Surgery Went Great

Hey everyone. So sorry it has taken me so long to update you all. Hopefully most of you followed our progress on facebook. We don't have a laptop so I didn't have access to a computer to update the blog...I hadn't thought of that before we left.

So, we are back home in Atlanta and Eden is recovering well. We arrived in Birmingham on Tuesday and went to the Children's Hospital for a Child Life tour that afternoon. Roxanna was wonderful and this did so much to help ease Eden's anxiousness. They took us around and showed us pre-surgery, every step of pre-op procedure (vitals, gown, etc.). They showed us recovery where she would wake up and what her bed/room would look like where we would spend the night. It was well worth the time. They even gave her a mask to take home and "practice" breathing to go to sleep.

Our surgery was scheduled for 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday. We arrived at 9:30 a.m. and they took us right back to the pre-op waiting room. Eden did great but I KNEW the minute they tried to get her to do anything (change clothes, etc.) she would fall apart so I requested some "silly juice" to relax her. Boy did it work! They gave it to her 10 minutes before they took her. It took me a while to get her to drink it...she was scared, bless her heart. I finally got it down her and it took effect quickly. Sweet Roxanna from child life came and went back with Eden, so she had a familiar face. They took her back at exactly noon, and the surgery lasted until 5:00...it was a LONG day!

Everything went well. Unfortunately, Dr. Grant said he wasn't able to do some of the nose work he had intended to so we will have another minor surgery for that. Not sure when that will be but I'm guessing it will be a same-day procedure. The most dramatic change to her appearance is that she now has a visible top lip. He reattached some muscles and pulled them up so that her top lip was lifted. It is still swollen a lot, but I can tell it is going to look great. One surprise...he closed the holes that were in the base of her nose. This will prevent food and air escape from the fistulas (holes) in the roof of her mouth from her gum line cleft. I didn't know he was going to do this and she noticed it almost immediately after she woke up. "Mommy, are my holes gone after the surgery?"

We spent one night in the hospital and were released late morning on Thursday. We drove halfway home and stayed at my mom's for one night and then came on home. I found her doing a back bend yesterday so needless to say, she is feeling fine. She has had minimal pain. The biggest bother to her are all of the stitches inside her nose, which make her feel like she needs to blow constantly. Also, she is still pretty self-conscious about how she looks and gets upset when she looks in the mirror. "Mommy, I don't like my stitches." Pray for us as we navigate this.

We have an order for no aggressive physical activity until our post-op visit 3 weeks from now. Otherwise, we can do as much as she feels like doing.

Thank you all so much for your prayers. I will keep you updated. Have a great weekend!