eye surgery
This morning we headed in bright and early for Addison's Strabismus (misaligned eyes) surgery. As this was Addison's fourth surgery, I was relatively calm about it. But it always makes me a little sick inside knowing how miserable she'll be waking up from general anesthesia- not to mention I had no idea what the recovery would be like having eye muscle cut and restitched.
Addison was in such good spirits and didn't complain once about the fact that she hadn't had anything to eat since her last bottle the night before.
They told me to put her in their hospital gown (which made no sense to me since they were operating on her
eyes...why couldn't she just keep her comfy sleeper on?) But obediently, we put on their smallest sized gown...
I went in with her to the OR (first time I've done this) and held her while they put her to sleep. She was squirming and it took 4 people to hold her down. In one sense it broke my heart...in another, I was PROUD of my little fighter. The gas was bubblegum flavored and she kept exuberantly licking the mask. (After she woke up and was fully concious, the first thing she did was sign "more" LOL)
The surgery was very quick (she was in the OR for maybe an hour) compared to her past surgeries, and literally she was in her recovery room five minutes when they were unhooking her and saying we could take her home. There were no complications in the surgery- it was textbook. We'll know over the next few weeks how well it worked to straighten her eyes, but the surgeon seemed very hopeful.
She did get quite upset waking up from the general anesthesia. I was holding her tightly trying to calm her, but her breath smelled quite strongly of the bubblegum anesthesia and it made me very sick to my stomach...and then when I looked down at the tears she was wiping on my shirt and saw that it was blood, I almost lost it. But mommyhood makes you strong...strong enough to keep comforting through the nausea.
When I was driving her home, I looked back to see this:
Poor baby. As the morning progressed, there was a LOT more blood and crusties around her eyes, but I'll spare you the more graphic pictures (you are welcome)
Addison is NOT a cuddler- she never has let me snuggle with her (it usually results in a black eye or almost loss of a tooth when I try). But when we got home, after a short stint in her crib, all she wanted to do was to be held (but not if I was going to sit down....I had to be walking and moving...WOW she gets heavy after a while) I enjoyed holding her close to me and soothing her best I could....just the fact that she would let me hold her like this for an extended period of time tells you just how poorly she was feeling...
Addison was in such good spirits and didn't complain once about the fact that she hadn't had anything to eat since her last bottle the night before.
Addison quickly worked both legs into one leg hole.
The surgery was very quick (she was in the OR for maybe an hour) compared to her past surgeries, and literally she was in her recovery room five minutes when they were unhooking her and saying we could take her home. There were no complications in the surgery- it was textbook. We'll know over the next few weeks how well it worked to straighten her eyes, but the surgeon seemed very hopeful.
She did get quite upset waking up from the general anesthesia. I was holding her tightly trying to calm her, but her breath smelled quite strongly of the bubblegum anesthesia and it made me very sick to my stomach...and then when I looked down at the tears she was wiping on my shirt and saw that it was blood, I almost lost it. But mommyhood makes you strong...strong enough to keep comforting through the nausea.
When I was driving her home, I looked back to see this:
Addison is NOT a cuddler- she never has let me snuggle with her (it usually results in a black eye or almost loss of a tooth when I try). But when we got home, after a short stint in her crib, all she wanted to do was to be held (but not if I was going to sit down....I had to be walking and moving...WOW she gets heavy after a while) I enjoyed holding her close to me and soothing her best I could....just the fact that she would let me hold her like this for an extended period of time tells you just how poorly she was feeling...
She's now been asleep for over three hours...last I checked on her she had put her head under her pillow to make it darker for herself.
I hate to see her hurting, but I know that this surgery was important so that she can start using her eyes together and hopefully save her from vision loss further on. Thankfully we were able to have it done before she turned 2 as her doctor said that the surgery success rate is then higher.
I have stocked up on m&ms and cheetos (her two favorite things) to continue the healing process after she wakes up...although the m&m stash is taking quite the hit the longer she sleeps (I tried to sleep and couldn't get over the smell of her bubblegum flavored anesthesia breathe that was still haunting me...the m&ms are helping)
Please feel better soon, Addison!!!!
Thank you all so much for your prayers and kind comments. The surgery went as well as it possible could. We are thankful!