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I was able to meet with Libby's surgeon for a consultation last Thursday and it was very informative. Her surgeon, Dr. St. Louis, seems very kind. He recently got back from a trip to China where he was doing heart surgery on orphans and he'll be going back again!! Some of the news I got was bad and some was good. Libby does not have a working pulmonary valve (the valve which connects her pulmonary arteries to her heart). She also has left pulmonary atresia which means that her left pulmonary artery is essentially non-existent too. Her right pulmonary artery is good, but needs to be connected. Right now she's getting blood flow into these arteries from her Patent Ductus Arteriosus. This is something that normally closes up in newborns, but hers has remained opened and that's a good thing. Praise God! Dr. St. Louis confirmed that Libby would need to have an artificial valve placed in her heart and she will outgrow it eventually. This will require an additional surgery in 2-3 years. On the up side, a procedure is being developed that will allow valves to be placed through a catheterization procedure and he said he would set Libby up to be a candidate for that. Because of this I'm hopeful that 2 surgeries is all she'll ever need. Some other bad news is that Libby will probably be hospitalized about 10 days. He told me that her body has been used to low oxygen levels for so long that it will take longer for her to adjust. He thinks she'll be on a ventilator longer and have more issues with excess fluid. I'm praying that things go quicker than he thinks, but he's an expert in these types of surgeries and knows what to expect.

Right now we're concentrating on keeping Libby healthy so her surgery doesn't get postponed. We were told that if she has even a runny nose or a cough up to two weeks before surgery that they might not be able to do it. As much as I'm dreading the whole process I want to get it over with. We have many prayer requests as her surgery date gets closer. Please pray that God will calm Libby's heart and give her peace. She's already grown to hate hospitals and doctors and cries even when she gets weighed or has her temperature taken. I know she's going to be very upset with everything that will be done. Heck, I'm going to be upset too. Jon and I can also use prayers for peace. Also pray that God will keep her healthy, give Dr. St. Louis wisdom, and give her a quick recovery. It will be such a relief when this is all over with and we can get back home to normal life. I've felt like this surgery has been hanging over us since we adopted Libby and I'm ready to get it done.