Surgery Day

Today was definitely one of the hardest days of James and my lives.  We got through it though.  More importantly Sophia got through it with flying colors.  The surgeon told us that everything went smoothly and it was a great way for him to end his work week.  Her surgery started at 7:45 am and we were impatiently waiting for news about her all morning long.  15 minutes on the watch felt like an hour.  It was excruciating waiting.  I kept asking James if his cell phone was ‘on’.  We decided to go for a walk to get some fresh air but we were back at the ICU waiting area in like 5 minutes!  We also prayed together which really doesn’t happen very often but it was a real bonding experience for us to express how we were feeling and what we were asking from God.

Finally at 12:45 we met with the surgeon and then about half an hour after that we finally got reunited with baby Sophia.  The longest 5 hours of our lives. The initial meeting went pretty smoothly.  I was petrified to see her with all the tubes but since I was as prepared as I could have been it was exactly what I expected.  There were so many tubes everywhere.  There were only a few spare inches on her that I could touch so I decided to touch the top of her head with all the soft fluffy hair.  The nurse asked me not to stroke her so I kept my hand there to feel her warmth.  Her body was still cold though since she had just gotten out of surgery and they keep the body temp low.

 After we knew she was stable we stepped out to eat lunch and take a long needed nap at the Easter Seal house close by the hospital.  We are staying at a place 5 minutes walk away which is here for families of young patients.  We woke up from a 3 hour nap ready to tackle the next steps.  James was so confused that he thought he slept through the night.  That’s how exhausted we were.  He said he hasn’t been that confused since waking up from a nap since he was a kid.

 Tonight when we went back to see Sophia it was a lot harder on me.  She was ‘waking’ up from the drugs and was moving around a lot.  But they didn’t want her to move too much since she has a huge opening in her chest that needs to heal so they restrained her arms and gave her a bit more sedatives.  I know that this is what she needs but it is so hard to see your baby like that.  AND her little tongue is doing what It does when she is nursing.  So she is totally looking for breast and I felt like I could do nothing but talk to her and tell her what a great job she is doing.  So we will know more tomorrow at her progress but surgery day is over and I am happy about that. 

 The ICU is a heartbreaking place to be.  All those parents who are feeling exactly the same way we are.  A lot of worry, anxiety and fear.  We became friendly with one family whose son is in the ICU at age 12 after a Quad accident.  His life changed in one instance.  His family was riding on their farm with him.  His family went into the house but he wanted to do one more loop when he flipped his quad over.  He was told that he would be a quadriplegic.   So our hearts were heavy not only for Sophia but for this family too.