December ~ Surgery

On December 19th Mom got me out of bed at 3:00 a.m. and drove us to Salt Lake to Primary Children's hospital, where I underwent 3 surgeries. Dr. Dries put a J tube in my left tear duct, but the right one was too occluded to pass the tube, so he repeated the balloon procedure he did last year on both eyes, that failed. He stitched the tube in place with absorbable sutures and will remove the tube in January, and hopefully this will keep the tear duct open. If the right eye balloon procedure fails again, then there is a more complicated surgery that can be done, bypassing the tear duct and draining into the nasal passage, but that would require another specialist for this procedure. Dr. Dries also did a complete eye exam while I was asleep and says I have excellent vision :)

Dr. Parks took out my tympanostomy tubes he put in last year. We thought I lost the one in my right ear because it couldn't be seen anymore, but he found it in my ear buried in scar tissue and buildup. He had to do some scraping of both ears to insert new tubes in both ears, but got it done. He also did a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy on me. My tonsils and adenoids were quite enlarged and obstructing my airway, making it harder on my pulmonary hypertension/respiratory system and heart. With these out of my airway hopefully I will do better.

They told mom I'd be in the hospital 3-5 days, the first night being in PICCU. However, I did so well in PICCU (and they needed the beds) I was moved onto the floor the same day of my surgery. We drove to Salt Lake just ahead of a big snow storm, and came home in another one, the day after surgery. I'm so stubborn and did so well they released me early. I let mom know a few times that I blamed her for my pain and agony, turning my back on her and ignoring her, glancing at her occassionaly just to make sure she knew it too!! If looks could kill...lol

However, my nurses were awesome. They found my favorite Video, Monsters, Inc. and let me watch it all I wanted. Because I wouldn't lie down, and kept head banging, fighting the sleepiness of the pain meds, they got me 6 pillows and surrounded me by them so when I finally dropped I wouldn't get hurt. I soon became known as "the princess".

To convince them I wanted to go home and was ready after my early afternoon nap the day after surgery, I stood up in my crib for the first time since before surgery, yelled "luh-luh" at mom. She unhooked the monitors and I took off running the halls of the hospital with my leads hanging from my bare chest, kissing my shaddow on the hospital floor, waving and saying "luh-luh" to everyone. Suddenly very active and ready to cause trouble.

They soon released me to go home. In Salt Lake it looked like a perfect break in the storms and the sun was out, so mom thought we would get home in no time. Well our 1.5 hour drive turned into 4 hours. It started snowing before Clearfield, a 30 car pile-up accident happened on the Freeway near Willard and they closed the freeway and diverted both directions of traffic through the old highway. We rolled along under 5 mph for miles and miles, got to the mouth of the canyon and noticed it was snow packed as well, and we got home on my wings and mom's prayers, literally. My pain medicine was wearing off, but I still slept through my moans.

Grandpa was worried about us and had called the highway patrol, who told him they recommended chains on all cars through Sardine Canyon. Mom took it slow and steady. By now it was dark and mom's vision is horrible at night, that with the snow packed roads, stupid drivers, etc., her hands had to be nearly pried from the steering wheel when we pulled into Grandma and Grandpa's that night. Mom doesn't remember slipping or sliding much, but since then she has gotten stuck 2x in the driveway, spun her wheels on the icy roads and has had to make a run at them to get up our hill home. The tires are wearing on the Barney Mobile, and she knows we were being watched over on our trecherous drive home on the 20th. Our home teacher, Brother Woodward, with a partner came by on the 18th and gave me a blessing that all would go well, and it has. I have healed fast and well, and we got to and from Salt Lake safely in some awful road conditions.

All on my Wings and lots of peoples prayers.

Mom is very thankful for the protectors who were watching over us.