When Matthew first came out of surgery he had two leg immobilizers strapped to him to prevent his legs from flailing about too much. Since Dr. Rothman went in through Matthew's groin, they needed to keep his legs stationary to prevent the wound from opening up and bleeding. Once removed, Matthew was eager to run in place.
Earlier in the evening Matthew had spiked a fever of 103! Dr. Rothman said it was a common reaction to the “contrast” used to better see the procedure on the monitors during this very technical procedure. Dr. Tracey Butler came down from the PICU and personally monitored Matthew’s progress. We had been told to skip his morning meds and she was concerned that he needed his diuretics most of all since he had been given so much IV fluid throughout the procedure. So she called down to the pharmacy herself and ordered him a dose of Lasix and an hour later he had the most saturated diaper I have ever seen. Thank God for Dr. Butler because without her, Matthew would have gone home with all that fluid crowding his heart and lungs. Within 2 hours the fever had subsided and we were released to go home and sleep.