Surgery Day and God's faithfulness!

Exhale......... That is how I feel tonight, that it is time to exhale! I have to begin by saying thank you to every one who has lifted us up in prayer the past couple days, we have felt them tremendously! Every text, email, phone call, has been a source of encouragement.

Friday morning came early as the alarm sounded at 3:45am, Chris and I got ready as quietly as possibly, trying not to wake Collin until minutes before it was time to leave. Usually the morning of any event or stressful time, I feel the uneasiness down deep in my stomach, its kind of a nauseous anxious feeling. I was pleased to wake up without that at all. We snatched Collin from his bed in his jammies and headed to the hospital. Collin did not fall back asleep instead he was wide awake and ready for action. We went through the whole admission process with the nurse as Collin was semi cooperative ;). We got Collin changed into his hospital gown and spent our in between time watching playhouse Disney!

 



Just finished being admitted.

 We were blessed to have my parents and one of my best friends, Lesley, their with us to show their support! Chris' parents kept Carter for us so we will be able to focus our full attention on Collin. We prayed over Collin before the doctors came in and truly felt the presence of God in our midst. I had prayed for peace and calmness but I never imagined I could be so calm. They gave Collin some medicine that makes him loopy so that the separation wouldn't be so difficult. Chris and I were able to go down with him to the pre-surgery waiting area. We waited for the loopy medicine to kick in. It was quite comical as we waited in this area with other patients and their parents. It was sort of like a party. Most of the kids were either passed out of looking extremely silly. Then the nurses began handing out stickers, pinwheels, sunglasses, and it began to seem like we had walked into the fair. The anesthesiologist spoke with us about how she would be sedating him and about the breathing tube and so forth, which was a little overwhelming. Then it was time to let him go. I won't lie, I did not want to let him out of my arms. A part of me wanted to tell them we had changed our mind. But with one deep breath I handed him, paci, and puppy into the Dr's arms. Thankfully his medicine had kicked in and he didn't cry. That doesn't mean that I didn't cry. (they should give the parents the medicine ;) My eyes glassed over with tears but after a big hug from Chris and a prayer, I felt peaceful. We went and met up with my parents and Les in the cafeteria and then went to the surgery waiting room and waited, and waited, and waited. For the first 90 minutes, I felt pretty good. I was able to breathe, laugh, and have good conversation with everyone. That last 30 minutes I was definitely ready for the pager to go off, and sure enough it did.  

Our Rockstar!

Waiting for surgery.....

Chris and I were able to go to the recovery room to see him. I have to admit that we were taken back by how puney he looked. I had prepared myself for everything pre-surgery but I didn't realize he would look that way post surgery. His lips were swollen and he had a sore on his mouth from the breathing tube. His face was swollen and he had an oxygen mask on. Then his cast was much bigger than we expected. Then we noticed that they had put a cast on his puppies hand which made us laugh. They moved Collin to the impatient unit and we all just watched him sleep. He didn't really wake up until a few hours later. When he did, I tried to hold him but because of the weight of his cast it was more comfortable for him to lay in his bed. He stayed pretty out of it the entire day. Staying the night in the hospital is never fun and it wasn't for him either. He had a restless night and I got zero sleep but we survived.

Right after surgery

  

Puney.....

 


Collin and Puppy both have casts ;)

 

 Today he seems to be getting back to himself a little more. He is trying to get back to sitting up and walking without falling over to the side. Because of his cast his balance is off and he is trying to adjust to doing things with his cast. He has done as well as any 16 month old I know could. Absolutely amazing how he has dealt with it all. He is our little trooper.

Getting ready to be discharged from the hospital

 God has been so faithful to our family this weekend. We felt God's peace like never before, Collin responded to anesthesia without getting sick, he is adjusting well to his cast besides the first time he noticed it when he slapped it over and over and yelled at it ;), the Dr's said the surgery went great and we are expecting wonderful results when his cast is removed, answer after answer after answer. Thank you again for all the prayers and support it truly has been an awesome experience. It has not been fun to see my baby in pain but it has been amazing to experience God's faithfulness and peace.