I can't explain the emotions of the days leading up to Lexi's surgery, or that day itself. The morning of her surgery, Ahren, my mom and I drove Lexi to Boston. Everything moved along as it was supposed to. While we were waiting in pre-op I wondered if I would have the strength to take her into the operating room. They were very strict about only one parent going in, and I could only stay until she was asleep. Dr. Smith came by to talk to us, and I remember joking around with him. When it was time to take her in, I carried her. When we entered the operating room I remember thinking how massive and sterile it seemed. Lexi immediately started crying when the nurses touched her. They asked me to sing her a song, and how I got through an entire verse of "You are my sunshine" is completely beyond me. By the time I got to the end of the song she was asleep. They told me to give her a kiss, and then I was escorted out. The nurse who escorted me kept telling me how amazed she was that I was keeping my composure. The moment I saw Ahren I burst into tear, and again when we met my mom in the waiting room. Children's is fantastic - they have aids who can call into the operating room and ask for updates anytime you want them too! Of course, we didn't bother them, but we did get messages from time to time that everything was going well. When I saw Dr. Smith turn the corner and walk into the room I think I nearly tackled him. He brought us to another room where he told us that everything went perfectly well, and that the surgery was a success.
Ahren and I were allowed to sit with her in recovery, and about two hours later we were brought to her room where my parents joined us. My dad was the only one who thought to take a picture...with his cell phone:
We were in the hospital for two nights. Ahren "slept" on a chair, and I "slept" in Lexi's crib with her. We shared a room with another couple and their child who'd had surgery to allow his skull to grow (he'd been born with his skull plates fused, I think?). They had no family or visitors and I know they had a harder time than we were having. Being with them, and walking around the floor seeing the other children and their families made me so thankful for such a "small" problem that could be fixed with such great results.
The next two posts are the e-mail we sent when we got home, and then the letter we sent to Children's Hospital a few days later...
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