My second operation was carried out on 31st March
2008. Mummy and daddy were told that, due to my size and the fact
that I had already undergone a major operation 3 weeks earlier, that
there was a probability that I wouldn't survive this procedure.
The surgeon told mummy and daddy that he was going to try to repair
my valve so that I would probably not need further operations in the
future. However, if he couldn't repair it he would have to replace
it which would mean I would need further operations as I grew to
replace it.
A week before my second operation
Mummy and daddy had to agree to let me have the
operation and I know it was a very difficult decision for them to
make. The operation took nearly 6 hours and mummy and daddy were
very brave waiting to hear how well I'd done. I'm glad they agreed
because the operation to repair my valve was a success and I started
to recover much quicker than I did after my first operation! In fact
the very next day I had the 3 tubes that were helping fluid drain
from my chest removed as I was doing so well!
As I started my recovery I was slowly taken off some of the drugs
that I needed to help me. These included paralysing drugs, so I kept
still, sleeping drugs to help me conserve my energy and lots of
different painkillers. One of these was Morphine which mummy and
daddy were warned may take me a long time to come off because it was
so addictive. They were told I may suffer withdrawal symptoms but I
surprised everybody and didn't suffer any major side effects from
it.
