Sarah's Surgery Update

Sarah's palate surgery was Monday, February 2. She slept all the way to the hospital, so we didn't have to worry about her asking for something to eat. As soon as we registered, they took Sarah back to prepare for surgery. We had told Sarah she is having surgery on her mouth, so her mouth looks like Mom and Dad's. The nurse put a name band on Sarah, Stephen and I. We told Sarah this tells the doctor and nurse that she is Sarah and that Stephen is Sarah's Dad and I am Sarah's Mom. She likes to repeat "Sarah's Mom or Sarah's Dad. Stephen and I told her we would be waiting for her to return after her surgery. Sarah was setting up in the bed, no tears as the nurses wheeled her away to surgery at 10 am.

Dr. Stewart said her palate is wide, but he was able to do the palate repair procedure he wanted to close her palate. The surgery was about 4 hour and ear tubes was also placed in her ears.

We want to say, THANK YOU to Pastor George and his wife, Joretta and a dear friend, Helen as well as Susan, Andrea and Douglas for being with us; AND to all our family and friends that prayed for Sarah and us.

Sarah was in arm restraints in recovery, but it wasn't long after they allowed me to hold her, they she slipped out of them and her gown. She couldn't stand to be confined. I wrapped her in her own blanket and held her. After she was in a room and the anesthesia wore off some, she let me put her own pj's on. She wanted her own blanket and pj's not the hospitals. I explained that if she touched her mouth, she would have to wear the arm restraints again. She never put her hands close to her mouth.

We thought Sarah would be in the hospital until Friday. The packing in her mouth was removed Wednesday and she ate broth, jello and milk at lunch time. She was discharged from the hospital about 2 pm.

Sarah is on a liquid diet. This is hard for her to understand. She thinks eating is chewing food, not drinking broth, ice cream or jello. I am straining soup for her so she is doing better each day. I had cleaned out the food cabinets before we went to the hospital, but I missed some crackers. She found them. It breaks our heart when we have to tell her "no, not until her mouth heals". We explain when the stitches heal, she can chew food again. Today, when she woke from her nap, I asked what she wanted to eat. Sarah went to the refrigerator and opened the meat bin and removed a package of bacon. Ugh! something else, I forgot to hide.

We do not have any pictures of Sarah's hospital stay. The camera fell out of my purse in the trunk of the car on the way to the hospital. It was dark in the hospital parking garage and Stephen didn't see the camera. We found it when we returned home and emptied the car.