Tuesday, June 7, 2016 - Surgery #4

Surgery #4!  It's been a long year yet at the same time I feel like time is flying by.  I can't believe we are this far in the process already.

They always make sure she has plenty to do to keep her occupied while we wait.  She made her third doll who she lovingly named Blue.  She also got a new puzzle and made a cute jellyfish craft.  She's getting braver about talking to the doctors and nurses and seems to be coming out of her shell a little bit which is fun to watch.

She chose strawberry flavored anesthesia again this time.  I was so impressed with the anesthesiologist when he sat down to help her finish her puzzle before taking her into the operating room.  I love that he didn't rush her.  A good doctor indeed.

The wait is always long for Jared and I.  Dr. Muntz always comes to give us the report as soon as they are finished.  He confirmed that everything went well and exactly as planned.  The few minutes (probably only 15-30 minutes) after we see him is always the longest of the wait.  They won't take us into the post-op until she is starting to wake up.  She always has a hard time waking up, it really knocks her out.  The nurse waited with her for a long time and couldn't even get her to stir so she called us in and the minute we started talking she finally opened her eyes.  Without missing a beat she requested a slushie & a snack so we could go home.  She always wakes up pleasant.  In the beginning we planned to video her after each surgery in hopes of getting some funny footage but we quickly learned that she doesn't have much to say as it wears off.  Her number one concern is always food both before and after surgery.  She's done a lot of fasting this year and that's hard for her little tummy.  She's sure she's withering away. 

IN POST-OP:

IN RECOVERY:

She always loves the wheelchair ride to the car.  She got a little nauseous on the ride home but quickly fell asleep.  She is doing quite well this evening.

They took cartilage from her left ear to form the bump in front of what will be the ear canal.  They also fixed the bump on her cheek since she picked the stitches last time.  This was one of the easier surgeries so we are hoping for an easier recovery as well so we can enjoy our summer!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Pre Stage 4 Photoshoot

Photo Credit: staceyhansenphotography.com 

Date Taken: Monday, June 6, 2016

And just like that she's back to school!  If only all recoveries could be this easy.

Her report of the day went like this...
Me: how was your day?
Kam: everyone kept squeezing me.  I kept saying "guys, I'm fine.  I'm fine - you can stop squeezing me now."

We are surrounded by awesomeness.

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

This has by far been her best recovery yet!  I've been amazed at how quickly she has bounced back this time.  In fact, she is doing so awesome that we will probably send her back to school tomorrow.

Attaching the lobe made a big difference.  It's starting to look like an ear!

She was thrilled to get a stack of mail from her primary class & great-grandma Page!  We are so grateful to be surrounded by amazing people.

Tuesday, April 5, 2016 - Surgery #3

{Pre-surgery, Post surgery #1, Post surgery #2}

By now this little lady has this whole surgery thing down.  We worried that she would fight it more and more with each surgery but instead she is getting braver and braver.  It doesn't mean the nerves are non-existent but she is definitely more confident and ready.  She amazes us with her bravery.  And she is just so dang cute in that hospital gown.

Our check-in time wasn't until 1.  The good news about that is we had some time before surgery to do a little shopping at IKEA.  The bad news is that the poor girl thought she just might starve to death.  She was able to have a piece of toast at 7 this morning so at least she had a little something in her tummy this time.

The brand new pre-op & post-op rooms are finished (they just moved over the week before last) and they are so nice.  She was quite proud of the fact that she is one of the first patients to use them.

She got to decorate another doll which she was quite happy about.  PMCH does a great job of keeping the kiddos busy to help pass the time & calm nerves.

{Kambri & Dr. Harlan Muntz}

Because the skin on her ear came from the side of her head, her ear will grow hair.  For now we will shave it but we are going to save our pennies for laser hair removal.  This surgery is one of the easiest of the bunch.  They relocated the ear lobe & removed the rest of the skin tag from her cheek.   

About 3:00 pm we sent her on her way.  It never gets easier to watch her walk into that operating room.

The surgery took just over an hour and things went smoothly.  We have two friends whose babies also had surgery today, one of which was also performed by Dr. Muntz.  It would've been fun to have friends in the waiting room but they were long gone by the time we rolled around.

While in the waiting room we met the grandma of a 2 month old baby who had part of her skull removed because she was born without a soft spot & the mother of a 17 year old boy who just found out he has cancer and starts chemo next week.  So many stories wander the halls of that hospital.  We are humbled with each & every visit. 

Our friend Timmy (Ben Timmons) popped in to the waiting room to visit with us for a few minutes.  He is studying at the U to be a plastic surgeon.  We were so glad that he took some time out of his busy day to come say hello.  

Soon enough Dr. Muntz came to give us the report.  He said things went well.  He reported that the skin tag was quite large.  It was deep & thick and took 3 layers of stitches to close it up.  He suggested that it might be what would've been the bump in front of the ear canal, just developed in the wrong spot.  It's too bad they couldn't save the cartilage from it for the next surgery.  The ear lobe (the original nubin) was able to be rotated and attached to the ear.  I love that they were able to keep it as part of the ear!  There is a chance that she will need one additional surgery to move the ear into the proper position.  We see the doctor again at the end of the month and will make a decision then.

She was very sleepy and had a hard time pulling out of the anesthesia.  She chose watermelon flavor this time.  She tries something new with each surgery.

When she finally woke up, she perked right up for a slushie.  She was a little nervous that they had put the IV in her foot and was happy to get that out.  We were discharged about 7 pm and we are so glad to be home after a long day!

Photo Credit: Stacey Hansen * staceyhansenphotography.com