Surgery Is Over

Delaney's surgery was today. It felt like she was away from us FOREVER. She came through the surgery pretty good. There was only one thing that scared us. She really didn't want to wake up for us afterwards. She's had several surgeries now and we've never had that problem before. She's doing ok now though. They removed a good portion of her intestine today and will most likely have to remove a bit more in another surgery at a later date. She's fine tonight, but is in a bit of pain that is putting her in an aggitated mood. I can certainly understand that though. I don't believe anyone is happy after a surgery like that. The surgeon and the nurses were all very nice and treated her like a princess. She's a bit of a girly-girl so they let her wear her little hairbow in the OR and even put a tiara on her. The OR staff said she was the prettiest girl they operated on all day! She took her little bear "B-Bob" with her to surgery. She was all hugged up to him when they put her to sleep and the nurse told me that even after they put her completely under, she was still clinging to him. As a matter of fact, when we saw her in recovery, she was still asleep and still holding onto him!
I'm sorry this post is so short, but I really need to get back to snuggling my little princess. I just really wanted to take time to let everyone know that Laney's surgery is over and that she is doing just fine. Please continue to keep her in your prayers as she goes through this period of recovery and gets ready for her next surgery, whenever that may be. Thank you all for praying for us! ((HUGS)) from McNabb Land!!!

Getting Ready For Surgery

As of midnight on Monday night, Delaney's diet was changed to only clear liquids. This was not such a big deal at midnight last night. She was sleeping and was not caring anything at all about eating. However, at 8:00 this morning she was madder than a hornet when she didn't get a little box of Laney-o's (cheerios) for breakfast. She's hungry and cranky and she is NOT happy about not being able to eat. She can have sprite, water, ginger ale, gatorade & jello (not red or orange), and broth. She can also have popsicles. She doesn't like anything on that menu except the sprite. It's going to be a LONG day with a SUPER cranky Laneybug!
Her surgery is tomorrow. I am nervous, but really looking forward to tomorrow. It will be so wonderful to have this surgery over with and hopefully we'll soon have a healthy Laneybug home and happy again. Please keep her in your prayers tomorrow as you go about your day. Please pray that the surgery goes well. Some patience for us as we wait for the news that the surgery is over would be great too! I will update as soon as I can tomorrow and let you know how everything goes.

Whew!!!! **SIGH**

Whew! That is a sigh of relief that last week is finally over!!! I can't believe that I made it through with my sanity still intact (somewhat anyway.) Delaney has finally healed from her surgery and is off the pain meds. She seems to have been cured of the feeding difficulties. I am no longer hearing the choking sounds when she swallows. She is also able to lick a sucker or a Popsicle without difficulty. You should have seen the happy dance her therapist did this morning! She actually sent a thank you card to the ENT that did Laney's surgery! I'm thinking maybe I should also send him a thank you.
♥♥♥♥This week will be fairly easy for us. Laney had therapy this morning, followed by a visit to the library. Now, we are at home, napping. Well, she's napping and I'm catching up on my reading. Tomorrow, we have therapy again, but the rest of the week is pretty much empty. Hooray for a slow week! We don't get alot of those. I am finally getting over this pneumonia mess I've had all week. I feel alot better. That whole "feeling like a house is sitting on my chest" feeling is not very fun.
♥♥♥♥I have to take a moment to brag on my big girl Paisley. I was pretty sick on Friday. I was trying to mop the bathroom and having alot of trouble breathing. The chemical I was using has a pretty strong smell (it bothers my asthma when I'm NOT sick) and it was taking my breath away. Well, I started to get light-headed and I don't remember much else after the dizzy feeling. Apparently, I passed out in the bathroom. Well, Paisley found me and was worried, so she got my cell phone out of my pocket and called her daddy. She told him I was on the floor and wouldn't get up and he needed to come home now. Then, she got Delaney and climbed into bed with her to wait. She was holding Laney's hand when my husband walked through the door. She was so proud to be taking care of mommy AND sissy! I'm SO PROUD of my big girl!!
♥♥♥♥Destiny is back to being happy about going to school. After just a few days of crying and not wanting to go, she was over it. She went to school this morning without any problems. I just don't know what comes over her. We have weeks without any problems. Then suddenly, she just doesn't want to leave this house. We never know what mood she's going to be in when she wakes up in the morning. I'm always glad when we can send her off to school with that smile on her face though! ♥♥♥♥One last thing. My mom is at the doctor today, for the consult for the lumpectomy she will be having. Please continue to keep her in your prayers. We are hoping that she does not have breast cancer.

