Yesterday, we had Nevaeh's pre-op appointments. We found out that she will most likely only have to stay one night in the hospital (one good thing about the feeding tube!). So praise God for my sake, since I know I wont sleep in the hospital! They say that she will be on some heavy meds for about 4 days post surgery. And after about 7 - 10 days, she should perk up and start feeling better. She will wear arm restraints for 2 weeks, which will be a challenge. Even when she is feeling better, it will drive her crazy to not be able to put her fingers in her mouth! And last surgery, she was really good at getting out of the restraints. This time, we need to be extra diligent not to let that happen, because one finger hooked in the roof of her mouth could do major damage to the surgery site. So please pray for quick recovery, and that everything will heal as it should. Thanks!
On a positive note, Children's was able to work it out so that she can have her palate fixed, ear tubes placed, and her G-tube switched to a button, all in the same surgery! We are so excited to get rid of the bulky G-tube (you can see it floating in the water above). It will be replaced by a little button that will only have something hanging from it while she is feeding. So that will make clothes a lot easier to fit, and wont get in her way as she is learning to crawl. Plus, she is really good at disconnecting herself from her feedings now. And this new button will have a twist & lock system when she feeds, so she can't pull it apart. That will save us a lot of messes!
We went to the cabin with Troy & Denay & their kids this month. We had a great time! Here is Nico (with chocolate all over his face) taking a bath with his buddies, Trae & Ava.
A couple of days ago, Nico was looking at himself in the mirror and said, "Mama, I only have one eyebrow!" He said it as if he'd never noticed it before, and that he felt a little short-changed about it. I told him that he was right, but that it was cool & he was still very cute. He said, "But you have two eyebrows." He mentioned it again the next day. As parents, it breaks our hearts to think that he might be self-conscious or might be hurt by some thoughtless person someday regarding his hairloss. Please pray with us for his protection and that, if it's God's will, his hair would grow back completly someday. Thanks!
Nevaeh's surgery went well. Here you can see her new "Mic-key" feeding button, which replaced her G-tube. The string coming out of her mouth was stiched to her tongue & taped to her cheek. This was just a precaution, in case she had trouble breathing & her tongue was blocking her airway, the nurses could grab the string & keep her tongue forward. That was only in overnight. Her lips are all swollen from the device that held her mouth open during surgery. We had a long night, but by the time we came home, she was having moments where she wanted to sit up & reach for things to play with. Of course her arm restraints prevent much play. She will have to wear those for two weeks.
