Post op, bound!

So, as I posted in my last blog, Big had surgery on the 19th. We arrived at around 6:15am to the surgical center, it was very relaxing and the modern decor put our minds at ease that this was a safe and healthy enviorment. Big had no idea what was about to happen, no matter how many times we explained it to her, all she seemed to get was that they were going to "fix her eyes." I'm kind of glad that she didn't quite understand what was going on. So when we arrived, my parents, grandma and husband's mom arrived as well. We sat around enjoying the large tropical fish aqauriam they had in the lobby, me personally, was silently freaking out. At around 7am, they called us back and we changed Big into a gown and answered the nurse's many questions. I mentioned to her that I may have malignant hypothermia. {which means that I have a severe reaction to anastesia, where I get a fever of over 106 degrees and my heart rate drops dangerously low. It is also genetic.} Big only had 1 gripe about having to change, the cap for her head didn't match her gown. {wow, my child or what?}

She was so happy and even told the second nurse that came in, that they had already taken her blood pressure and heart rate. At 7:30 they took her back to the operating room. My husband and I went back into the waiting room with our family. Okay, so the Dr explained that the surgery should take about an hour and 15 minutes. So when 9am rolled around and a nurse came out and second that some complications had occred so they were just now starting the second eye, our stomachs turned. They assured us that Big was okay and everything was fine. So, finally at 10am, a nurse {who was very serious mind you} came out and said that the Dr would be out to get us in about 10 minutes. 25 minutes later, the Dr came out and asked us to follow her back, the moment we turned the corner and went into the "death room" {you know that room you see in the movies and tv shows where the Dr takes the family and says 'im sorry, we did all we could'? ya, that room.} So I'm not sure what happened to me, but no words were coming out of my mouth. My mom blurted out, "Is, Chloe okay?" the Dr, smiled and said "Yes, here's what happened." So we sat and the Dr explained that when she started the first eye, she inserted her thin needle and fluid began to come out, she said she knew she hadn't gone in too deep, or hit the eye iself, so she called a specialist {who, took 15 minutes to call her back, asshole} who told her that everything was fine. So she continued. Then the same thing happened to the other eye. When they were cleaning up and removing the protective cover from over Big's nose and body, they noticed that a mucus type slime was pouring out of her nose and mouth. Then they noticed that some of it had seeped into her eyes while they were operating. {of fucking course! excuse my french} So they cleaned her up and rolled her into recovery. The Dr imediatly called an infectious disease Dr, who was in surgery and would call her back. So back to us in the room, we were still awaiting the call from the specialst, and the Dr said since she was under for longer then planned, it was taking a while for her to wake up. THEN she said, "also, does cystic fibrosis run in the family?" We all looked at eachother and shook our heads no. She then said that when they saw the mucus a nurse said it could be a symptom on CF {I believe at this moment I went pale and began to shake} She said to go back into the waiting room and she would call us back when Big was awake. So we walked out and I went to a corner and balled my eyes out for a good 5 minutes. Finally they called us back! When we walked into the recovery room, Big was yelling at the nurse to "please stop touching me" at that moment we knew she was okay. {she gets the polite rudeness from me lol} We sat down and I rubbed her shoulder, saying "mama was here" she fell back to sleep.

While waiting for the infectious disease Dr to call back, we just sat their and prayed. We prayed that Big would see just the same, and that no infection would occur. We also prayed that the CF mentioning was just a stupid guess. {no offense to those with CF, but I doubt they would wish it on anyone} The Dr said that Big's pedi will be able to do a test to rule that out. Finally the specialist called back and said he was prescribing an antibiotic to make sure their would be no infection. He also said that the eye drops would be sufficent enough to kill the infection if one was already brewing. Big was waking up more and asking for some juice, which was a good sign.

The Dr reminded us that Big's eyes were going to be extremely swollen and blood shot, she mentioned that she once had a boy who didnt open his eyes for a whole week. She asked us to schedule a post op appointment for the next day, just to make sure everything is going smoothly. Finally at around noon we were discharged! {yipee!} Big slept the whole car ride home and for a little while after we got home. Her eyes were completely shut, and her little friends from school dropped off a present, Big asked me to describe to her in detail what all she got. She didn't even freak out that she couldn't see, it was truly inspiring. {I know i would've been the biggest baby ever}That night my husband slept in Big's room, while Big slept in our bed with me. {as if i slept} She would wake up randomly, eyes still closed, saying "mama? you there?" I would say yes mama's here. It broke my heart. So when we got home, Big ate a bit of soup, which she then threw up about 2 hours later. So at her post op appointment the Dr explained that she was doing very well, and Big began to open her eyes a bit, not enough for us to see them, but enough for her to see. She got a good score on everything! {beyond stoked on that} The Dr reminded us to do the drops 3 times a day. {ummm i dont know about you all but my 4 year old must be the strongest toddler around. It took 3 grown adults to hold her down and force the drops in. Ya, fun right?} So when we got home, Big opened her eyes more and more. Finally she opened them all the way!

Today, she is back to her normal self. Singing and dancing and having tea parties. I just love her to pieces and would take away all her pain if I could. But dont let how she looks fool you, she's not letting it get her down one bit! :D

thanks for reading