Russian Roulette

We spoke with the surgeon and other doctors yesterday about Roscoe's surgery plans. He is scheduled for Monday morning and the surgery will last for an unknown amount of time. The surgeon told us he purposefully doesn't tell parents a time limit, because in the past when he has they panic if the surgery takes 30 minutes longer or comes in an hour shorter.

The surgery will involve splitting open Roscoe's ribcage, locating the two pulmonary veins, cutting them open, and then sewing a channel around them. It is what he called a suture-less surgery, because they are cutting the veins open without stitching them back up. He said they found that stitching the veins makes it more likely that scar tissue would form in the veins (very bad). To accomplish this, they will lower Roscoe's body temperature down to below 50 degrees to slow the flow of blood through his body. They will also need to stop his heart for a short period while the cuts are made, during which they will use a heart & lung machine to circulate and oxygenate his blood for his body and brain. He may still be on the heart & lung machine if his body has difficulties recovering from surgery.

The doctor called it a "high risk" surgery and when we asked him about the odds of survival he couldn't give a specific number. He said that the odds were "more likely than not" that he would survive, but he said he couldn't say whether that meant a 51% chance of survival or a 90% chance. Alisha and I both noted that he sounded more positive than we thought he'd sound, but that may have been misplaced expectations. Even an 83% chance of survival is the same odds as playing Russian Roulette, so it will still be a very dangerous process.

We have seen God with us through this past nine and a half months. He gave Roscoe 3 more weeks in the womb than he would have had, brought him safely into the world, kept him alive through the ups and downs, and has protected his brain and given him resiliency through this entire journey. We pray that God will once again come and touch Roscoe's life on Monday. Please pray with us.