Done with the Heart Catherization

Lynnea managed to make it through the heart catherization. The blockages in Lynnea's heart were worse than they had really expected. Using a balloon, they were able to remove one of the blockages almost completely, part of another blockage, and there was one blockage that they were not able to remove with this technique because it was too severe. The blockage that they were not able to remove will need to be operated on, but she is not stable enough to do so at this time. There were a couple of complications during the procedure. First, when they were trying to remove one of the blockages, it was so tight that the first balloon they tried to use burst. Fortunately, they were able to get the entire balloon out, but there is a small chance that an air bubble could have formed as a result of the bursting, which could travel to her brain and cause a stroke. Second, because the first balloon burst, it was necessary for them to use a larger catheter to send a bigger, stronger balloon through. The large catheter that was necessary destroyed the artery in Lynnea's leg that they sent it through. Dr. Gruenstein explained that he has seen this happen before, and most of the time the body is able to compensate for this without any long term or permanent damage, but there is a chance that there could be stunted growth in the leg, or worst case, the loss of the leg, so for now, they will just watch it very carefully to make sure that there is still decent circulation in her leg.

Going into this procedure there was little hope that she would make it through it, so the fact that she is still alive at this moment is a miracle. The next 24 hours will tell us more about whether or not this heart catherization really helped her situation or not. Obviously, she's certainly far from out of the woods yet, but there is still hope that she will improve. They plan on keeping her intubated on the ventilator at least for tonight. Please continue to keep Lynnea in your prayers.