Update After Surgery

Delaney before surgery
I'm sorry it has taken me so long to post an update. Delaney had her surgery today and came through fine. I was shocked by how long the surgery took and was in the waiting room pacing for what felt like an eternity. It was a relief when they finally let us back to see her. I can't get over how much pain she is in. Her face, mouth, and tongue is swollen. It wasn't so bad at first, but as the day wore on the swelling got much worse. She has been crying most of the day and the pain meds don't even seem to take the edge off. It scares me that she won't eat anything or drink much at all, but I know if my mouth was swollen and sore like that I probably wouldn't feel like eating or drinking either.
Her little tongue, right after surgery, already looked different. I know that's a good thing, since it was causing all the feeding and swallowing and speech issues, but man-oh-man I'm going to miss that little heart-shaped tongue! Like I said yesterday though, I can't wait to hear her start talking and calling me momma! I need to get back to taking care of my Laneybug now, but I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for praying for our little sweetie today. We really appreciate the love and support from all of you! God bless you all.

Delaney after surgery

Good-bye....Hello

Tomorrow morning we will say good-bye to a unique trait that we have grown so very fond of, and hello to a new normal. Our precious Delaney will be having surgery that, among other things, will change the shape of her adorable little tongue. We will no longer see the heart-shaped tip when she sticks out her her beautiful little tongue. No, after tomorrow's surgery, she will have a pointed tongue, just like everyone else. I'm ashamed to say that this makes me sad. I have always thought that her heart-shaped tongue was a feature that set her apart from everyone else. Don't get me wrong, I love everything about our sweet girl, but her tongue is just so very unique to me, as I have never seen anyone else with a heart-shaped tip.
The surgeon assures me that her tongue will look normal after the surgery is over. It will not change the shape of her mouth, or the way she smiles. It will simply enable her to eat better and swallow better. It will also make it easier for her to suck on her pacifier. She's always had to put her sassy in the right side of her mouth. It's always put me in mind of a cigar smoker with the way it hangs there to the side. We just thought it was cute. I had no idea it was the subtle hint of a mouth issue. We know now, and are willling to do anything that will make Laney's life easier. So along with fixing her tongue, they will also be removing some excess tissue from inside her mouth and near her tonsils. We hope and pray that this will be the first steps to resolve her speech issues. I long to hear my sweet girl call me "momma" for the first time!

So tomorrow, we kiss her little heart-shaped tip good-bye. I am more than ready for this surgery to be over and quite anxious to see her speech and eating improve. I guess losing a heart-shaped tongue is a small price to pay to hear that sweet little mouth form the words we've all been longing to hear her say. I am grateful that it's being fixed. I promise, I really am grateful.

But, I'd be lying if I said I'm not going to miss photographing this sweet little heart-shaped tongue!
♥♥♥♥

Please, if you will, keep my Laney in your prayers tomorrow as she is undergoing her surgery. This momma is not looking forward to letting go of her precious babe and placing her in the hands of a surgeon for 1.5 hours. I'm already looking forward to when I can see her after the surgery is over!

Please Pray

I spent most of the night praying for a way to get Laney to the hospital this morning so that she could go to her appointment. My prayers were answered this morning when my sister-in-law offered to lend me her car for the morning! Laney and I went to her appointment and are home now.
Dr. G (her ENT) said that her tonsils and adnoids are okay for now, but she has an extreme frenulum that will have to be repaired. Unfortunately, because the frenulum is so extreme and because of Laney's age and other health issues, we have to be admitted into the hospital for the surgery. So my sweet little Laneybug will be admitted Monday morning for the surgery. Please be in prayer for her (and us, as we are ALWAYS nervous when she is put to sleep!) on Monday. Her stomach surgery is scheduled for Friday (just 4 days later) at a different hospital) and the ENT said it would be perfectly ok to go ahead with that procedure, as well, but I'm considering rescheduling Friday. I think that's just an awful lot for Laney to have to go through in one week! I'd like to give her a reprieve between hospital visits. I pray that I am able to make the right decision for Delaney! Thank you all for your prayers for my sweet girl. I will let you know what I decide about the tummy surgery, as soon as I make the decision. Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!
♥♥♥♥Also, please be in prayer for my friend, Elaine, and her entire family. Her sister, Brook, is going through a medical crisis. I'm not sure what the diagnosis is, but I know that we all need to storm the gates of heaven on her behalf! Elaine, we love you and are praying that everything turns out okay for Brook. Please keep us posted!

