What a Few Weeks!

So, you know we were sent home for the last attempt at surgery.  Our third attempt last Friday was successful!  Lily did great, and better still, there was a whole group of anesthesiologists in the room that figured out just the right way to get Lily to sleep so she wouldn’t bronchospasm the whole time.  It was miraculous, we even went home that day!!!

Now for the fun stuff....arm restraints unless we are sitting right next to her, ready to grab her hand away from her mouth (and yes, she does start to stick her fingers in!!)  I am so thankful she made it through her surgery, and her palate seems to have closed well, but the post op after a cleft repair is pretty tough.  We have two and half weeks left with “no-no’s” on,  (what the clinic lovingly dubs the arm restraints), and I can tell you, after having been through three cleft repairs so far....two with her big brother and one a year ago with Lily....this is the toughest.  Lily is NOT happy with no-no’s.  She is very, very grumpy.  She also won’t swallow.  I think it hurts and feels weird, so she won’t do it....nope, no way!!!  In the midst of this, my dryer quit working.  We spent a while at Home Depot getting a new dryer.....and walking around after Lily, cleaning up her spit off of the bright, shiny concrete floor.  OH, Good Grief!!!!  I was so embarrassed, I explained to the lady helping us what was going on, and she smiled and gave us a roll of paper towels.  I am sure we were the talk in the break room!!  “There was this lady with five kids, her little girl just had surgery and was spitting on the floor everywhere, and her older sons just non-chalantly wiped up after this little girl, and one of these teens knew more than I did about all of the dryers...and she homeschools!!!”  The Home Depot appliance sales lady commented on how “You are so patient with all of this!!”  No, I am in the zone, hovering between consciousnesses.....I’ve gotten good at self hypnosis at this point....”You will get through this, you will sew or knit soon, you will even eat chocolate without gaining an ounce.”  I lie to myself to get through.

  I got out to the car, with barely a nerve left....and the kids all wanted to go to the Mall to “show Lily all of the pretty trees and lights again.”  I was afraid she might short things out with all of the spitting.  We opted to go home.  Now, we are trying to get Lily to sleep normally again, I suspect until the no-no’s are off, I won’t be getting a whole lot of no-no sleep.

I am trying to get Lily’s doll finished up.....that’s the real reason you are here right?  “Come on, cut to the chase, is the doll finished or not??”  You’ll be the first to see it when it is done, promise!  (and chocolate causes no weight gain!)

Craft Fearlessly and Eat Chocolate!

--Ma