We leave for Cincinnati tomorrow morning and I'm feeling pretty far from prepared! We have had a crazy last 24 hours, with Chloe getting croup and a double ear infection-she has had a fever of high 102's since last night. We are hoping that after 2 doses of antibiotics tonight, the fever will be gone! Grace managed to give her poor, sick sister a black eye last night as well! It was an accident, but a frustrating and a new experience I was NOT prepared to handle.
Grace has told us she is excited to go to the hospital, but we know she has other emotions that she doesn't know how to share with us. Over the last few days, temper tantrums and disobedience have picked up as her way of expressing herself. Greg and I attempted to sit down and talk to her tonight about the hospital, but....a rational, logical conversation with a 3 1/2 year is hard to come by :) Our conversation went something like this: Me: "Grace, are you scared of going to the hospital?" Grace: "Yeah". Me: "What are you scared of?" Grace: "Thunder." Me: "Ok, are you scared of anything at the hospital?" Grace: "Can we do Halloween again?"
The brain travel of my child cracks me up :) Anyways, Grace is always a perfect patient once she is actually at the hospital....we ask for prayers over her little heart and mind to feel safe and protected though. The surgery will take place at 1:15pm on Wednesday-that's Eastern time. It's scheduled to take 2 1/2 hours! The recovery is not very long, surprisingly...she will stay in the hospital overnight 1-3 nights...most likely we will come home on Friday.
This is going to be an exciting Thanksgiving for our family! 3 years ago, Grace came home from the hospital the day before Thanksgiving after the aspiration pneumonia that almost took her life. So here we are, spending that same date, 3 years later, getting a unique surgery done that will change all of our lives! God seems to be constantly reminding us how much we have to be thankful for :)
The surgery will consist of taking a nerve from the neck (so there will be cutting into her neck and a small scar) and placing that nerve into her left vocal cord. The nerve can take up to 6 months to regenerate, so she will also be receiving an injection into the vocal cord with a collagen-like substance that will create an immediate effect. The injection will wear off after a few months, right around the time the nerve regenerates. The cord will never actually function, but it will be a tight muscle instead of floppy as it is now, allowing Grace's voice to be louder and for her swallowing to improve. There really are no words to describe how excited we are to hear a difference in her voice over the next couple weeks!
I'm feeling pretty emotional about all these changes, and am hoping I don't have a complete crying meltdown at an inappropriate time...like when we're talking to the doctor :) This still seems completely surreal, and I can't believe we're really leaving tomorrow. A friend has been reminding me that I told her in January that my "New Year's Resolution" was to get Grace's vocal cord fixed...this might be the first one I've ever actually stuck to! Apparently, medical miracles are easier to come by than dieting :) We are so blessed to be in this position, and still stand amazed at the doors God has opened for us this last year. I will be posting updates as I can...can't wait until Wednesday!
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