Surgery was a success!

Praise the Lord! Surgery was a success. So sorry I haven't posted an update already. We did not have Internet while in the hospital and taking care of a 17 month old post surgery is quite time consuming. We went in on Thursday morning at 6:30 and were taken back to prep for surgery at 8:00. Just before going back, Santa Claus with Mrs. Claus showed up. Darya was sound asleep but I placed her in his arms and the staff took an awesome picture. I later received it with a nice frame. They gave her a large teddy bear with an adorable red/white scarf. You can see it in the picture of her taken on Friday afternoon. We stayed with her until the doctor was ready for surgery. While waiting we went to Children's at Vandy to eat. There was lots of entertainment. Santa and Mrs. Claus showed up and we got to watch lots of children get their picture made. The joy on their faces was elating. A few Grand Ole Opry entertainers showed up on the Children's hospital stage and sang Christmas Carols. Finally, we went back upstairs and within minutes found out that surgery was complete. Our pastor came and was there with us as the doctor briefed us on the surgery. He offered a wonderful prayer of thanksgiving regarding the success of the surgery and a prayer for her continued recovery. Darya was crying when we got back to recovery, but was easily consoled. She grabbed my thumb and wrapped her little hand around it and hung on tight. She was pretty sedated all day and night. She drank juice and formula during the day. But..... right before bedtime... she got sick two times... so we had to limit her intake until the next day. Moving was agony for her. Her incision is almost 7 inches long. You could just see the pain in her eyes as we tried to move her from side to side. Her body would stiffen and she would scream. The doctor said that surgery was a success. The lympoma on her back is gone but the incision and swelling is there for now. We were placed in a holding room that was extremely small... no shower... and we had to share a bathroom with the family adjoining our room. They had promised that we would be moved to a larger room when one became available. Kerry slept on a cot and I signed a waiver so Darya and I could sleep on a stretcher together versus her baby bed. We were all exhausted. Darya and I slept until almost 10:30 on Friday with a few interruptions. After lunch on Friday, the physical therapist came in for a session. After 15 or so minutes, Darya was sitting up even standing briefly. This came with lots of agonizing screams but I soon realized that much of this was total fear of moving. We just gradually got her used to different movements. Within an hour of the therapist leaving, we had her in a wagon pulling her around the hospital. After our little drive, we came back to the room and was greeted by the doctor. He was apparently frustrated that we were in what he called a "substandard cubicle" and quickly asked if we were ready to go home. We were in shock as we were planning to stay through late Saturday or early Sunday. He said if she would eat and keep it down that we could leave. She refused her bottle but finally ate 3 chicken nuggets, some green beans, and a few bites of mashed potatoes. She kept it down... so we were out the door headed for home around 7PM Friday evening. She is doing well... crawling around the house. She does have a hard time when she first starts moving after a period of inactivity or if her pain medicine wears off.... but over all... she is doing well. Bath time is a bit of a challenge as we cannot get her incision wet. We're managing fine. We are going to pray for a continued recovery and that her little nerves will regenerate and some or even all of her movement will be restored. God can do that! He can do anything! No matter if there is no change, we are thankful that her cord is no longer tethered and that further damage will not occur. As always, thanks to all for continued prayers.

Much love to all!

Karen

P.S. I'm posting a photo of Darya the day before her surgery. She loves hats of all types. I was unable to post a photo post surgery because the computer was not cooperating for some reason. I'll post it later.