 months for her Fontan. I cannot thank you all enough for the support and most importantly your prayers! I’ll be sure to post lots of photos later. For now I think I’ll join Mary Clare as she naps. It’s been a long day!

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