RobertsFamilyBlog

It's 11:15pm, and I think Kahlia is FINALLY asleep for the night (well except for the nightly rounds of checking vitals, taking medications, etc). It's been another surgery day that has come and gone - glad we're on the gone end of things rather then the coming. It's been one tough day for me! Scott and I arrived this morning at 8:15 - 15 min. late thanks to Portland rush hour traffic. She was scheduled to go back at 9:50, but the case before her was running behind, so she didn't go back until 11:00. We met with the surgeon at around 2:00. She had an Echocardiogram first requested by the Cardiology team since she was being sedated anyway. He was not able to place the tubes in because both ears were severely infected. She has had a cold that has been progressively getting worse over the past several days, so there was a chance that the anesthesiologist would not feel comfortable putting her to sleep. She had a runny nose and a pretty bad cough. Thankfully, they proceeded and we've gotten it done. He did note that she had underdeveloped muscle in her mouth, but he was still able to correct her cleft palate - thank goodness! From the moment they brought her from the operating room - she has pretty much cried every waking moment. She is in a lot of pain, and is not liking her current situation. She had a stitch attaching the bottom of her mouth to the bottom of her tongue to keep her tongue in place and allow for better air flow. If you could ask her, she would say it was only good for choking on and being a frustration when she tried to eat. She didn't eat a thing until early evening where she had a little jello and a little pudding. A little after 8:00 I put my phone on speaker, and all the kids talked to me and Kahlia - as each kid talked, she perked up, moved her arm as if to wave, and said "i" for "hi" to each of them. It was SO precious ! It was one of the few times she was awake and not crying. She loves her brothers and sister SO SO much - what a blessing to see that!! :) Around 10:00 she was inconsolable so we figured she must be hungry and we fed her a little mashed potatoes and yogurt. In the midst of her eating, her string from her tongue got loose - and we thought she swallowed the whole thing. Thankfully, the string did come loose, but it was hiding over on the side of her mouth, and the ENT resident said they could clip it out for good - thank goodness!

The only time she didn't cry this entire evening was when I was holding her in my arms. She would immediately fall asleep, but when I tried putting her in bed, she would cry once again. I thought I was going to have to sleep with her on top of me which may fair well with her, but mom wouldn't be getting a wink of sleep! I know I'm not first priority, but I do have to drive home, so I figured I need to get at least a little sleep. So, just after 11:00 tonight, I finally asked if she could sleep on her tummy instead of on her back on an elevated bed - that did the trick - YES! The nurse wanted her elevated since her lungs are congested, but for the sake of all involved, she relented and let her sleep on her tummy - just like she wanted. I am a happy mommy and she is sleeping comfortably. :-) She's also having a tough time because she has her "no no's" on her arms - that keeps her from bending at the elbow. The purpose is to keep her hands out of her mouth to pull the stitches out. Sadly - she has 2 fingers that are near and dear to her heart, so she has not been happy about the fact that she can't put them in her mouth. It is late, I am tired, and I really hope she sleeps through out the night. Thanks for your prayers. The doctor said it will take 2 weeks for her mouth to completely heal, but the first 12 hours are the worst for pain. Hoping for a better day tomorrow. If all goes well, she will be discharged tomorrow afternoon - I hope so!!! I'm so grateful that by Christmas, she should be "as good as new"! :-)