Brynlee's 4th Surgery

On Friday, May 24th, at barely 3 years old, Brynlee had your 4th surgery for her cleft palate repair. We drove up to Salt Lake Thursday and brought along with us Grandma Felecia, so she could take care of Cason while we focused on Brynlee. We got up there in the afternoon, checked into our hotel room at the Hampton Inn (its really fancy but they give us a discount because of Brynlee), got some food, and took a dip in the pool. Both of the kids LOVE the water, and it was nice to relieve some stress before tomorrow. We got to bed early and prepped for the long weekend ahead of us, starting with no food or drink after midnight.

 

 

That morning Felecia dropped off Russ, myself, and Brynlee at the hospital and she stayed at the room with Cason. As soon as we walked up to the hospital, Brynlee knew what was going on, and she wanted us to carry her. We checked in, did all the paperwork, the nurses made sure she was ready for surgery, and before we knew we were in the waiting room for her to be taken back. By far the hardest part of the process for me is handing off our sweet little girl to the doctors and staff. I feel like this part doesn't get any easier the more surgeries she has.

We stayed in a different waiting room, waiting to hear news that the surgery is done and Brynlee is waiting for us in the recovery room. Your dad would not leave the room for a second, worried that the moment he does, you would be ready. I went downstairs and got us some breakfast.

Soon enough, we got the page that the surgery was done and we met up with our surgeon, Dr. Warnock. He told us that he felt that everything went really well (a good sign, but not too reassuring, considering every surgeon says the same thing). I met you in the recovery room (they only let one parent in). You were just waking up, definitely groggy, and beginning to feel the pain associated with the surgery. We had a very nice nurse attending to you. He gave you pain and nausea meds right away, and that made you more comfortable. Soon, you drifted back to sleep, snoring as you did (from all the inflammation).

As soon as you were stable, we wheeled you upstairs to your room where you stayed for another day. Grandma Felecia and Cason, Grandma Trina, Great Grandma and Grandpa Sillitoe, Bruce, Laura, Shaun, Tysa, and Logan all came to visit you while you were in the hospital. You got presents, lots of ice cream and chocolate milk, and rides around the floor in a wagon with Cason. We enjoyed looking and all the pretty paintings and decorations. You were miserable, but did really well.

 

 

It has been 3 months since your surgery and I am so happy to say you are doing really well (finally!). You never get food up your nose anymore, and rarely any fluid, which is a HUGE success! I don't know if you learned how to control it, or your mouth has just had time to heal, or both, but we are so happy and looking forward to some time with no surgeries!