Update 13

The surgery is finished. It went faster than originally anticipated. I have not yet been given the details as to why it went faster than we were originally told, but apparently it went quite well. They are slowly warming Thaddeus back up so that they can start everything going again. They will leave him hooked up to the heart and lung machine for a period of time while they watch to see how the cardiovascular system responds to the surgery. If there is a problem they can send him back on the heart lung machine again. He will also have lines running out of him that can be used to hook up his heart to an external pace maker. Sometimes a nerve that helps to control the electrical system of the heart can be affected by the surgery. This can be temporary and caused by swelling from the surgery. They can use these lines to quickly and easily take care of any heart rhythm issues. His chest will be left open to accommodate any swelling or in case the surgeon wants to go back in to "tweak" anything. The next 12-24 hours will be crucial as we see how the body responds to things being rearranged.