Delaney's Surgery Update

I am so very sorry that it has taken me so long to post this. I have been having a bit of trouble with my Internet. I keep getting bumped offline for some reason. Anyway.....on to the update.
We went Thursday, to Chattanooga for Delaney's surgery. It was actually done on Friday morning. She did well during the procedure. I was very pleased with how well she did. It was a little overwhelming for us, of course. I was not expecting her eyes to bleed afterwards. I also was not expecting her to be so nauseous for so long after. When she wasn't throwing up, she was sleeping. When she wasn't doing that, she was crying those awful bloody tears! But I digress...
She made it through and we were able to bring her home on Sunday morning. Delaney did have a bit of an elevated temperature and was a bit tachycardic after the surgery, but all in all, she did fantastic and we are thrilled! I am also thrilled to report that Delaney seems to be seeing better than before, though only time (and a follow up appointment) will tell! Thank you all for your continued prayers. Please pray that we do not have to do this again! I don't think I can take anymore stress. I need a break!!
On an unrelated note....PLEASE pray for Stellan. He is MckMama's little baby boy. He is in the hospital having SVT's. This is Supra Ventricular Tachycardia. It is very serious and his heart rate has been up to 300bpm for too long now. Please pray and send them all strength to deal with this.

Live from Chattanooga

We are here, in Chattanooga for Delaney's surgery, which will take place tomorrow (Friday, March 20, 2009) at the Children's Hospital. Please keep her in your prayers tomorrow as you go about your day. Her surgery will begin early (still not sure what time) and I'm not sure how long it will last. The surgeon will be able to tell us more info in the morning. I am so nervous about this. If you feel compelled to, please pray for my husband and I also. We live so far away from this hospital that none of our family was able to come be with us during her surgery, so we will be going through this alone, with only each other for support. Pray that we feel peace and patience during her surgery. I will update on how she is doing as soon as I can tomorrow. Or you can follow my updates on Twitter. thank you all for your prayers!

Look Who Is Finally Home!!!

Just look how good my sweet Delaney looks in these pictures! She came home yesterday and I got the pleasure of spending a few hours with her in the privacy of our home! It was great to be able to pick her up, hold her, and snuggle her without someone coming in to poke and prod her every half hour. She has been doing remarkably well for the last 24 hours and has been in such a great mood. She was thrilled to see her little chihuahua puppy again. His name is Tatertot. But she calls him Tot-Tot. I am so happy to have 2 of my girls home again. Now we just need to get Paisley better again, and the family will be complete again. Please keep praying for Delaney. Her surgery is the 20th of this month and I am worried about her having surgery again, so soon after being so sick. I always worry when they have to anesthetize one of my little ones anyway though. Several of you have asked what is wrong with Delaney's eyes that requires surgery. I'm sorry. I completely forget sometimes that not everyone knows us as well as some others do. Delaney had a staph infection (in her eye) as a very young infant (still in NICU). She was eventually diagnosed with Lacrimal Duct Stenosis. Not sure if it is related to the staph or not?? I was taking her to the eye doctor for the LDS. They eye doctor diagnosed her with Strabismus, which is a condition where your eyes don't look toward the same object together. One eye moves normally, while the other points inward (called esotropia.) This misalignment of eyes caused her to develop amblyopia. Long story short, they are going to be repairing the LDS and also the amblyopia. The amblyopia is pretty severe in her case and she is also farsighted. They tell me that everything she sees is blurry and that she only has vision in one eye anyway because the brain has shut off the signals to her right eye. Keep her in your prayers that this surgery will correct her vision and not make a bad situation worse (there is a risk of total blindness with the surgery).

Paisley is improving. She only has the "pop and crackle sound" in her right lung now. The doctor says the pneumonia is clearing up finally. We may be able to bring her home soon. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she improves quickly! I think we're finally out of the woods now with her. She lost another pound this week. I swear, she'll be super-model thin before this is over. She is eating a little better than before. She ate a chicken nugget and an apple slice yesterday. I think once the nausea subsides, she'll take up eating with a vengeance. Thank you all again for the prayers. I know that is what is helping us right now. I will try to post later and let everyone know how Paisley is doing today after the doc makes his rounds. God bless you all!

