Ella's surgery is about three weeks behind us. She has done better than any of us expected (more on the actual surgery and recovery soon). For now, I want to give attention to the days I spent preparing for the surgery, particularly the questions I asked. My hope is, as usual, to give information to those with #cleftstrong babies and also to shed light onto a issue not familiar to many.
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| Day before the surgery. |
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| Morning of surgery. Holding onto that delicious pacifier for dear life! |
I'll focus on the questions I had for her surgeon. A brief introduction: His name is Dr. Liau and he has been nothing short of a God-send to our little family. We first met when I was about six or seven months pregnant. Nervous, unsure of what the future had in store for my baby girl, and still undecided about where I wanted her cared for, he immediately put my mind at ease and made the decision of going to UK Hospital the easiest in the world. He handed me his cell number and e-mail address, telling me to let him know the second Ella was born because he wanted to come see her and to also e-mail him with any questions I had. What also helped tremendously both on that first day of meeting him and in the months to come was his blog: http://ukhealthcare.net/cleft-care/about-cleft-lip-and-cleft-palate/. The before and after pictures astounded me. I sincerely hope that every child has the blessing of a surgeon such as him. (If you're even remotely close to Lexington, Kentucky, he is worth the drive!)
Anyway, you better believe that I took him up on his offer to e-mail him with questions. General ones along the way about insurance, feeding, and such, as well as more specific ones as the surgery drew closer. Here are the pre-surgery questions, his answers, and any added advice from me post-surgery.
Do we need to bring anything with us for Ella? Anything that in your experience has been helpful? He said, "That’s a great question. I think anything (toy, blanket, or stuffed animal) that comforts and soothes her will help. Hopefully you’ll only be here in the hospital for overnight only so I wouldn’t pack too much. Unfortunately you may not get much sleep so bring something for yourself to occupy yourself as well." Looking back, we used most of Ella's toys, blankets, etc. prior to her surgery. We had to be at the hospital at 5:30 AM and, because of the pre-surgery rules, she was not allowed to eat (breastmilk) after 3:00 AM. When she woke up in the waiting room, she was hungry, disoriented, and tired. This is when we pulled out her toys -- she particularly enjoyed the pacifier, which we had NEVER allowed her to use before. Honestly, we didn't use those items much after her surgery. She was sleeping the majority of the time and kind of "out of it." Mom and dad, you are the best things to help at this point.
Laptops, phone chargers, cameras, and sweaters because hospitals try to replicate Arctic temperatures. Most of the time, though, I just held my baby and rocked her. Didn't get much relaxation time (or sleep at night!!!), you're forewarned. Lastly, it's probably a good idea to bring some food/snacks. Our hospital provided meals for me and that was only because I was pumping for Ella (meaning that I was the patient's food source, essentially). They didn't provide meals for Edwin.
Will we need anything ready for her when we come home? Any prescriptions or other things that will make the healing process easier? He said, "Nothing too special for her when you go home. Some q tips and Vaseline or antibiotic ointment (any will do) to help clean her nose. You can bathe her without any restrictions. As for prescriptions, we’ll get them too you before you leave for home; they’ll be an antibiotic for 2 more days and pain medication." Ella stayed on the antibiotic for two days after we left the hospital and on the pain medication, at increasing intervals, for about four days. She hated both. If your child vomits up the medicine like Ella, try breaking it down into smaller doses more frequently (after double-checking with your pharmacist). That's what we had to do. Also, I've seen that a lot of babies have to wear the arm restraints. Dr. Liau doesn't make his patients wear them. In his words, "I've yet to see a three-month-old pick at stitches." I agree with him: Ella didn't seem to need them at all. The only slight downside was that she would occasionally hit her lip with her hand and cry for a couple seconds, but I don't think it would have been worth the hassle overall to wear the arm weights. So if they seem to be torturing your baby... I might say just take them off.
Where will she be sent for recovery and can we stay with her? He said, "She’ll go to the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) and usually stays there for an hour. They’ll get you up there as soon as the nurse and anesthesia team feels she is awake enough…usually about 30 min after getting there." Being led up to PACU seemed like the longest walk of my life and seeing my baby in the nurse's arms... such a bittersweet moment. We (just Edwin and I were allowed) stayed there for about thirty minutes and then were led to Ella's room after the nurses saw that she could eat some and was breathing well. That's one of the major concerns post-anesthesia, apparently.
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| First moments seeing her in the PACU. This picture still brings tears to my eyes.... The little blood-stained lips, the oxygen tube, the nose that looked so unfamiliar to me. It brings back all the medicine smells, all the sounds of her little whimpers and cries... Gosh, this picture kills me. |
Under what circumstances will she be discharged? Does she have to meet any eating requirements? He said, "As long as she is doing well with the pain medication and drinking enough for wet diapers I’m fine with you all going home. Most kids actually do better at home! They may be pretty fussy in the beginning but usually by morning things have turned the corner and they are doing much better." The nurses had us track Ella's feedings and they weighed her diapers. She is such a fighter and ended up going home around 11:00 AM the next day! Dr. Liau was right on the money -- it was thousands and thousands of times easier at home. Just hang in there til you get to go home and you'll be fine, I promise.
If you have questions besides the ones I asked, that's what the comment section below is for! If I don't know the answer, I have a really great doctor in mind who I'm sure can help. Also, if you're a #cleftstrong parent and have advice or additional information to add, please go for it!
