I have been updating in short bursts via Facebook since we arrived in Rochester. If you are interested in the vital information prior to surgery (Jimmy John's did NOT put mayo on David's sandwich when we were actually on the Mayo Clinic campus!) or during (procedure times, etc.), check my page or send me a friend request if we are not yet "friends." :o)
It is true--God gives us the grace for WHAT IS. Handing Rachel to the doctors on Wednesday morning happened without a tear shed on any of our behalfs. We saw most of our "people" on Tuesday, but the surgeons and anesthesia team stopped in again before the surgery. I felt completely safe sending Rachel in, and after the Valium they probably could have taken her to the moon and she wouldn't have cared!
We received updates about every 2 hours and the surgery actually was a little shorter than anticipated. Dr. Bite (plastic surgeon) had told us a couple of times beforehand that if it went longer, we should not worry. He was just making her head the best it could be. When the Child Life Specialist (staff members who keep the hospital environment as home-like as possible for children) found out we had Drs. Wetjen (pediatric neurosurgeon) and Bite, she said we were in the BEST possible hands. Good to hear even if she was just making a nervous mama a little more calm!
In the midst of surgery, my FB friend Sarah became a real friend when she met us in the cafeteria on her lunch break. It was a very welcome diversion and so nice to finally meet her! There are a couple of other Rochester FB Catholic Moms that I still hope to meet before we leave. We also wandered the halls and checked out the gorgeous St. Mary's Hospital "chapel," which rivals the St. Joseph Cathedral in Sioux Falls. I was able to get some great pictures with the light streaming in yesterday afternoon and will post those sometime.
We were also told about the hospital library and I checked out a book there. Back in Junior High, we were assigned a historical book report and my mom suggested a book called
The Mayo Brothers. I remember reading it and being fascinated by these doctors I previously had heard nothing about. That book is the reason I STILL always buy iodized salt because I learned from that book that it can prevent goiter! Who wants a goiter if you can prevent it? :o) It was probably also the reason that the day our family doctor suggested a CT scan last spring that my first thought was, "If there is a problem, we will go to Mayo." Can you believe it? That book was right inside the library entrance. Totally unexpected, I know! I re-read it to refresh my memory of Rochester's medical history. I actually remembered parts of it from the first time.
I was glad when we got the call that closing started at a little after 3pm, but it was still about 8-9 hours total until they were ready to bring her into the ICU. Rachel didn't have any recovery room time, so she arrived plugged into a lot of things. They decided to keep her intubated through the night to help her rest and she did just fine getting extubated yesterday morning.
I finally got to hold her mid-morning yesterday, but she didn't really wake up until afternoon when she cried, rolled over in her crib, stood on my lap, and started playing with my sticky name tag. It only lasted a few minutes until she was tired again, but it was a glimpse of our Rachel. Her swelling increased throughout the day (as Dr. Wetjen told us it would way back in July). She could still open her left eye last night, but it looks like today will be the day when they are both swollen. Even with her swollen little face yesterday, everyone (even the young male residents) were saying how cute she is. I just told them to wait until she looks like herself again! She's at least in the top 4 of the cutest babies ever in the world--I am sure. :o)
We were moved to the regular Peds floor yesterday afternoon, so I slept (actually quite well) in Rachel's room last night. David came back at about 6am this morning and we had a changing of the guard. Our hotel is literally across the street, so I came back for some breakfast and to throw in a load of laundry. That being said, it is about time to throw it in the dryer!
Thank you for all of your prayers. Now we just sit and rock and wait for healing. Please also send up a prayer for the families who are struggling with critically ill children who will be in the ICU for much longer!!
