Riley's Surgery :)

Well, it's all over and done with... and I hope I NEVER have to do something like this again!

Riley's surgery was a success. She won the hearts of all her nurses, her anesthesiologist and her doctor.

Everyone said she was great and did just wonderful!

Here she is getting her Pre-Surgery bath last night.

We arrived at the Surgery Center at 8:15 this morning. We got her all signed in. Pastor Jonathan (or as Chandler calls him, Pastor Jon-fin) was there as our "support team". He was great! Thanks Jonathan!!

They called us back to talk through the surgery. Riley got her gown (it was huge, but the smallest one they had... it made me sad. I kept thinking, "if she's too little for the gown, she's too little to be having surgery!")

I had to tie it super tight in the back just to make sure it didn't fall off of her shoulders!

We met the anesthesiologist, Jaclyn. She was great and made me feel a WHOLE lot better about leaving Riley. She showed me the instruments that she would be using and explained how they work and what Riley would be feeling.

They took her back to her room and we were left alone... I had to stop in the bathroom to dry my face before heading back to the waiting room.
This is where I'm extra thankful for Jonathan. We talked about the complications with his fence and how NOT to have a fence built. We talked about Royal Rangers. We talked about new cars and old cars... basically, we talked about everything BUT Riley's surgery. It made the time FLY by and before I knew it it was time to make a bottle for Riley to take to the recovery room.

Here she is "recovering". It was pitiful. She had that bandage on her head. The brown wrap is covering the IV. They told me that she kept chewing on the IV tube! She was still hooked up to all of the monitors. Her heart rate was almost 150 when we got in there.... she was MAD! After I held her and she calmed down a little and it went back down to 120.
She was anxious to get that IV out. When the nurse pulled the tape off Riley jerked her arm and the needle popped out making blood squirt everywhere!

Jonathan helped us load her up in the car and we headed home.

We had to make a stop at Walgreens for bandages, tylenol and a prescription ointment for the incision. Riley was ready to get home. Doesn't she look pitiful!!

Surgery did NOT have a profound effect on her appetite! The nurses fed her an 8oz bottle as soon as she woke up. When we got home she had some toasted corn cereal, a slice of bread and some apple juice.

Currently she's taking a good long nap. She is worn out.

Last night was a horrible night! She went to bed at 9:15, woke at 12:45 (45 minutes too late to eat... she wasn't allowed food after midnight) and didn't go back to sleep until 4:00am!!! Hopefully tonight will be better!

Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes! We have the best family and friends in the world!