Day 1: Surgery

So, today has been a long one.  Started with wakeup call at 5:15am this morning and our pre-op/check in at 6:30am.  I was a little worried since we didn't really get the normal Pre-Op appointment to sit and chat with the doctor the day before.  We waited quite a while in the preop room - Dr. Standard came in and talked to us a bit but had to assist on another procedure before Ava.  She was pretty grumpy because she wasn't allowed to eat or drink (after midnight) - and she is my eater.  I got a lot of mean looks and she wasn't the most pleasant to the nurses.

 She did give us a couple smiles:

The anesthesiologist came in and talked to us too - he was very nice and tried to lighten the mood.  The nurse said that he is the best, so that made us feel good.  They don't give narcotics to children for surgery unless they have to, so they gave her a drug to make her calm (added bonus, it helps them not remember much of what happens) and then when it was time, they wheeled her back. Only one person could go with her, so she wanted me to suit up with her.

Dr Standard drew a happy face on the right leg so they knew for sure which one to operate on.  

I tried to hold it together, but once in the operating room with all that machinery beeping and all the people suited up, it was overwhelming.  I started to get teary and then sucked it up.  But, they couldn't get the pulse ox to work well on her finger and thought it might be the blue nail polish that she had done yesterday with my mom as a treat before surgery.  So, they were trying to chip it off and she got upset and started crying.  That did me in.  I just wanted her to be okay, go into surgery easily and drift off to sleep.  HA!  So, there I was, standing in the OR with tears streaming down my mask - ugh!  They tried to get the pulse ox on her ear and then a toe - but the anesthesiologist wasn't too pleased to see the same polish on each of her toes.  lol  Finally, they got it on a toe and started her on the 'giggle gas' which put her to sleep.  She fought it a tiny bit, but then went off to sleep and they ushered my hot mess out of the OR.

Then came the waiting - we hadn't eaten yet and it was 9:40(ish), so we went down and got some breakfast and just relax a while.  We came back up to the family waiting area and it wasn't long before we went to our 'fixator class' with Nurse Liz.  She gave us the 'purple bible', which is the everything-in-a-nutshell book.  She showed us models of fixators and had us practice turning the screws and told us all the info we may need for how to care for the pin sites, cleaning, watching for infection, what to expect as far as pain, etc.

We got the word that Ava was in the PACU (Post-Operative Anesthesia Care Unit) when the anesthesiologist came to get us.  He said everything went really well with anesthesia and he did a perfect job with epidural placement (if he does say so himself).  She was still asleep when we got to her, but stirred a bit off and on for a while and then went back to sleep.  We got our first good look at the ex fix on her tiny little body - and it was a bit shocking.  Luckily, we've seen pictures other moms have posted on FB groups which helped us prepare.

She spent quite a bit of time in there, so they could be sure she responded well to anesthesia and everything.  They didn't want her to wake up quickly or harshly. They did the ice cube test to see how much feeling she has in her legs/hips too.

Dr. Standard came in and said that everything during surgery went beautifully.  He did the core decompression (drilling little holes in the femur) and stem cell treatment (taking her stem cells and putting them in the femur to stimulate faster regrowth), as well as the tenotomy (releasing the tendons in that leg to allow for proper hip placement in the ex fix) and then the application of the external fixator to her bone.  He said that the ex fix is completely sturdy and "isn't going anywhere".  Good to know.  :)

Once she woke up a bit more, they transferred her to her regular room.  She's mostly numb from the epidural, but has had a few episodes of pain that we are trying to treat.  She asked to eat immediately (not a surprise!!!) and ordered Cheerios, milk and a blueberry muffin!

She wasn't sure about checking out the ex fix at first, but then was okay with it.  She got her favorite stuffed animal and played games for a bit.

Tonight hasn't been quite as easy - after eating her breakfast, her tummy started hurting, perhaps from finally eating after so long.  The site under the bandages from the tenotomy seems to be bothering her as well as where the pins are in her hip.  She got a little Valium to help her relax and help her muscles relax too.  She's going to watch a movie and then fall asleep, hopefully.

Trying to take it all in stride....We are hoping for an uneventful night and the Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapist, Social Worker and Child Life Specialist are all coming tomorrow to visit and for her first 'out of bed' experience.

Will keep with updates tomorrow.  Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers.  So far, it's as we expected, no better or worse, so that's good.  :)