Parker's First Surgery

The night before surgery

I'm writing this just past midnight going into the day of Parker's surgery on his lip and nose.  I have a real mix of emotions right now.  Over the last few days, Spence and I have shared a strange emotion of sadness knowing that Parker won't look the same after today.  That sounds crazy- I mean, of course we want him to have surgery and to have his repair.  But the little Parker we love has looked this way all 10 weeks of his life, and now he is going to look- well, different.  Before he was born, the honest feeling I had regarding a cleft lip was fear because it honestly scared me.  But, I look at this beautiful child and all I see is his precious, perfect face.  Dr. Chen actually warned us about this a long time ago.  We thought it sounded crazy, but now we totally get it.  It's an emotional roller coaster.

Dr. Chen at our last appointment.  He was impressed with Parker's size!

Last week, we met with Dr. Chen and asked a multitude of questions.  We will arrive at Palmetto Health Children's Hospital at 5:30 a.m.  Parker will be Dr. Chen's first surgical patient at 7:30 a.m.  The anesthesiologist will put Parker under with gas, someone will bag him while the physician gets an IV line, and then they will intubate him for surgery.  The case should take about 1.5 hours.  The PACU nurse will recover him, and when he wakes up, he supposedly will take a bottle there.  Amazing!  Apparently this won't be bad at first because his lip will still be numbed.  Then we will go to a regular floor bed to stay overnight and monitor how he does.  If all goes well- we will go home the next morning.  For pain control, he will have a tylenol/codeine elixir.  And the saddest part- poor P will have to be in arm restraints for a week.  Won't that be fun?  I'm just thinking of it as a long swaddle time!

My stepmom, Kim, was sweet enough to come help us out and be here for moral support this week.  She got here on Sunday.  It's so nice to have someone here for us, and I will feel better knowing she will be helping take care of Jack while we stay over night.  Back to the emotional discussion, there is definitely a little anxiety over how everything will go.  There is also a sense of relief that we are going to be one step closer to being done with this process.  We have a lot of anticipation in wondering what he will look like.

We took a last set of pictures of his beautiful face before tomorrow.  Spence and I wrapped up the night with holding him and praying for him, his health care providers, and for a smooth experience.  I honestly don't feel too stressed, and I think it's because I really do TRUST that God will see us through it all- He always does.

 This next set of pictures is PRICELESS!  Spence was playing with Parker during our little photo shoot.  He tried to put him on his shoulders, and within seconds, Parker burped and regurgitated thick, mucus milk out his mouth and nose- ALL over Spencer's hair, shirt and pants.  Spence- who does not like to be dirty, was repeatedly saying, "someone take him," but all Kim and I could do was laugh hysterically and try to take pictures.  You are a good sport, Spence.

So far, so good 

Oh my!

perfect timing.  Fortunately it was bath time for Parker, but Spence beat him to it!