FINALLY! The surgery...

Good grief! I've been trying to write a blog for the past couple of days and haven't been able to access it for some reason. Anywho, it has been a rough couple of days, that's for sure. We got up around 7am on the 26th and got everything packed and ready to go. We woke little miss up a little earlier than usual, but she was still in a GREAT mood! We arrived at the hospital at 11:30, and I filled out the necessary paperwork while Shaun ran over to the St. Christopher's House to get us checked in. They sent us over to Pre-Surgery Admissions before Shaun had come back, and we started going over everything with the Admissions Nurse. I was so worried Shaun was going to miss everything, but he made it back just in time for the important stuff. We got Kendall down to her diaper and the nurse gave her hair a little pre-wash (once they put her under, they washed her scalp for about 20 minutes with a special shampoo). She really didn't enjoy the little mini-bath we gave her. When that was through we got her changed into her little hospital gown and what I called her (karate pants) because thats what they looked like. The hospital gown was white with Koala Bears flying around in space rockets and shooting stars, too cute! Than the neurosurgery fellow, Dr. Bell came in to go over some more things with us and we signed the consent form. They sent us back into the Pre-Surgery Admissions waiting room, and the Anestesiologist and the Anestesiology Fellow came out to talk to us about the risks and so on an so forth. We played with Kendall, and she was smiling and laughing. She started to get hungry because she had her breakfast at 7:40 that morning, and wasn't allowed to eat anything after 8:00. Luckily my Mom was able to get her to sleep, and we sat there and WAITED some more. I think that was the hardest part for sure. I was ringing my hands, tapping my toes. My Step-Dad gave me some hard candy and that helped me a bit. Well 2:00 finally rolled around and the nurse came out and told us it was time and to give her kisses. I was holding on to her so tightly, I didn't want to let go, I kissed her all over and whispered to her how much I loved her and handed her off to a very teary eyed Daddy. He gave her his hugs and kisses and handed her to the nurse. She woke up as Shaun was handing her off to the Nurse and I'll never forget her face, she looked so scared and didn't know what was going on. As they walked through the double doors, I just lost it. I knew I was going to be upset, but I had no idea how helpless and sad I was going to feel. Someone must have heard me crying from behind the doors and they brought me some tissues and gave me a hug. Shaun, my Mom and Step-Dad were all crying as well, luckily they weren't as hysterical as me. We all sat there in a big group hug for a couple of minutes, then collected ourselves. We went into the surgery waiting room to check-in, and then went down to the cafeteria to get some drinks for the wait. We found a nice little area for all of us to sit that was secluded...I called it our nest, hehehe. At 2:45 we got a call from one of the OR nurses, and she said they started the incision at 2:40, and everything was going fine. So we hung out waiting for another call. I was able to get on the Cranio Kids forum which has been such a lifesaver for me. We were starting to get worried because at 4 we hadn't heard anything. At about 4:20, Kendall's surgeons came out, she was done! They were so pleased with how things went. She did need a transfusion, but we expected that because she is such a petite little princess. They to,ld us a nurse would be out in about 20 minutes to take us back to the recovery room. When her surgeons left I lost it again. I was sooooo relieved. Shaun was so HAPPY and kept telling me that it was okay and its over. I just couldn't contain my emotions and my Mom and Step-Dad couldn't wipe the smiles off of their faces. Finally the nurse came out and took Shaun and I over to recovery. I was SHOCKED when I saw her. She looked SOOOO awesome!! The great thing was we were able to see the results immediately because it was going to take a while for the swelling to set in. We sat there for a while and then we left to go bring in my Mom and Step-Dad. After they visited, it was time for her to be moved up to her room. She didn't have to go to the PICU, instead she is in the step-down unit. We got all settled in and went down to the cafeteria to grab some dinner. My Dad and Step-Mom showed up around 10:00, they had driven all the way from Bozeman that day. The first night was rough. I stayed in the room with Kendall, and Shaun went back to St. C's house to get some sleep. She was up every couple of hours, just like when she was first born! I got about 2 solid hours of sleep. The next day was good. She got her drain taken out around 11:00 a.m., and we took her out of bed and walked her around. We also got a little red wagon set up for her and took her to lunch with us to the cafeteria. We found out that there was another baby that had the same surgery for the same thing that morning, his name is Silas and he is 4 days younger than Kendall. He is a cutie and we visited with his parents a bit. Kendall's nurses said they were going to arrange their marriage! hehehe. She swelled up a bit but not too bad. She didn't seem to have a very good appetite, but when she ate she spit it all back up...poor bubs. Luckily she is receiving IV fluids, so we don't have to worry about her getting dehydrated. She had her first bowel movement yesterday evening, and it was explosive...right after we had cleaned her up from vomitting. I think she was trying to get revenge on Shaun and I because we left earlier that afternoon and left her with the grandparents so I could go back to the room and shower and we could get a bite to eat, and take a little break. Last night we went out to dinner with my parents. It was hard to leave her but her nurses assured us she would be fine. It was great to eat food that wasn't from the cafeteria and we had a really nice time. I didn't want to go, but I'm glad I did. They gave Kendall her meds right before we left and she just slept the entire time that we were gone. Shaun took me to our room at about 10:00 so I could get some sleep and he stayed with Bubs last night. I woke up at 7 this morning so I got a good 9 hours of sleep which was nice. I headed over to the hospital at about 7:45. When I showed up Kendall was wide awake and smiled at me, it just melted my heart. I was expecting her eyes to be swollen shut but they weren't. She is definately more swollen today, but the Dr.'s and Nurses say it is way less than expected and that she looks great, I certainly must agree. We loaded her up in her little red wagon and took her down for breakfast. We decided to eat outsidde. It was nice to get some fresh air, and Kendall seemed to enjoy herself. Right now she is asleep in her car seat. She loves it and it helps keep her head elevated to reduce the swelling a bit. She ate 4 oz of Pedialyte this morning, but spit up about 1 oz of it. After that I took her over to visit her boyfriend Silas. He was asleep but looking good. My Dad and Step-Mom are on their over, they told Shaun and I to go do something fun and they'll watch the princess. Maybe it will help us "re-charge" a bit. Dr. Winston said she will go home on Sunday "if you're lucky" so we'll see how it goes. I will be loading up the pics from yesterday and this morning a bit later. I want to thank all of you for your support. I haven't been able to check the guestbook, it is having the same problems the blog was having earlier. I'm so happy I was finally able to do this and get an update out there, even if it is super long!