Christmas Day - surgery

...cont'd from last post.

Thanks to friends who were willing to take Lincoln at a moment's notice, as well as another friend who filled in for Nathan on the organ for the Christmas service, also, at a moment's notice, we were able to head towards Toronto without worrying.

And the worries/anxieties and apprehensions for the day were also calmed by the way God spoke to us that morning - through His sunrise. He once again reminded us that He has all things in control, from the magnificent rising sun to our daughter.

While we were headed to the hospital on Christmas Day, there were definitely some benefits. One of them being the traffic, or lack thereof. I don't think I have ever seen the Gardiner Express Way this empty. It was fabulous!

Another benefit of having surgery on a holiday, is that typically the O.R. is empty. And so, as soon as we got there, she got "dressed" for surgery and they were able to wheel her down for surgery fairly quickly. So often I think this girl is getting too big. And then I see her in a hospital bed and she looks so tiny.

That's our brave and smiley girl! She knew what was up, yet didn't have a problem with it at all.

While she was under Dr. Zuker's care, we tried to keep busy, especially Nathan, who was trying hard not to notice it was snowing again. It wasn't that he could do anything while at the hospital in regards to the snow, but he just was really hoping his guys would be able to get a break from it all, as they had been working so hard the last week and half.

Another benefit of being the hospital on Christmas Day is a free lunch!! Stuff like that just tickles our very few Dutch genes to no end. :o)

Keziah came out of surgery just over an hour later, and was pretty perky all afternoon. A present from the hospital may have helped (no, Santa did not drop in....he was warned he would not be greeted too fondly by the little patient in Room 70 :o):

A visit from her cousins also cheered her up as well:

And as if that wasn't enough, a visit from Opa most certainly kept her happy! Especially when he reads her 6 books!!!

Oh, and her broccoli also did a good thing for her.

We were happy to see my dad as well, as he brought food that was cooked by my mom. It was delicious!!

And to top off this day, the fact that it was a holiday meant that Nathan could stay with us all night! The ward was quite empty, which left lots of extra blankets and cots. So stay he did!!

And without any more complications, the next day we were able to head home. We picked up our dear son, Lincoln, who was having a great time, and we looked forward to being home altogether. Once home, Lincoln once again, needed to be near me a lot, wanting lots of snuggles. I didn't mind. :o)

Keziah also needed lots of snuggles later that night, after we tried to clean her incisions. This did not go so well, leaving both her and I in tears. I can happily report that was the last time she fought having them cleaned. Since that night, she has allowed us to clean them without a fight.

That was our Christmas Day and Boxing Day! Despite missing out on celebrating and enjoying this holiday, we have so much to be thankful for. The list could be so extensive, but I will limit it to just a few. We praise and humbly thank our Father in heaven for:

• Dr. Zuker. I sent this man an email Christmas Eve. He called me back 5 minutes later. He came in on Christmas Day to help our daughter. He came in willingly and cheerfully (the platter of homemade baking may have helped :o) not only on Christmas Day, but also on Boxing Day
• God's providential timing. Dr. Zuker left for Florida on Friday. We knew this and were concerned that he may be gone if things went from bad to worse. Thankfully it did go from bad to worse, but before he left
• our friends far and near - who called/emailed/texted during the ups and downs of the days leading up to the surgery, as well as the days after, wondering not only how Keziah was doing, but how we were doing
• our church family who prayed for her at our church service on Christmas Day, which was at the same time Keziah was in surgery
• His Spirit which helps and reminds us to celebrate Christ all through the year, not just on one day
• Toronto Sick Kids and all the nurses that cared for Keziah, as well as those who donated gifts to the hospital, as well as volunteered their time to hand out these gifts
• that her top expander was not affected by the infection, and that another fill could be added
• the disposition of our daughter, that she just rolls with things (much better than her mommy, that's for sure!)
• His presence, which surrounded us and was felt
• that the cleaning of her incisions has gone 1000 times better than the first night

Ah, yes, much to be grateful for. Yes, having that expander taken out is a setback, but after experiencing such uncertainty in the days leading up to the removal, we are relieved to deal with it by removing it.

Keziah will still be on antibiotics for another week, to continue to fight her infection. Please pray that the antibiotics work and that her new incision heals up. 

We are not quite out of the woods, as I noticed today that her top incision has opened a wee bit again. Please pray that it may close and that her top expander also does not have to come out.

Thanks for reading and for caring!! The next post will be her updated pictures for Fill #3 (which was done during surgery).

Updates from the Last Days - Part One

Well, our internet is up and running, so that means I can give you a picture update as well as a few more details of what has all taken place the last few days. It'll be a few posts to keep it from being one very long post.

Just a quick recap - this all started last week Monday, when her and Lincoln bonked heads, which split open her top incision. While cleaning that up, that is when I noticed her bottom incision was crusted over with pus. A few days later, the top incision healed up quickly, however the bottom incision became worse as the week went on. By Friday night, it was seeping a ton of pus, which resulted in calling the hospital and making a visit Saturday morning.

On Saturday she was put on antibiotics. By Monday morning, I could see a tiny hole in the incision, which meant another trip to Sick Kids. We were seen by Dr. Bains again, who had a good look at it, but sent us home telling us to come back in if we start seeing the expander through the hole.

Sure enough, Tuesday morning, we thought we could see and feel the expander poking through the hole. We thought to leave it for the day, just to make sure. By Tuesday night (Christmas Eve), there was no question about it - it most definitely was the expander. I emailed Dr. Zuker that evening to let him know. I then called the hospital. While on hold, I get a 'call waiting' signal, and it was Dr. Zuker!!! He called as soon as he got my email! He wanted her in right away, but she just had supper. For surgery to take place, she'd have to wait 8 hours. So we made plans to come the next day to see him for surgery at 9 in the morning, Christmas Day.

As a side note, have I mentioned that my husband is in the snow clearing business?! So you can imagine how the last 12 days have been for him. We had a snowstorm two days before the "Bonking of Heads", and then an ice storm this past weekend. So not only was it stressful at the home-front, he had a business to run through all this weather we've been getting. Oh, and our car broke down during the snowstorm and we lost hydro for 26 hours during the ice storm, which is not great when you have a sump pump (some of our church members are just getting power now, 6 days after the storm).

So while we lost trees, tree limbs, our power and internet connection (which was very difficult with a business to run), we packed up our things, sent Lincoln to friends and headed to the hospital. And you know what? Despite it being Christmas Day, and we knew we would be dealing with a setback in the removal of the back scalp expander, we went in great peace and relief. This peace could only have been sent by God. And we felt His nearness all through the day. What a blessing.

To be cont'd.