Shirley is out of surgery but not out of the woods. Surgery went well and the surgeon was very confident in his work. We had a great talk with him concerning the whole procedure. There are a lot of things that change after surgery regarding the way that her heart functions and those things can stress the heart in the early days of recovery. These are complications that they expect and anticipate. The surgeon was concerned about the anatomy of her large truncal valve. It is rather abnormal even for truncal valves and he foresees that it will need to be replaced during her next surgery (Lord willing that will be a few years). Shirley currently has an open chest and will be recovering in this state for up to five days. They leave it open in order too drain fluid, ensuring that the tissue around the heart doesn't swell. There is so much more that can be said about the specifics of her surgery but I would be writing all night. 

We want to thank everyone for their prayers and ask that you continue praying for our little girl.

We aren't really holding anything back with the photos and they may be shocking but its just the reality of her current condition.

-Joseph