Empty room 10:04am May 22nd

They just took Owen out of the room to bring him to the OR.  Owen's room feels so empty without the crib in it.  When they were in the room talking to us, we mentioned that we thought his vocal cord was coming back and they said that they might be able to get a look at it before they intubate him.  If they can get a good look at his vocal chord, we won't have to see the ENT to get an idea of how his vocal chord is performing.  They are most likely going to be giving Owen something similar to the epidural that Cassie actually had during labor to numb Owen's legs so that he doesn't feel any pain during or after the procedure when they are catheterizing him.  It is kind of cool, because Children's Hospital is actually a teaching hospital, when you come across a teaching moment.  This morning during rounds we got to learn what actually causes a murmur in the heart.  Murmurs are caused by turbulent blood flow due to a pressure differential, and of course the blood always flows from a high pressure area to a low pressure area.  So Owen has a continuous shunt murmur because there is always a pressure differential between his aorta and pulmonary arteries.