Update

      We've had a good day today. We had our favorite nurse!

      Bobby continues to have low oxygen but the cardiologist is not overly concerned. We're having a cardiac catheterization and electrophysiology test tomorrow. Essentially, they are going to measure his pulmonary pressures, look for collateral arteries and veins, potentially do a balloon procedure if his pulmonary arteries are too narrow, and test for abnormal rhythms in his heart.

      The lung pressure is important because he needs low pressure in order to have a successful next surgery. If his pressures are high, he will go on Viagara for a few weeks. One of the side effects of that particular drug is that it lowers pulmonary pressure.

      Collateral arteries and veins are 'extra' vessels that grow in the body. Normally they don't hurt anything, but since Bobby's surgery is about restricting his blood flow, collateral veins can cause problems. Simply, after his surgery, the blood coming from Bobby's body will bypass his heart and go directly to his pulmonary system. We want to make sure there is no collateral vein that is redirecting his blood to his heart and thwarting the goal of the surgery. So, the cardiologist will block off any collateral veins tomorrow.

       Bobby has narrow pulmonary arteries.   The cardiologist will make a decision about expanding them with a balloon procedure.   This will help make sure he gets a good flow of oxygen rich blood.
       Lastly, they will be checking his heart rhythm. We already know that his heart rate is low when he's resting. Now they will test to see if his heart sometimes misses a beat. This is the final test to see if he needs a pacemaker when they do the next surgery. This is also one of the scarier tests because if they induce an abnormal rhythm they may have to shock him out of it.
      The tests will be sometime after noon tomorrow.