So the surgery happened as scheduled on July 10, 2012. It
was amazing how at peace she was about the whole process. They typically give
her versed in the pre-op room which causes her to be get “silly” before they
put her under anesthesia, but they didn’t even give her anything since she was
so calm and at peace with the entire situation. It was a miracle; we are
positive it was God’s grace in her heart.
She was in the operating room for 4 hours; those hours felt
like forever. We finally met with the doctor around 7pm. He said the surgery
went well and Solana did great. However she lost a lot of blood and may
possibly need a blood transfusion. This had me extremely worried, but thankfully
she did not need one after all. He said they were able to cover all of the area;
however there is one small area where there was not enough skin. They attempted
to transplant some hair follicles to that area, but we won’t know if they took
or not for a while. It looks as if she has a ‘widows-peak’ in one area of her
head. He mentioned there was extra skin in some areas and not enough in others,
this being one of those. He also explained she has a drain coming out one of holes in the back of her head to collect blood and other fluid. He also said her scalp will not be perfectly curved
like before, there are “lumps or dents” because of the trauma that has happened
to her head and the numerous surgeries she has undergone. To be honest I didn’t
care too much about her appearance at this point, I just wanted to see my child.
Shortly after we were able to see her in the recovery room
and I was expecting her to be screaming and upset (like last time) and she was
again so calm and at peace. There was no crying or screaming. She was talking
and also very tired. Jedi held her for a while in recovery than we were taken
to our own room. She slept most of the night, but did have periods where she
would wake up and interact with us and eat. We were interrupted periodically
through the night by nurses, and I didn’t sleep most of the night, I had such a
hard time quieting my mind and not worrying about my precious daughter.
Even though her surgery was a success, I find that I am
still pretty much a nervous wreck until I start to see Solana’s personality “come
back.” I just don’t feel right when she is not herself.
Seeing your child in the hospital NEVER gets easier.
In the recovery room
Smiling
