Surgery Day!

We've experienced a wide range of emotions over the last few days.  She has spent a lot of time in tears.  So many unknowns have made her uneasy.  Both sets of grandparents joined us last night for dinner.  Grandma Larsen gave a lesson on the Priesthood and Grandma Strawn gave the most beautiful prayer on our behalf.  Then Grandpa Larsen, Grandpa Strawn & Jared gave us (Jared, Kambri and I) each a Priesthood blessing.  It was beautiful and perfect in every way.

She woke up cheerful this morning, ready to conquer the world.  She was quite excited about the fact that she could only have apple juice or sprite to drink but that didn't last long before she realized that wasn't quite as cool as it sounded.  She was sure that she would die of starvation at any moment.  It nearly broke her heart when I told her she had to miss lunch as well.

Tears rolled down her cheeks almost the whole way to Primary's.  Mine too.  I climbed in the backseat with her and we held hands and watched music videos of inspiring songs like "Fight Song" (her favorite) and "Stronger".  Then we watched funny YouTube videos of people coming out of anesthesia to ease our discomfort.  She warned me that she might call me an elephant.

We've come to Primary Children's Hospital many times but today was different.  My eyes welled with tears as I watched my baby girl walk down the hall to face something absolutely terrifying to her and also to her dad and I.

She didn't move off of Jared's lap in the first waiting room.  I don't think she hardly uttered a word.  Jared and I gave her pep talks of courage, bravery and how to be strong.

Finally they called her name.  Are we really ready for this I wondered.  We followed the nurse into a little room where they took her vitals and prepped her for surgery.  As soon as we entered the room a sense of peace came over all three of us and has remained with us all day.

There are good doctors and nurses all over but there is something extra special about those who work here at Primary Children's.  They go above and beyond to ease any discomfort.

Then on to the next waiting room.  At first she spent her time on Jared's lap but by the end of our stay she was making her way happily around the playroom.  It was a special time for us.  She had our undivided attention and we snuck in thousands of nubin kisses.

Dr. Muntz came in to discuss the procedure with us one last time.  She was a little warmer to him this time, not cheerful but tolerant at least ;).  She was making lunch for Jared & I in the play kitchen when he entered, he joked about having a kitchen to play with for kids who are fasting.

Then the anesthesiologist came in to give us the run down and at 2:34 pm my heart was wheeled away to the operating room.

We walked with her as far as we were allowed, said our goodbyes and then watched her go down the hall and into the operating room.

We walked down the hall and into the elevator.  We had a split second alone in that elevator.  We wrapped each other in a hug and let the tears flow for just a moment.

Then we headed to yet another waiting room to wait...and wait....and wait....

Our time in the waiting room was precious.  When you sit in a community waiting room you can't help but over hear the story of other patients.  There were parents of a boy who had heart surgery and was in ICU.  My heart ached for his mother.  We are lucky to know the results.  We know the outcome.  We know that everything will be ok.  Some parents don't have that peace & comfort.  It was heart wrenching for me to watch Kambri go down that hall, I can't even begin to imagine what it might be like if there was uncertainty of the outcome.  It made me extra grateful for our circumstances.