Surgery Day!

Today was the big surgery day. We started the day out with Little Chef C waking me up just after 4am to tell me it was after 4. I told her I was waking up at 4:30 and would get her up at 5:00 so she could go lay back down in her bed.

When I finally woke the girls, one said she was tired but the others woke quickly super excited about their day. We dropped off kids to fly on an airplane and have a great few days at Disneyland. They saw their cousins and didn’t even turn around to say “good bye.”

Haley didn’t want to stay in the car with her sisters gone. She was even worse when we dropped the baby off at Grandma’s. She did not want to go to the hospital. She was still very tired which translates to irrational.

We checked in at 6 am and went to a room to sit and wait. Sure they did a few things like check her temperature, blood pressure… you know the standard stuff. We talked with some of the Doctors who explained what their role was in the operating room. Then we had to wait until 7:15 to give her some medicine to calm her down. Her operating time was 7:30. She was not pleasant, she was tired. She finally fell asleep, but then we had to wake her up a few minutes later to giver her the medicine. That did not go well. Luckily the medicine calmed her down again fairly quickly. We walked down to the operating room doors and passed her off to the team. She was now in their hands.

We were waiting comfortably. They had plenty of outlets and chairs, though not very comfortable chairs. My mom brought the baby to be fed in the waiting room since it was pretty vacant and large. Our Doctor came in and said there was a problem with the equipment in the room so we needed to change. We went to a connecting hospital that had the same type of room that was not being used. They made sure the equipment was working there before transporting Haley. It took a while for this to happen.

We went to the second waiting room in the second hospital, which wasn’t as large and comfortable. After a while we received an update that they were beginning. My mom brought the baby to be fed again, but since the waiting room at this hospital was smaller, had more people and was very exposed I fed him in the car. I went back in and the Doctor was speaking with Jeremy. He said it was going well, the tissue was soft, he was able to remove more then he had expected. They did another MRI scan. He removed a little more.  He seemed pleased with the result. It went better then expected! We are thankful for that! While they were closing her up it was time for the baby to be fed again. (I only feed him every 3 hours.) This time mom went to the third hospital. Again in the parking lot I fed him. Yes, 3 hospitals in one day. What is the insurance company going to say about that?!

In the third waiting room of the day we waited until Haley was transported and situated in her room. This waiting room was the least luxurious but we were not there long. Finally at about 6:30 pm we were allowed in to see her! If the first room worked out it should have been around 1pm.

Haley now has many of lines and tubes and monitors on her body. Her face is already swelling. They tell me that will continue to swell before it gets better. She was moving around in the bed a lot being very uncomfortable. She was talking some, and sleeping some. The more she talked the more understandable she became. She wanted to drink milk, but they thought a clear liquid would be better to start. They didn’t want her to drink too much too fast so that she would spit it back up. She wanted to sit up, but was woozy so we tried convincing her to lay down. I saw her enough to know she is talking and moving pretty well. Nothing is alarming at this point. That is a relief! I want her to sleep as much as possible tonight so some of the after effects can wear off. They do need to wake her every hour, talk to her and do some things so it won’t be a restful night for her or Jeremy who is staying with her.

The bottom line is we are thankful for the surgical team. It was a long day for them as it was for us. We are thankful the tumor was easier to remove then initially thought. Of course until they opened her up and saw it they were not entirely sure what they were dealing with. We still do not have all the answers. We are anxious to learn more about the tumor when the testing is completed later in the week. The big scary surgery is done. Now we focus on keeping her happy in a place she does not want to be and with things attached to her she does not want. Then we focus on the step after that … whatever that may be when the biopsy results come back.

We appreciate all the kind thoughts, messages and especially prayers that were said. We  know that is why the surgery went as smoothly and as successfully as it did. Thank you!