We got to the hospital at 9:20 for our 9:30 arrival time. We were immediately taken upstairs and they began to prep Ms.Sassy for surgery. I started to get nervous but was trying to be brave. Maran was becoming slightly scared and was comforted by Daddy and PopPop (the only two who can ever truly comfort her). We were very lucky that David's parents (Nammy and PopPop) were there with us. My sister Lisa was there too. We changed Maran into her hospital gown and it really hit me. "THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN. Her legs are going to be fixed and she will have to endure six weeks in a cast but this is truly happening". I then realized how "NOT PREPARED" I was for this. Why hadn't I made meals ahead of time and why hadn't I found more gowns for her and so on. (the gown part was fairly easy as they are hard to find for toddlers but jammies are everywhere). Anyway my mind was going a million miles an hour. We had not eaten all morning as we didn't want to eat in front of Maran. We had to cut her food off at 3:30 am which luckily she was sound asleep at that time. We kept her up late though in hopes for her to sleep late which pretty much worked. She wanted a yogurt and banana at 11 pm the night before so we gave it to her. This child can eat the moment her eyes open in the morning (very much like her daddy). Luke and mommy have to be up a good few hours before we think about anything going down the hatch. (Not a good quality I might add). At least we didn't have to get up to be at the hospital at the crack of dawn but Maran being hungry was not fun. She asked for water only once and it was a blessing that she never asked for food.
They gave her the "happy medicine" and she instantly became funnier than normal". She was allowed to have some water with it so that made her happy. She was loopy and incredibly cute. I then realized that she is going to make a reallly good sorority girl (if that's what she chooses). This child will not be the life of the party because she will be the party (Uhm...where does she get that quality from and yes it is a quality)? The surgeon comes in and reverifies what we know about her medical history and talks to us more about the surgery. The anestheologist team comes in and out and they are finally ready to take her. She then waves bye to Tia Lisa and 'shares the love' by blowing a kiss. She tells Nammy and PopPop bye but will not let Daddy go away. They allow him to roll down the hall with her while she is crying for him to hold her. I thought that they gave her a toy to quiet her down (not sure where I got this from as a toy NEVER WINS OUT over Daddy) but later was told that they put something in her nose which instantly made her calm down and let go of David's hand. 11:26 am she is rolled into the back for her noon surgery. We leave and go to the waiting room. We are given her number so that we can track her progress on a board that tells us where she is during the surgery "Waiting for surgery" "In Surgery" (color coded of being in surgery or surgery wrapping up) and a final phase of "Out of surgery / recovery")
We were told it would be about three hours. 1 hour 47 minutes later the Dr comes in with a big grin. She says "It went so well. I didn't have to do as much as I thought." Apparently she had planned for some 'chipping away' and restructering some bones but that didn't have to occur. She was very excited that the pre-cast had stretched the tendon out as nicely as it did and was happy to report to us that she found 'nothing' in Maran's first cast that she had removed before surgery. I had forewarned her that there could have been some pennies in it or possibly anything else. She did find the sand that we had told her about but it was minmal. (shewwww). Maran refused to not play in the sandbox. We were concerned that the sand could rub her skin raw and therefore become and issue for surgery but thankfully that didn't occur.
We went back to see her and it was so sad and cute at the same time. We knew when she woke up that she would want Daddy so he was waiting by her bed. We did all we could to let her wake on her own and when she did she was instantly crying. It was a 'scared cry' mixed with a 'pain cry'. She was given pain killers quite quickly and soon many other nurses were coming in to see if they could help. I can not describe how sad and grueling this childs cry is. It is the saddest cry ever. It comes from deep within her soul and as I have said before is a cry that holds a lot of hidden meaning. It can make even the "non-emotional" person get very emotional. The first nurse tells us we will go into a day room and 'ride it out'. She wanted to make sure that Maran didn't get sick from the anesthesia and so on. She then had to go to lunch and another nurse came in. Nurse 2 was ready for us to leave so she orders a wheelchair and starts the discharge paperwork. WOW... we go from a day room to 'wait and see' to a wheelchair being ordered. So our two night stay in the hospital has now been cut down to about 6 1/2 hours. OK this can be good but I am worried about pain and I learned from my mother's MANY hospital stays that going home too early is not a good thing. Before we knew it David was in a wheelchair being rolled out with Maran on his lap. We leave with a small wheelchair for Maran that is so small and short you have to be a midget to be able to push it without breaking your back. In the short time we were there we had accumulated a few baskets of goodies from friends and many gifts for Lil' Miss Sassy. Loading the car was fun. It really looked like we had been there for days when we had only been there for hours. Oh well.
