HOME RECOVERING FROM ANNA'S PALATE SURGERY

WAITING TO GO BACK FOR SURGERY ON MONDAY, JANUARY 12

We went to T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital in Chattanooga on Monday, January 12 to have Anna's third surgery to repair her cleft palate. We were planning to only have the palate repaired, but Dr. Sargent felt like he would be able to repair the place above Anna's lip where her sutures had ruptured, so we had him decide what he felt would be best once he got into the operating room. We were very pleased with the appearance of the repair. He was able to release the tension and "puckered skin" that had formed when her lip contracted and healed on its own. He was also able to repair the palate and we are finally home to recover for the next two weeks. We had to stay an extra few days in the hospital because Anna quit drinking fluids after the first two days . She was swallowing Pedialyte well on Monday and Tuesday, but on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning she quit drinking. They increased her IV fluids until she was taking fluids again by Thursday and they released us Friday afternoon.

ANNA FEEDING DADDY WITH HER SOFF-SIPP BOTTLE AT THE HOSPITAL

She has done well overall since we have been home. We were able to give her Children's Tylenol for her pain, and she has not had to take the Tylenol/Codeine since we have been home. She ran a low temperature last night (Saturday, January 17) but Tylenol has kept it down so far. She has done well eating from the tube feeder called a "Soff Sipp" bottle. She will continue to eat through it for the remainder of the two weeks while recovering, as well as wearing the "No-No" arm restraints to avoid placing her hands in her mouth or hitting her newly-stitched lip. She is even able to crawl wearing the arm restraints, so I am having to watch her closely. I am afraid she will fall and hit her face on the carpet, so I am trying to keep her entertained without her being on the move. She was so glad to be home. When we pulled out her toys and she could actually sit and play in the floor, she was overwhelmed with excitement! It was good to see her face light up with her usual smile!

SAMUEL PLAYING WITH A LAB THAT VISITED KIDS IN THE HOSPITAL

One of the blessings we encountered this time was staying at the Ronald McDonald House. This allowed me to go and visit with Samuel for a few hours each day and get a few hours of much needed sleep, too. The facility was so nice and made us feel like we were at home. We met a couple of families that were going through the same surgeries as us, too. Samuel enjoyed playing in the toy room and adjusted much better to Anna having surgery this time since he was able to see both of us more often. We realized how blessed we were going through this surgery, as we encountered two families during our hospital stay that lost children. Please lift these families up in your prayers in the coming weeks. Our hospital room was located directly outside of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, and there were so many situations where people were hurting and suffering. We praise God for His goodness in the midst of difficulty and trials, though ours seem so small in comparison to the burden these other families are carrying.

We will go back to Dr. Sargent for a follow-up appointment on Friday, January 30. We will keep you posted on Anna's progress. We appreciate the number of prayers that have been lifted up on our behalf!

Thankful for all of you,

Sheri