We arrived at Boys Town at 6:00 a.m. for surgery. She had a deep pocket recession in her ear drum that needed to be fixed, and she needed a tube. Dr. L. did both, as well as a cartilage graft behind where the pocket had been to help support the ear drum. He was able to save her from the radiation exposure of another CT scan by doing a visual inspection to make sure the cholesteatoma had not returned. We received a wonderful update from the OR nurse...NO cholesteatoma! I hadn't quite realized how stressed I was about the possibility of another delay until we heard those words. It was like a huge weight lifted from our shoulders.
After surgery, Dr. L. came into the room with a handful of photos. He showed us exactly what he had done from start to finish. It had all been accomplished through the ear canal, so she did not have an external incision. He said we should be able to proceed with the second implant in 6-8 weeks! Music to our ears!
They brought Audrena to us about 45 minutes later. She was madder than a hornet at the iv and kept holding her arm up to the nurse like, "Take it off!" After we got her comfortable, she fell asleep. It was a long afternoon as we took turns holding her while she caught up on her rest after a very sleepless night. By the time we could consider going home, we were both too exhausted to make the drive. Instead, we booked a hotel room. Thank goodness Grandma & Grandpa planned to keep Reyana and Kelton another night!
Audrena finally woke up, starving and thirsty! We gave her some crackers and apple juice, which she kept down. Then it was time to be released. Surgery number four down, and hopefully just one more to go!
Here are a few photos.
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| Before surgery. She put her coat on and tried to escape! |
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| The play room is wonderful for keeping kids occupied before surgery! |
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| Relaxing with a snack and a drink at the hotel. She was feeling pretty good, and she felt even better after a bath! |
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