Surgery Update!

With much anticipation the day is finally here for Maria to undergo cochlear implant surgery.  Here is the story:

Maria slept soundly last night and was the last to rise this morning. Here she is all snuggy, sleeping peacefully:

She was not happy to be reminded she would not be eating breakfast this morning, but we made her a juice (no pulp!) of apples, carrots and beets which she happily drank. 

Then we got her ready for the drive to the hospital.  First we dropped Dominic, Dio and Donatella off at my parents' home (thank you mom and dad!), and then off to UNC.  We made her a little story book which we went over with her yesterday and today.  We also showed her a couple of You Tube videos where a one year old girl received a cochlear implant after her hearing aids were not as effective either. 

Here we are at UNC's brand new (only a few months old) Ambulatory Care Center.  She has her special dolly with her.

Once we arrived in the building, we checked in and waited in a beautiful waiting area where Daddy read her special book to her:

After several minutes were called back to pre-op.  All the nurses were so nice.  We met with our surgeon and the anesthesologist (sp?).    Below is Maria getting her temperature checked - they now have this really cool device where you wave this magic wand on the forehead and it tells you the patient's temperature.  Praise God Maria's was normal because she developed a slightly stuffy nose the middle of last week and a little cough - of all the times!   Maria has not been sick not even one day since we brought her from Ukraine.  Our surgeon told us that he would look very closely at Maria's inner ear just before the incision and if there is any fluid, we would have to delay the surgery until another day.  Thankfully, everything was normal.

If you look carefully below you can see where our surgeon marked his initials under Maria's left ear so there is no mistake in the OR as to which ear is to receive the implant.

Maria is now dressed in her special pajamas and spending special time with Daddy before her and I go back to the OR.

Here is Maria and Mommy on our way to the OR- the last photo taken of her before the implant.  In the OR when they put the mask near Maria's mouth and nose to breathe in the "sleepy air" it was a bit hard to watch her - her feet started shaking, her eyes were rolling back and forth and her body shook (which they told us is nomal).  But then just like that, she was out.

RECOVERY!

Our surgeon came out after 2 hours and told us everything went great.  He had an xray taken just to be sure, and they check the device and it is working.  Maria was asleep when we arrived in her recovery room, and we were so happy when she awoke.  However, she was not looking to happy, but I know she was happy to see mommy and daddy.

We were able to put her hearing aid back in her right ear and talk to her so she knew everything is OK.  She was more than happy to drink juice and eat a graham cracker, which she quickly snatched out of daddy's hand to eat!

Maria must wear the bandage around her head for 3 days, and we must watch for swelling near her eye as there is a lot of pressure there right now.  She is NOT happy about the bandage and has already tried to take it off.  It will take a lot of patience by all of us to help her understand that it must remain on. 

Here's our sweet girl awake and ready to leave the hospital and go home.  We have a follow up appointment next Tuesday back at UNC.  We should have a date this week for when we will have the implant activated - that will be in 3-4 weeks after the swelling and incision heal. 

The kids were so happy to see Maria.  We explained to them they must be very gentle and quiet with her now, no running around or rough-housing... that will be my second biggest challenge.  I don't think the kids fully comprehend what has happened and what will be happening, but soon it will all make sense to them. 

Maria is home now, we gave her some pain meds a short time ago and she is sleeping comfortably and soundly in our bed, so we can keep an eye on her, and just be there incase she experiences any pain during the night.  THANK YOU for all your prayers!  They mean to much to us.    And how awesome is it that this morning during my prayer time, the scriptures I read spoke of the deaf ear!   God has not given me a verse with the word "deaf" in it since I first prayed about Maria a year and a half ago!  How awesome is HE!   We know that we made the right choice for Maria, Praise God!