Surgery Day

So, like I said before, I was really nervous for this surgery. I know it's nothing major, but it still makes a mother nervous to watch someone else take their child and know they are being put out and cut on. Even if the cut is 1/4 an inch long! So, the reason for the surgery is that without lengthening the Achilles Tendon, the feet will be stiff, and return to their original placement. After all these weeks, there is no way I want to do that again! It is a minor procedure where they sedate her and cut the Achilles Tendon. They then place a final set of casts on to allow the tendon to regenerate and lengthen. This set stays on for three weeks, but it is the last set she will ever have to wear!

Rusty and I planned everything we could to try to make this better for Brylee. Her surgery time was 7:30 am so she couldn't have anything to eat or drink after 1:30 am. Other than the anaesthesia, this made me the most nervous. I wasn't sure how she would do not only without food, but without her Prevacid. We woke her up at 1:00 am to feed her her last bottle. She ate, and after some tummy trouble, went back to sleep like a champ. I don't think I slept more than a couple hours that night. I was so scared that my alarm wouldn't go off and I would miss her feeding or that we would sleep in and miss her surgery time. Rusty and I were up at 4:30 am and got everything ready. The last thing we did was change her diaper and put her in her car seat asleep. She slept all the way to Phoenix Children's and woke up as we were pulling into the parking lot. She couldn't have been more perfect! We got her checked in and they soon took us back to pre-op. This is when I started to get nervous. I have always been the one walking around in scrubs talking to the patients, not the mother of a patient. Life is much different from this end! The anaesthesiologist came and explained everything to us. I must have looked scared because I wasn't saying anything but he kept putting his hand on my back and saying "We will take good care of her Mom, I promise!" She threw a fit for about 10 minutes while we waited for Dr. Segal to get there, and when she realized we weren't going to feed her, she went back to sleep. Seriously, my child is a trooper!

The hardest part was when the nurse came and sat by me. I knew what she was doing. I just looked at her and said " You are going to take my baby aren't you?" She kinda laughed and said "Uh, yes". I passed off my baby to complete strangers knowing that was what was best for her. But let me tell all the mothers out there who haven't experienced this.....it SUCKS! However, I knew Dr. Segal, and I trust him totally. So, I let my baby go. Rusty promptly escorted me out to the waiting area as I cried. Good thing our parents were there! It's always nice to have that support.

After about 45 minutes, Dr. Segal walked out and told us it went great! He told us that it was for sure the tendon that was holding back her progress. Ten minutes later they let us back to see her. I came around the corner and there she was with the mask on and an IV screaming! I immediately took her and let her eat. Her tummy must have been a little upset because she threw up most of the first half of her bottle. She was really upset for the first 15 minutes, so they moved us to a quiet room so she could scream without disturbing everyone else. After that, she fell asleep hard. We got her dressed and the nurse took out her IV so we could go home. I have never been so glad to have something over!

All in all I couldn't have planned it to go any better than it did. Brylee was such a champ! She slept most of the rest of the day, which I was grateful for. With not much sleep under my belt I think I would have had a hard time with her being really fussy. Now, we wait for three weeks until she can have a FULL BATH!!!!! I can't express how much I am looking forward to giving her a real bath! I can't wait to see her play and kick in the water. Hopefully she likes it more than the baths she gets now, because she usually cries through those! Here are some pics from our big day! Thanks also for the well wishes! It was really appreciated!

Hanging with Dad before the surgery.

Ok! Seriously I am hungry!


Me wondering why he's taking a picture of me right after she threw up. If you look at her face I think she is wondering the same thing. Crazy DADDY!

Finally starting to settle down.


Look how far out her feet are turned! They are supposed to be that way, but she now looks kinda like a duck!