Resting Comfortably

What a day.

There are almost no words to truly describe the gamut of thoughts and feelings I have tonight as I watch Lilly sleep in her hospital bed. Gratitude is the overwhelming emotion--gratitude to God for answering prayers for a safe surgery, for guiding Dr. Campbell's hand, for Lilly's amazing endurance and attitude through our long day of waiting and fasting. Gratitude that I get to be Mama to this spunky and beautiful child who has come SUCH a long way since she came home from China two and a half years ago, even just since her very first surgery almost a year ago to the day. Gratitude that we live in a place and have health insurance that allows us to access the quality of care, technology, skill, and expertise that we have been blessed with to help Lilly's spine to straighten and ribcage to expand, allowing her to lead a relatively healthy life into adulthood. Gratitude for family members that are available and eager to help however we might need. Gratitude that, even though we just moved and still feel relatively "new" and "disconnected" in our new home, we already have great neighbors wanting to help and a new church family lifting us up in prayer, even though we have really only met a few people there. Gratitude for friends around the globe who love us and are praying for us as well.

And at this moment, I am thankful for the soft sound of Lilly's easy breathing, for the quietness of a private hospital room (no snoring Amish moms this time! :)), and for the hope that Dr. Campbell may have solved Lilly's ongoing pain and fevers.

Wow. So much for which to be thankful.

Here is the scoop on the surgery itself:

Dr. Campbell removed the lower portion of LIlly's VEPTR device on her left side. The hook on her pelvis had slipped, and the rod was displaced. That definitley explains the persistent pain on that side of her body. THe skin coverage at that location is also quite poor and Dr. Campbell suspects that her body will benefit from not having any metal in that location for awhile--at least until she can put a little more meat on her bones. He is suspicious that the bacteria are also lingering on this portion of the hardware, and we are hopeful that this may solve both problems. There were no other visible signs of infection anywhere, but he did take some tissue samples to see if any bacteria grow out of them when cultured. He wants her to stay here for a few days to monitor her and to await the cultures and further blood work. Even though our wait before surgery was long today, the surgery itself was pretty quick, and Lilly's recovery this time has been MUCH easier than any other surgery. She was ravenous once she was awake enough to realize it, and ate nearly 10 little saltine packets, some yogurt, some fruity snacks, some apple juice, and topped it off with nearly 9 ounces (3 small cans) of canned tuna. Wow. She is looking forward to breakfast tomorrow and has already selected bacon, sausage, chocolate chip pancakes, pears, and chocolate milk from the menu.

She is a little dizzy when she stands, and I'm sure things will feel a little different to her when she tries to walk, since without that rod, her center of balance may be a little off. We'll see how she feels tomorrow.

For now, I am ready for some sleep, and am praying that she sleeps soundly and peacefully tonight.

Thanks again for your love and prayers.