About a week or so before each surgery Kambri develops a nervous lick of her lips leaving her with sores around her mouth. At first we thought it was just a coincidence but after 5 times we've decided it's caused by the stress leading up to the surgery. She always gets emotional the night before surgery & then super silly the morning of. This year has been a lot for her to process and we are proud of how well she handles it. When we started this process we worried that it would become a fight but she has been a delight & we've been amazed at her courage.
We had to check-in at 8 am this time which made for an early morning. We prefer early mornings instead of a whole day of fasting though.
My heart always sinks as they explain the risks & we sign document after document of consent.
This is the last surgery to be performed by Dr. Muntz. We have grown to love him & are extremely grateful for all that he has done for this little lady. We had a great consultation with him before surgery. He has such a fun personality and always makes us laugh.
She headed into the OR around 9:40 am. In some ways this process has become easier but saying goodbye never gets easier. It's heart-wrenching to watch your little one walk away with the anesthesiologist. It makes us emotional every single time.
Primary Children's Hospital has been under construction this year. Every time we go down something is different or moved. This time we got to be in the new waiting room. The remodel is coming along & is going to be very nice when all of it is complete.
The wait is always long. Whether it be the longest surgery or the shortest one, it always seems never-ending. This surgery was estimated to be an hour & a half long. We spent most of our time watching the Olympics which was a good distraction. Just over an hour later we got a phone call from the nurse in the OR asking for permission to take a skin graft from below her belly button. Not much information was given but we agreed.
A few years ago we pierced Kambri's ears. Both of them. Her poor nubin was super painful when they pierced it. It was infected all of the time & the earring nearly pulled out the side of the lobe so we ended up taking it out and let the hole grow in. At our last appointment with Dr. Muntz I asked if he had ever pierced ears, which he had, so I requested that they re-pierce it during surgery & he agreed.
Dr. Muntz came in about 11:30 to tell us that surgery was complete. This surgery was an extra one to fix the placement of the ear because it sat too far forward. He explained that it had been a little more involved than he expected. He was hoping to rotate the ear back 25 degrees but was only able to rotate it about 10 degrees. He was able to touch up a couple of things on the ear lobe & behind the ear, which is why they needed the skin graft.
The wait after meeting with the surgeon before we get to see her is always the longest wait of all. Finally they called us back to PACU to see her as she was waking up. She was alert when we got there & seemed to be doing well. She was still a little sleepy but she was more responsive than usual.
They kept us in PACU for a while because she still had quite a bit of bleeding they were concerned about. It wasn't long before she started throwing up. They tried to give her some anti-nauseous medicine but her IV was giving them fits. They decided to move us to Post-Op & continue to watch her.
She continued to throw up & got extremely sleepy to the point it was hard to wake her. The bleeding was slowing down but continued. Dr. Muntz doesn't usually come to post-op but he popped in to check things out. After a couple of hours the bleeding finally slowed down & she quit throwing up so then we just needed to push fluids so we could go home.
We got home just a few minutes before Grandma & Grandpa Larsen brought the boys home along with dinner and ice cream. My sister & her cute kids had left a balloon and some other surprises. Our neighbors popped in with fresh baked cookies. We are surrounded by the best of the best.
We go back down next week to get the bolster & stitches removed, then she gets a little break! She only has one more surgery. It is scheduled for December 28th. Dr. Clough Shelton will reconstruct the inner ear & restore hearing! We are so proud of this little girl & can't wait to see what the future holds for her.
BEFORE (left) * AFTER (right)
