Surgery and our girl~

August 24 was a day both my husband and I were dreading, it had been on our calender for a month.....

Circled and starred, it sat there mocking us~

From past experience with Grace we knew she didn't do well with surgeries and we also knew it would be a long hard recovery for our girl.

But, it had to be done.

Back up to when we brought her home~ She was a little bitty thing, having lived through the big earthquake back in 2008 in China. Kerry got her in Xian in Sept 2008, he knew she wasn't feeling well and when he came home, he was right, he had pneumonia and her and I were in the hospital and then sent home with breathing treatments.

Once she was better we did the whole "cleft clinic" thing and we planne don having her palate repaired along with a lip/nose revision to help her breath better and ear tubes to help with the chronic infections she had.

That surgeyr did not go well~ the doctor decided once he had started the surgery that her palate was so wide he would do the bone graft....at age 2. Almost unheard of in cleft kids...

She came out of that surgery looking like a truck had hit her and later that night, she lost over 40% of her total blood and couldn't reproduce more fast enough.

Two transfusions later and she was doing a bit better.

SO yes, we were dreading this next surgery and had put it off once becaus ewe had moved across a couple states.

But, it had to be done, she was not making progress in speach anymore and this would help~

We found a new doctor here and he actually knew the two previous surgeons we had seen. (small world, right?)

We decided on a P Flap surgeyr and he was thinking of taking her tonsils also. But once I told him how she does in surgery he changed his mind.

Gracie knew what was going to happen, we were very open with her, she is after all almost 5.

She was very calm in pre op and took things in, asking questions when necessary.

But, she was so trusting, didn't even flinch when they had to draw blood.

And the God thing, we just so happened to get an amazing life coach who had been to China as a nurse and worked with Show Hope...so she knew how to talk and act with Gracie. And when it came time to go to the OR, our big brave girl asked this nice lady to walk with her....and she did.

She also came back after and prayed with me. How amazing is that??

Grace's surgery lasted only an hour and a half, but it was a long hour and a half...

The doctor came out and spoke with us~ and he told u he DID take her tonsils and adnoids out....sigh~ Not sure why he did this and without telling us until after the fact, especially when he had said he wasn't going to do it~

We went back and she was not a happy camper, she was in a lot of pain and just wanted her mama to hold her and by gosh I didn't care about all those wires or the beeping going on, I picked up my girl and rocked her to sleep.

We do have pictures of her after surgeyr and in her room, but for her privacy I am keeping those off the blog~

She did have a rough go of it in the room. I spent the first night with her in NICU, Kerry the next in a regular room. The third day they wanted to keep her another day, but we know our girl and knew she would do better at home, with her normal routine and her own bed. So we skipped out of there and came home~

And we were right, she is drinking fluids. (even though it is only with big sis and whiel having a tea party)

She is getting the rest she needs and will recover fully given time.

Thanks to all our friends and family for your prayers and help!!