We were able to get her comfy at home but she wanted to be held by Daddy. He pretty much held her the rest of the day and most of the following day. We put her in the bed with us because I am not happy giving codene to kids and leaving them in a room by themselves...especially with a cast on a leg that MUST be kept elevated for three weeks.
Religiously we gave the pain meds every four hours and the ibuprofen every six hours. If there was one thing I heard the nurse say it was to "NOT MISS THE MEDS FOR AT LEAST THE FIRST 48 hours" and we didn't. Our log book proves it.
Three days of small bits of whining and minimal complaining and Maran is figuring out how to manipulate her body with this full leg cast on. We have already figured out how to shower her (let's hope the trick continues to work) without getting the cast wet. Morning 2 proved how inventive we needed to be as she was so sick to her tummy and a shower was the ONLY way were were going to get her cleaned up. It is true that when something becomes a necessity you figure out how to make it happen and we did.
It has been seven days since surgery and she is trying to not be slowed down by it. Only once has she tried getting up and walking on her own and that was to get to Daddy. Thankfully he busted her in action on that one. She is SO FAR very good about not trying to put weight on the leg and foot. Let's hope it continues.
Luke at times feels sorry for her and wants to be loving. Other times he reverts back and won't share and is the typical big brother. He has enjoyed the extra gifts and attention from Tia Lisa, Aunt Peggy and he really enjoyed riding around in Aunt Mary's suburban. We are blessed to have family close enough who are willing to pitch in at any moment. Thankfully neice Tefie is out of school and she is helping out so mommy can go to work some and prepare for her huge trade show that is coming up in Vegas (an 11 day trip).
Some days have been minute by minute and others have passed much faster. The only thing that matters is she is on her way to having a foot that is 'fixed'. We then have to work on the right foot and pray that it grows as the Dr. thinks it will and pretty much corrects itself. I am excited about her left foot. I just know that this is going to work and that she will be able to walk and run without the many stares and falling so much. In Maran's world she could care less about the staring (in fact she has no clue about it which is perfectly fine). It bothers me from the stand point of "She can't help it and she is not a pity party". Yes I have had those who appraoch me and are in tears over the way she walks. I have also had people tell me how cute her 'bow legs' are. Go figure. Either way she is a beautiful little girl who just deserves to have some normal feet. We are more than happy to try to get those for her.
Many thanks to everyone who has called, texted, facebooked and e-mailed. Your love and thoughts are very much appreciated. We could not ask for friends, family, colleagues or neighbors who could love and care for our children as much as so many do. That in and of itself is the best blessing...club feet or no club feet!
They made sure she was ours and tagged her like crazy. (that's a good thing). I do recall 'losing' my mother in the hospital one time. I found her down on a floor in the hallway where she had been left for about two hours. It was not fun dealing with me on that one!
My Surgery gown. BYE BYE old Cast!
When Daddy isn't around I love having my PopPop!
Daddy loving Maran before Surgery
Sleeping Beauty and chapped lips from the breathing tube.
Daddy knows how to SPOIL me with the world's LARGEST Teddy Bear!
Dora shirt CHECK, Dora CUP CHECK, Pringles, CHECK, BIG BEAR, CHECK! It's great to be dialed in.
