Micah's Surgeries Day 1 & 2

Day 1: We arrived at LeBonheur Children's Hospital Friday at 5:30 am. Everything went smoothly and we got to talk to two of the surgeons (team of 3: general surgeon, neurosurgeon and orthopaedic surgeon) before the surgery. Micah was in high spirits at this point and looking forward to get the laughing gas in a special flavor she chose herself: orange.

Micah did fabulous as they prepared her to go back and once the Versed kicked in, she was one cool cucumber

Micah & Mom

 (You can read more about what brought us to this point here.) They took Micah back after her dad and I loved on her and we watched them wheel us away. Gary and I found a peaceful empty waiting room on the floor of the IMCU and waited for a couple of hours until my Dad joined us and kept us company. My dear sweet friend Lawanda also stopped by with balloons for Micah (They are so cute! Security actually took several of them away, did you know you can't have latex balloons in a children's hospital? Who knew?) and our friend Trevor came, too. Friends made the day go by faster! But not fast enough...

The surgery ended up lasting a VERY long time because the incision had to be so much wider and deeper. Total time back was 9.5 hours and a big percentage of that was cutting and stitching. They also ran into a roadblock: Micah's left lung has been stuck to her chest wall since one of her surgeries 10 years ago so they had to carefully "unstick it" so they could get to where they needed to go. The incision was mostly in her existing incision site (surgery #4 in 2002) but the new one reached back further and came forward a good bit more and now stretches down her belly past her sternum. :( This was unexpected and we haven't told Micah about how big the new scar will be. :( They were able to release the spine and put the cadaver bone in for it to begin bone grafting and creating a stronger base (bone fusion). All-in-all the surgery went as expected, albeit long.

When we finally got to see her, she was out of it, but already in pain. We are in a very nice room in the IMCU and I was able to unpack and get settled after Gary and my dad left and Micah rested. My sister Jessica and her husband and little Lincoln stopped by and brought me dinner, which I very much needed and appreciated! Lunch seemed like forever ago. A friend from church, Barney stopped by for a second to encourage us. After they left I was able to relax a little. I even got to watch almost the whole opening ceremony of the Olympics for the first time ever!

The night was LONG and very restless for both of us. The nurses kept coming in to check vitals since there are so many risks post-op and there were others who had to come in multiple times every couple of hours to do finger pricks to get vials of blood to test. Then there was the X-ray machine a guy rolled in at 4 am and slid a X-ray film board under the sheet under Micah and she did NOT like that at all. Ouch.

Luckily, this first incision starts on Micah's left side just at the edge of her side where it meets her back and wraps around the front. This allows her to rest on her back, though they have to keep "log rolling" her which is not fun. She also has a chest tube below that that is draining fluids from around the surgery site. Oxygen tubes and monitors are still on, both wrist IVs are being used and she has an epidural pump in her back. She is also on antibiotics, Zofran and Prevacid, glucose fluids and morphine, which is a great great thing.

Day 2: We woke up to a visit from Dr.Warner, her orthopedic surgeon from Campbell Clinic and 2 of his residents. I joked "Wow what a wake up call, 3 men in our room! haha!" but they didn't seem amused by my super hilarious humor. Probably because I looked like a hot mess. Anyway, he checked on her and seemed really pleased. We had a calm quiet morning and Micah continued to rest while I watched more Olympics and worked on a tribute for a friend's birthday. My parents came to visit and my mom brought me some awesome homemade spinach and cheese quesadillas. She is the BEST! Dad prayed for Micah again.
Shortly after they left, my brother Dr.Rucker and Anna came for a while and kept us company. After they left, Trevor and his mom Lynn came by and soon after my hubby brought his hot self and our other kiddos. Michael and my sister Melanie came then too and things got a little crazy for a while! I was grateful for the company though and to see my babies for a little while. Wendy came after that and brought me a bag full of snacks that proved SUPER helpful in the following hours. Thank you!

The afternoon has been harder for Micah. They've had to continue the log rolling and she hates it. She has lots of pain primarily in her incision site, where the chest tube is coming out and her wrists where the IV meds are flowing. Her lips are covered with sores on the inside where her braces rubbed her raw during the surgery and she has drainage in her throat from laying on her back. There is glue residue in her hair from the sensors they used all over her to monitor her sensory and motor pathways during the surgery. She has TPN (liquid nutrition) in one IV and glucose in the other. The epidural is still working and she is still receiving oxygen through a tube in her nose. She is swollen and puffy from fluids but everything is normal for this type of recovery. She's like her mama though and does NOT like to feel pain.

This whole experience has of course flashed me back over a decade ago when Micah was first diagnosed. She was so small at just before her first birthday. She couldn't communicate with me then and tell me where it hurt. I couldn't nurse her because she couldn't have food but she didn't understand. She had to have been in so much pain in so many ways and yet I was helpless to ease it. This kid is such a trooper. Such a fighter. She is such an inspiration to me and I know to so many others! From her cancer diagnosis almost 11 years ago to now, she has been a joy and a light in my life. I pray the Lord eases her pain and strengthens her as she pushes through yet another ordeal that most of us will never have to face. This pic was taken almost exactly a year after her diagnosis. She has had 5 surgeries, chemotherapies and so much more prior to the time this pic was taken and yet look at that sweet face! This was September of 2002. My Micah:

Tomorrow will be better. We have hope.

This could be a million times worse and for God's mercy and grace I am so thankful!