A prayer request and a surgery change

Well, I spent a month dreading today. Now I feel deflated. Delaney's surgery was rescheduled for February 16th. We had so much snow on the roads that I couldn't get out to take her to Chattanooga last night. I called the after hours nurse and had to cancel. I feel so bad that it was put off for so long! I know that it will be a great relief to Laney to get this over with. I hate her having to wake up for another month with her eyes matted shut. I also hate having to wait another month before I can let her wear her glasses so that she can see the bright colors of the world around her.
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On another serious note, Delaney has another appointment set up with her cardiologist. She scared me SO BAD on Tuesday night. I put her to sleep with the same routine I always do. She had been acting a little fussy during the afternoon. I laid her in her bed and covered her up with her blankie. She went right to sleep. She usually wakes up at around 2 or 2:30 a.m. for formula. She's on the Elecare for older babies. I kind of have an internal alarm in my mind that goes off at around 2 every morning. So, when she didn't wake me up I got a little worried. I went to her bed and she just didn't look right to me. I reached down to feel her pulse at her neck and she was so cold. I couldn't find her pulse so I panicked. I jerked her up out of her bed and brought her to our bed. I was stripping her clothes off and rubbing her hands and feet trying to stimulate her, all the while screaming at my husband to wake up. We took classes in child CPR at the hospital before they would let us bring her home. I just never thought I would ever have to use it on my child. I was so scared. When rubbing her little feet didn't get her to wake up I picked her up and kind of jarred her a little. As I was moving her little (almost call it limp) body I was crying to my husband to call 911. He got the phone and I started to do CPR. My screaming had woke up the whole house by this point. Strange thing is, Destiny (remember she's 7) just calmly went to the bathroom and got a cold, wet wash cloth and brought it over and started rubbing it across Laney's tummy and she woke right up! It was the strangest thing I've ever seen. I don't know what made Destiny think to do that, but I was very grateful that my kid is so clever. Told you she was the smartest 2nd grader on the planet!!! Anyway....the doctor put her on an apnea monitor to be on the safe side. This is not the first time she has done this. The first time was actually while she was still in the hospital. This is the first time she has ever been THIS difficult to wake up. They don't know if it has anything to do with the hole in her heart or if she is just simply getting too comfortable when she sleeps. It could be apnea. They've given me a ton of "could be's" but not a solid reason. So I just ask that you keep her in your prayers. We'll take all the prayers we can get sent out.

An Update and a Prayer Request

I am happy to report that we are all back home! Paisley is doing great. When they repeated her x-rays her lungs looked clear. No more pneumonia. She is back to normal...up playing and driving me crazy already! Not much else to report this weekend.
********* We take Delaney to Chattanooga on Wednesday. I dread the surgery, but I am looking forward to her eyes being fixed. The constant infections are hard on her and I hate having to hold her down to clean her eyes out all the time. I will be glad to finally throw the eye ointments away. I also look forward to her being able to see better. The doctor tells me that her vision now is so blurry and distorted. I'm sure she will be shocked to discover what the world really looks like!
*********Also, I have been following Kelly's Korner. Please visit this site and join me in prayer for little Harper.

A Crazy Week

It has been awhile since I have posted. My little Paisley came down with a bad case of pneumonia (both lungs!!) and we have been in the hospital. I have had an exhausting week. I am happy to report that Paisley is feeling a little better now. She is off the oxygen and her O2 Sat's are staying steady!!! She was pretty sick there for awhile and had me worried. She's such a strong little girl. She was upset that she had to miss school. I look forward to maybe sending her back Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.
*********** We go to Chattanooga on Wednesday for Delaney's eye surgery. I am getting really nervous about it. I hate it whenever they have to put her to sleep. I know that this surgery will make her eyes all better and I'm really looking forward to that. I just dread all the misery she'll go through in the first few days following the procedure. She's been really cranky lately. Her stomach has been giving her some problems. Her little intestines just get so twisted up. The G.I. doc raised her dosage on the tummy meds and it seemed to help a little. She woke up one night at 11PM and screamed and cried until after 4AM! I just held her and rocked her. Not really alot more than that could be done. I hate when she gets stomach aches like that....makes me feel useless.
*********** Destiny is doing really good. Her report card this week was perfect! I'm so proud of her! She has been so great while Delaney and Paisley have been sick. She is such a super helper. I'm really going to have to take some time to spend with just her when the surgery is over and Delaney is home and feeling better. I'd like to take her to the Children's Museum or someplace fun and get some one-on-one time with her. She doesn't seem to mind that I don't manage to find alot of time for her, but I do. I miss spending time with my first born.
*********** In other news, Bobby goes to the neurosurgeon at the end of the month. They will be repeating all of his scans. I believe they are going to be doing his next surgery in early February. Hopefully, this next one will be successful in draining that syrinx.....fingers crossed!!!!

I will try to be more persistent in posting.