I wanted to spend a few minutes giving an update on Eden. The surgery and recovery have gone better than we ever expected. It is an answer to so many prayers. Praise the LORD!
The actual surgery went very well. It took around 6 hours. Eden was a super patient. She was amazing at how well she did with her IV. They have a special IV room for kids. I was able to tell her what was about to happen, and she watched. I have found with Eden if I tell her what to expect that she does well. If you just spring something on her with out explaining it she freaks out. She’s a lot like her Momma in that we like to know what to expect. Eden never complained or cried while she got the IV. She spotted the princess stickers that she would get for having the IV. She was more interested in them than the IV. It also helped that we had great nurses. Once we returned to her room, she wanted the IV out, but was easily distracted.
As we waiting in the pre-op room, my focus was on keeping Eden calm. Thankfully we had a children’s care staffer that was there to help. She had an Ipad with Angry Birds and Cut the Rope to play. Eden was happily distracted while Larry and I spoke to the Anesthesiologist and the Doctor.
The hard part came when they gave Eden the meds to put her to sleep while Larry and I were still with her. It was hard to watch the medication take effect. I stayed positive and kept telling her I loved her over and over, then they rolled her out and I fell apart. I had reached my goal of not getting upset in front of her, for that I was glad. But knowing she was out of my hands, I just let myself have a good cry. Then I took a deep breath and started the beginning of the rest of the hard part, the waiting.
The waiting was made easier by some wonderful church members who came to be with us. It was so nice to have the love and support of so many people. It was a good distraction from the worry. We were also blessed with a fantastic staff from the hospital. They called every hour and half to give updates of Eden’s progress, which helped ease our fears.
Then the call came, they were finished and Dr. Fairbrother would be out to see us in a few minutes. It was OVER. I can’t tell you have relieved I was. It was like I had been holding my breath all day, and was finally able to exhale. It was over, she was ok. Thank you Jesus!
When Dr. Fairbrother came out, I asked if it would be OK to hug him and just remember saying “Thank you, thank you, it’s over!” Dr. Fairbrother told us she had done very well and that she would be able to run and play and do everything a normal child could do in a few weeks. WOW what an answer to prayer.
Then the next stage began, we we’re able to go to the post-op room and see her. She looked so little and still as she slept off the anesthesia. We were told we needed to keep her still for 4 hours as the arteries in her legs and neck began to clot. Have you ever tried to keep a 4 year old still for four hour? Yeah, it’s near impossible. I’m not going to lie, Eden waking up during the post operation time was really hard. She was in pain, she didn’t understanding what was going on, or why she felt so weird. She wanted to go home. When you child pleads with you to hold her and take her home, it will break your heart. There were lots of tears shed by both of us.
As the anesthesia cleared her system, she began to feel a little better and then became hungry. About the same time we had a knock on the door and a mother and daughter from Hailey’s Army came and brought us dinner. We’re not sure how they got our name. The lady didn’t know either. She said she just wanted to help. It was such a surprise and blessing. It was great that we didn’t have to leave in shifts or go to the cafeteria, all we needed was right there in Eden’s room.
With a little food in her system, Eden really began to perk up. And she just got better and better. By 7:00 the next morning she was back to her old self, playfully shy and sweet, wanting her baby dolls and leap frog.
As we left the hospital we entered the last hard phase, keeping her inactive for 5 days. That was a tough challenge too. Keeping her from playing outside and wrestling her brother, some of her favorite activities, was hard. We are so very thankful Larry’s parents who helped during those days. I don’t know how we would have gotten through those days without their help.
We were also blessed by our church family and friends. We received so many phone calls, texts, Facebook messages, meals and visits. We were overwhelmed with love and prayers. There were so many people praying for us and we felt the power of those prayers during all of the phases of this trial. I’m not sure how we would have come through this without the support of these wonderful people. We felt truly deeply loved by our family, friends and community.
It’s been two weeks now and Eden is doing fantastic. Her incisions and bruises have healed. She takes a baby aspirin every day, but should be finished with those in a few more weeks. Larry and I agreed last night we have seen an increase in her energy level. Oh Boy, More energy!
