Deklan's Surgery

 

I think I'll start this post just by saying that God is Amazing. He is most certainly present, and I see Him working everywhere I turn. It's so awesome, and I am grateful for the eyes He gave me to truly see while we were in the hospital for Deklans surgery to repair his cleft palate.

We arrived at Phoenix Children's Hospital at about 5:45am, and checked in. While checking in, we met a great couple that I think we will now be friends with for a long time to come. They had their 13 month old son with them, and he was getting surgery on his hand. He was precious, and right away his mom and I had much in common. We asked them how they were doing, and at first she said "Good." But then she got real, and said she has been much better (considering her son was about to get surgery). I could totally relate to that, and I appreciated her honesty.

Waiting to check in

Both our mommy hearts were working a little overtime at the moment, or at least that's how it felt. We were two moms who were anxiously awaiting a surgery that we knew would have to happen since our babies had been born. We didn't know what to expect, how our little ones would respond to the pain and discomfort of recovering and healing, the anxious feelings we had, the nervousness we felt, and the overwhelming feeling of love and knowing we can't stop the pain from coming. We knew that this was something that had to happen, even if we didn't want it to. They had to go through this, it's what was best for them, but it would be painful for a time. As I type this, I'm realizing that's how God is with us.

I was just a ball of emotions Friday morning. On the surface I looked calm and like it was all good. But right underneath was a volcano about to erupt at any moment. Even I didn't know when it would burst out.

And we waited.

Mentally, I was prepared to hand him over at 7am approached. A resident came into see a hungry and tired little Deklan, to say that Dr. Beals was running behind. Bummer.

Waiting in his beautiful purple gown they gave him to wear. :)

So we waited. My brother in law Trevor came up to say hi and give Deklan a kiss before he headed to work nearby. He brought donuts, bagels, and coffee for us. :) Zach, my mom and I were back there waiting with him, and we prayed over him. I knew many, many people all over were praying as well. That was comforting.

They took him back an hour and a half later than expected. I kissed him and handed him to the nurse who walked him back to the operating room. My sweet baby boy... here we go.

Then we headed into the waiting room to, you guessed it, wait. It was supposed to take about 2 hours. So when the nurse walked into the waiting room about an hour and a half later, we were expecting to hear it was over. She said they just now got the iv in. What? It took over an hour to get the iv in- luckily he was asleep for it. He was dehydrated, and his veins weren't cooperating. They ended up finding a vein in his scalp, and that's where they put the iv. Dr. Beals was just starting the surgery.

This was a lot to process. I wasn't sure what to think. I tried not to think too much, because sometimes for me that is self destructive. So, I waited some more. I tried to keep my mind off of what was happening just a few rooms away from me. I knew he was in God's hands, and He was in control. And I trusted Him.

Forty minutes later, Dr. Beals walked out. I sat at the edge of my seat, and hung on every word he said. "It went perfect.... it took longer to get the iv in than it did to do the surgery... he can eat as soon as he wakes up... no solids for 10 days... do you have a follow up appointment scheduled with me yet?...3 layers of stitches... " And then Zach, "Up top (as he put his hand up to high five our surgeon.)" Oh yes, he did. Zach told us he was planning to high five Dr. Beals after the surgery was over, and that's just what he did. Our surgeon is amazing, he is highly regarded in his field, but he's not super outgoing. He is a man of few words, at least in his work. I didn't mind that because I knew he was an incredible surgeon, and that's what I cared about. But Zach was hoping to draw a smile out of him, and he totally did. I can always count on Zach for that- he can bring out the best in people when he wants to. :)

We knew we couldn't see him until he started to wake up from the anesthesia. So we waited some more. I passed the time on facebook and chatting with my mom and sister Julie.

"Are you Deklan's parents?" "I can take you back to see him." We jumped up, and I was nervous. I'd been waiting for 11 months for this day. I've done so much research, much thinking about and wondering what it would be like, kept up on forums for parents of children with cleft palates, I have anticipated this for a long time, told countless people when his surgery would be as they would ask or it would come up, yet I was totally not ready and didn't know what to expect. I was overwhelmed. What would he look like? How would he respond to the discomfort? I was dreading the recovery process.

