Successful Surgery

Well, we have made it through day 1 of palate repair. First let me praise God for carrying us through thee surgery and day 1. It was hard but went better than we prepared for. Elijah did great today. I woke him up around 2:15am to give him his last food before surgery and hopefully what is his last ever bottle. He was mad that I woke him but then super excited once he saw his bottle. Though he has gotten better at the sippy cup, the second he sees his bottle, he flips out until we give it to him and then he won't let it go even after it's empty. 

     Practicing with the sippy cup

             Turning the page 

We had some good snuggles on the couch. Once I pried the bottle from his hands, I carried him back to his room, rocked and sang to him, then laid him in his crib. He started crying. So rinse, lather, and repeat (aka pick up, rock, put in crib, cry, repeat). After about 3 or 4 attempts to get him back to sleep in his crib, this mama gave in and slept with him on the couch (safely, don't worry).  I am not going to lie, I did not hate snuggling with him the night before his surgery. Some might say it warmed my heart. I was thankful for that peaceful, sweet time of sleep with him before the storm I was anticipating. 

We headed to the hospital this morning at 6:30. My parents and Hannah were with us, and we met Nate's parents at the hospital. 

Wearing his Sunday best for the trip to the hospital 

I sat down to check him in. Then it hit me and I started tearing up  while talking to the check in lady about insurance and social security numbers. I couldn't handle it when our parents and Hannah had to say goodbye to Elijah before Nate, Elijah and I headed up to the pre-op room. I lost it in the elevator, and then peace started settling in. Thank you Lord. 

We had the same pre-op nurse as the last surgery, so it was nice to have a familiar face. Then we saw the same ortho residents who work with Nate that we saw last time in the pre-op area. Everything was feeling very familiar which was a good thing. Elijah did great during that hour and a half of talking to lots of doctors and nurses and the down time between. 

Sporting his Cars themed gown (switched after they initially gave us a butterfly gown)

I told Nate close to 9 that it was kind of a good thing that we wait so long back there because the closer we got to 9, the more I was ready to get the show on the road. That doesn't mean I didn't totally lose it when I had to kiss Elijah and pass him off to the nurse that came to take him away, but it was time to move on. 

Some last moments of chewing on Sophie for a few weeks

The surgery went relatively quickly, especially compared to the last one which lasted 6 hours. Unfortunately, this time, it took them an hour to even get the IV in, and they ended up having to put it in his left foot. The anesthesia resident warned us that babies this age are harder for putting in an IV because they are a bit "fluffier".  

              Just a tad fluffy

We had a surprise visitor from Terre Haute while we were waiting. John Carson, one of Nate's close family friends, showed up and dropped off some of his wife's delicious cookie bars. It was super sweet of them to think of us. Shortly after John arrived, Dr. Flores came out and told us the surgery went very well. I'm sure he said other things but I don't remember now. Shortly after, Nate and I went back to see Elijah in the recovery area. 

         Holding on to that bar

I lost it again. It is so hard to see your baby with a swollen face and completely out of it. They kept him a little sedated because he was fairly agitated when he woke up initially. Every now and then he would wake up and flail his arms and legs and moan. His little cry sounds different now that his palate is closed. The nurse kept talking about meds and such but I couldn't hear or process anything she was saying. I wanted to tell her that we needed just a minute with Elijah but I couldn't even get that out. Fortunately Nate was able to have that conversation with her while I just stood there helpless. She brought us all to a room for the night, and as much as I wanted to hold my baby, he was peacefully sleeping so we let him be. 

Nate brought the rest of the family up to our room. As soon as Elijah started waking up, he was clearly upset. I scooped him up, tangled in cords and tubes. They kept him on IV morphine through this morning because he wasn't really drinking or eating anything. The morphine pretty much wiped him out which I think is a good thing. If he can sleep through the first 24-48 hours, I think he will be through the worst of the pain. I know he'll have more pain beyond that, but I assume and hope it's not as bad as the first few days. 

     

Elijah had come our of surgery with a stitch through the front part of his tongue from one side to the other that they taped to the outside of his left cheek. They put that in as a precaution in case he has trouble breathing. He also had on his two arm braces, affectionately called "No No's". They also put a big No No on his left leg to protect the IV site they had such trouble placing. All that to say when he wakes up, he is not happy. He doesn't like any of those things so he is happiest, or at least most calm, when he sleeps. 

Elijah slept in the hospital crib most of the night and then with me in my chair for a few hours in the early morning. He woke up a few times but easily settled back down when I rubbed his head. The nurse checked in a few times but let us "sleep" as much as possible. We were exhausted. Nate slept on a little couch and I slept in the recliner next to the crib. Every time I thought I heard Elijah moving, I would jump out of the chair and check on him. My reaction would wake up Nate. Elijah wasn't interested in the pedialyte or water, but we have almost gotten two ounces of formula in him since last night. For those of you who aren't parents of 10 month olds, that is not much at all. 

This morning they took out the tongue stitch so he has done a little better drinking, but I think it just hurts his new palate and hurts to swallow. He has to learn how to do everything differently now with his mouth so eating/drinking the next few days is going to be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, issues. We saw the fellow who operated with Dr. Flores twice now, once last night and once this morning. He explained how they did the surgery. They took tissue from his sides and brought it in. It's a lot more complicated than that. Feel free to ask Nate about it but it sounded impossible to me. 

We are now just kind of waiting to go home. The doctor put our discharge orders in and the nurse said once we feel comfortable, we can go home. Elijah is sleeping again so when he wakes up, I will see how eating goes again. We switched from the IV morphine to oral liquid Loratab this morning so he had been more awake than yesterday but still so sleepy. I think if he will eat a whole ounce at once, I will feel more comfortable going home. I do not want to go home only for Elijah to get dehydrated and end up at the ER. 

So, would you all keep praying for us these next few days:

* For Elijah to have peace and comfort, and us to be able to stay on top of pain management

* For Elijah to be able to and willing to eat/drink enough so that he won't get dehydrated 

* For Elijah to be able to sleep well--I think the body heals during sleep and if he's asleep, he is not aware of the miserable situation he is in now

* For Elijah's new palate to heal quickly and with strength so that it works well and doesn't develop a fistula

More updates later I am sure, but for now, I am ready for my sweet boy to be back to his normal self. 

For now, I cling to my Hope. 

We have this [hope] as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, (Hebrews 6:19 ESV)