Confessions of a Mended Heart

Katja's Journey to (W)hole Heartedness

Tag: Truncus

  • determination is her strong suit

    determination is her strong suit

    To say “this kid is a RockStar” would be an understatement. I am in awe of her. She is a warrior. When she decides something, nothing will stop her. Absolutely nothing. She has been breaking through sedation since a few hours out of surgery. Giving us all her fiesty sass and her famous raised eyebrows.…

    Read more: determination is her strong suit
  • And now our watch begins

    And now our watch begins

    We have a very long night ahead but she’s stable and doing really well.

    Read more: And now our watch begins
  • the Beat goes on

    the Beat goes on

    Katja is off Bypass! We are waiting on the update from her surgeon now. Hopefully she’ll be closed up and in recovery in the next 2hrs. I’ll update as soon as her Dr talks to us.

    Read more: the Beat goes on
  • No News is good

    No News is good

    As they say.. “No news is good news”. Latest update from the OR is that everything is going as expected. Getting into her chest took longer and her repair is taking a little longer than we wanted but things so far, are moving along. She’s still on Bypass but so far, so good 🤞

    Read more: No News is good
  • The Great Pause

    The Great Pause

    Katja is now on Bypass. It took longer than expected due to her previous surgery scar tissue and adhesions. These next few hours are the most crucial. Her heart is stopped completely while the machine keeps her alive. Her heart will be repaired and the team will slowly restart her heart and get it beating…

    Read more: The Great Pause
  • first Incision

    first Incision

    We have 1st incision. About 1.5-2hrs until she’s fully on Bypass and repair can begin.

    Read more: first Incision
  • Surgery Day choices

    Surgery Day choices

    To say “it’s been a day” would be an understatement. There are so many times when this little girls bravery amazes me but each time it still takes me by surprise. Today was long. Very very long. As adults, we struggled with the schedule. There were lots of shed tears, frustrations, cries to return home…

    Read more: Surgery Day choices
  • Getting Settled

    Getting Settled

    We arrived safe and sound yesterday. It was definitely a whirlwind of a day. Patient housing is situated right by Fenway park. Which means we have lots of food options to try out 😉 Katja picked Woodfire pizza for dinner and some delicious noodles for this evening. We did some grocery shopping and found a…

    Read more: Getting Settled
  • cotten Candy clouds

    cotten Candy clouds

    Up, up and away…. We’ve departed Seattle and have had a fairly smooth flight. We are about halfway in a 5.5-6hr flight. Katja’s tired, crabby and always hungry. So it’s been a struggle keeping her entertained AND masked! 3 days to surgery, she can’t get sick now! I think the highlight of flying for her…

    Read more: cotten Candy clouds
  • The last minute shuffle

    The last minute shuffle

    With all the chaos going on before we leave (I’m looking at you refrigerator that decided to break down yesterday 😑) what’s a little last minute date shuffle? Received the call this morning that the surgery date has been moved from Friday (June 23rd) to Thursday (22nd). Looks like we won’t make Legoland before surgery…

    Read more: The last minute shuffle

About Us

We are a fun loving family of 7. I’m Jenn, the Mom and words behind the blog. Dad Jori is the IT backbone of making sure I don’t go crazy over features. We have 5 beautiful children. Nevaeh (17), Twins Arianna & Araceli (15), Katja “Our Mended little Heart” (9) and Gryffin “Finn” (4).

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