The wonderful anesthesiologist we had was rocking him when we got into the recovery room. She has 4 kids as well, and really took to Deklan.


Our sweet baby boy. His face looked swollen and at first glance it didn't look like him. He looked more like Jett because they'd given him lots of fluids to hydrate him and he was plumper than usual. I even called him Jett once. As I held him, and looked at him, soaked in the moment, and was thankful to God for holding him up through this, I was moved to tears.

Mommy holding Deklan for the first time after surgery.

Daddy's turn to hold him for the first time

As he woke up more, he wanted to drink a little. What a strong boy he is- the anesthesiologist said he was WAY ahead of the game at this point!

This picture captured the moment of Zach and I seeing Deklan for the first time after surgery perfectly.

Grandma seeing him for the first time

It was overwhelming. I can't describe it really. He was so precious, is so precious. We just had a moment together, I guess you could say. "You're so brave, Deklan." "You're more brave than mommy because I wouldn't sign up for this." Truth is, he didn't sign up for it. He was born this way, and this surgery was part of God's plan for him. And for me. And we both have grown because of it. In different ways of course.

Due to his cleft palate and challenges he's had because of it, Deklan is one of the strongest kids I know. He is so brave, strong, he doesn't give up, he's SO sweet, for sure one of the smiliest kids ever, and he is very patient.

It all made me really think about life. Why are we here? What's the point? I want to be significant. What does that mean? What does that look like? How do you want to use me, God?

My dad seeing him after we were moved to a room where we'd stay for the night.

Mom, Grandma, and sweet baby boy just about 2 hours after his surgery. Sleepy, zoned out...

First time we got him to sleep in our room. The "hat" on his head was because they had the iv in his scalp and they didn't want it to move. So he looked much worse than he was while we were there because of his "hat". Surprisingly, he didn't mess with it once.

Friday evening, after he woke up and threw up- probably from the anesthesia and tylenol with codene. Trying some pedialyte.

Got him to sleep again- he was up and down all night, as we expected. Plus we shared a room with a teenage boy and his mom (they were very nice, but sharing a room after something like this was a little hard- they have their own iv's and beeps and nurses coming in and out), and it was just a little hard for us to get him to stay asleep with all the commotion a hospital has. But we were thankful to have him there just to be monitored for everything to be okay before we went home. The selfish part of me wished we had a private room, but all in all it was good. :)

Saturday morning- one of the first smiles he cracked since his surgery! He's wearing his "no no's". They keep his arms from bending, so his hands and toys can't go in his mouth. He has to wear these for 10 days. He's doing pretty well with them, but they're not his favorite thing, of course,.

This was us as we were leaving the hospital. Deklan isn't so happy because they just had to take his iv out of his scalp, and there was a lot of tape to keep it in place. And he has a lot of hair, so you can imagine how much that hurt to get it out. The nurse felt too bad, so you guessed it- I had to take the tape off. That may have been the hardest part of the whole thing, pulling tape off as he screamed in pain, knowing I was pulling his hair out. Poor guy!

This experience has made me want to hear His voice, and to obey it. I want eyes that see and ears that hear, in a spiritual sense. I want to continue to work on living in the moment, enjoying each step along the way of this life.

I was certainly grateful that Deklan could get his surgery and be healthy enough to leave the next day. Many, many of the kids at the hospital weren't so lucky. We saw lots of sick kids, and I am thankful that (for the moment) our kids are all healthy. My heart went out to the parents in the hospital, as well as the kids, for all they were going through. I was hoping that the ones I saw knew Jesus, because I don't know how one could go through something like this without Him- and the hope that only He can provide. It made me want to reach out somehow, even if it was just with a smile.

We're grateful that Deklan is now home (we got home Saturday afternoon), and he's doing AWESOME. He is just such a little champ! As long as we have tylenol and ibuprofen in him, he's doing well. When those start to wear off, he gets whiny and I can tell he's in pain. But the first night home, he slept through the night- and last night too! He's eating milk like a champ, and I think he's sucking really well with his "new" mouth. He did a lot of smiling yesterday, and I can see that each day will get better and better as he heals.

Yea for Deklan! We're so proud of you, baby boy!