Emma's Surgery and Update

Emma had her 2nd surgery on Friday (3/31/06). This surgery repaired her soft palate, touched up her lip and put tubes in her ears.

We had to be at the hospital at 9:00 Friday morning. Emma could have clear liquids up to 7:00, so at 6:45, we gave her a bottle of apple juice. That probably wasn't the best idea. She's not used to drinking that much juice at a time. So, when we pulled into the hospital parking garage, she threw some of it up. Luckily, we had an extra outfit. So, I changed her with just minutes to go before we had to be in admissions.

We were admitted pretty quickly and taken to a room. We wound up staying there a little longer than planned. Emma's surgery was scheduled at 10:30, but it was closer to 11:45 before we went back. Emma did really well during her wait. She played some and took a nap - never got fussy. :)

Dr. Little (ENT) talked to us for a few minutes before going back to put tubes in. He came back about 15 minutes later with an update - she was doing well. Her ears were very full of fluid.

The next part of the surgery lasted quite a bit longer.

We finally got to see Emma again around 4:00 in recovery. We had one minor setback. We were expecting to put a solid appliance back in her mouth, but her gums hadn't lined up enough, so they put another expander appliance in. So, we have to go back for the next several months to turn the screw again so her gums will line up better...they have to be lined up better before the bone graft (which will bridge the gums together).

Overall, everything was a success. We had to stay in recovery a little longer than expected, because there were no beds for her. Luckily, they let us come back to recovery with her (usually a no-no). We held her the whole time - once we were there, she didn't want to be put down.

However, she was the star of the recovery section. All of the nurses just loved her because she was being so good and curious! :)

After a quick supper, I came back upstairs to stay with Emma until we were moved to the PICU. Phil went on home to clean up and get some sleep. We figured it was best if one of us got a good night's sleep so they could relieve the other one the next day. :)

We were moved to the PICU around 7:30. Emma stayed in my arms from that time until 8:00 Saturday morning. I put her down twice to use the bathroom and change her diaper. We stayed in that nice comfy (yeah, right) chair the hospital provides. I think we slept about 3 hours that night. Needless to say, I was exhausted!

We were able to go home around noon on Saturday. Emma finally started eating and drinking and she was actually playing some that morning!

I took a little nap Saturday afternoon. It took awhile to get settled in. Mom brought Josh & Callie back home. A little while later, our friend, Cindy, brought us supper (YUM!).

Emma's doing really great now. The first night or 2 were a little long. She woke up a couple of times, but it wasn't too bad. She slept almost all night last night. I think she woke up once and wimpered, but went right back to sleep.

She's really bounced back from this surgery quickly!

To see hospital pictures, click the link in the title. :)