Home and Resting Comfortably

We are thankful to report that Maddie's surgery went very, very well. We arrived home at noon today, 28 hours after this whole adventure started, and Maddie is doing wonderfully.

We arrived at Shriner's at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday morning. They wanted us there early even though Maddie's surgery wasn't scheduled until noon. Thankfully, it got moved up, and Maddie was off to the operating room at 10:30, a blessing since she hadn't had anything to eat or drink since dinner the night before, and we were afraid she was going to start complaining, justifiably, about being hungry and thirsty. Truthfully, we kept both of the girls so busy for two and a half hours that neither had time to get grumpy.

Maddie showed absolutely no fear while she was being prepped or even when they took her from us while she was still awake to head off to the operating room. It helped, I'm sure, that they gave her a little something to relax her. It was quite humorous. For awhile, she was acting like she'd had two or three good strong martinis, slurring her speech a little and giggling. As a surgical nurse carried her off down the hallway, she even waved goodbye to us. At that point, of course, I broke into tears. It didn't last long because we knew she was in good hands. The procedure took an hour and a half. At noon, her surgeon reported that everything went very well and that the surgical site looked good, healthy and pink with good circulation. After about another half an hour, a nurse came to get me. She said Maddie was calling for her mama and baba. When I got back to the recovery area, Maddie was quite distraught. She was crying and began reaching and calling for me quite frantically when she saw me. It took quite awhile to calm her. Obviously, she woke up in an unfamiliar environment, and we were told ahead of time that the anaesthesia causes some temporary grumpiness. More than anything, she seemed quite upset about the IV in her hand. She wanted it OUT. The nurses cooperated and put an IV line in her leg instead, and that seemed to make her a little bit happier.

Back in the room, she drank quite a bit of juice and began to feel more at ease. At 2:00 p.m., Ibby and I went to the Parent Accommodation Center where we had reserved a room, and the two of us slept for nearly three hours. When we returned to Maddie's room at 5:00, she was eating and talking and laughing and playing. I couldn't believe the difference three hours made. The smallest setback occurred when her mac and cheese didn't stay down, but she did well with crackers. When we tried the mac and cheese again later (because she was still hungry) thankfully, it stayed put in her tummy.

Richard and Isabel left for home at 7:00 p.m., and at 8:00, Maddie and I went through our normal bedtime ritual, minus the bath, of course. She slept all night through except when she was awakened twice for pain meds and a vitals check by the nurse. She was restless but more so because her cast, which covers her entire leg, is a bit unwieldy when she's trying to turn over in bed. There was some concern on the part of the night doctor that Maddie hadn't gone pee since surgery, but we solved that dilemma at 9:30 p.m. when she peed all over me. She was really tossing and turning, so I asked her if she had to go potty, and she said yes. I took off her pull up (we put one on during her hospital stay just in case), and just as we reached the door to the bathroom, she let go. Good thing I had brought an extra shirt. Truly, I was so thankful they didn't have to put in a catheter, she could have peed on me all night if she wanted.

She awakened this morning at 7:30 a.m. quite happy and hungry. After breakfast, a quick exam by the pediatrician, and a trip to physical therapy to make sure she could use a walker, which of course she can because she already does, we waited for our discharge papers and were released around 10:30 a.m. Maddie ate a good lunch when we got home, watched two Signing Time dvds, and went down for a nap at 2:00 p.m. She is sleeping peacefully now.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers. They truly lifted us up over the past couple of days. It was so comforting to know there are so many people who love and care for us. Here are a few highlights of Maddie's big day:


Playing before getting prepped for surgery

Practicing with the mask

My stylish hospital gown

Back in the room after surgery, feeling a little groggy

Being silly after supper

My new wheels

Ibby playing chauffeur

Sisters!

Feeling pretty happy this morning

Getting a little sleepy right before we headed home