Daniel's Surgery

Daniel’s surgery to repair his palate was three weeks ago today. I wanted to take some time to remember and recognize in my own heart how grateful we are for Daniel to have had this surgery. First, I’ll share how surgery went then update on how he is doing.

After a quiet weekend of resting, we left early Tuesday morning, December 2^nd, for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

Many people prayed for Daniel and those prayers were felt. He was cheerful the entire van ride as well as in the waiting room. Even in pre-op he was remarkably calm. They gave him a sedative before the nurses carried him back, and he did not cry when telling us good bye. I cried happy tears at that point as I was so grateful that he had no anxiety. We feel like we were given the best care throughout our stay. Each surgeon and nurse stepped into our pre-op room to discuss the procedure one more time and answer any questions. While Daniel was in surgery, each one came by to report how their portion of the surgery went. Sometime before lunch his surgery was complete and we were moved to his room where we waited for him to arrive. [A close pastor/friend prayed and stayed with us for a while before surgery. Another close friend sat with us during the surgery and brought us breakfast and lunch.  Both of these folks were a blessing beyond words. (Thank you also to everyone who came by to visit our little guy).] 






They said he didn’t start crying until he saw us.







He did remarkably well throughout the rest of his hospital stay. He only stayed one night. We packed his favorite DVD "Wheels on the Bus" and when PBS kids wasn't keeping him happy we had it on hand. 

 We had this pretty view from the hospital window.

Daniel is recovering remarkably well. We are guessing he is no longer in pain. The surgery scars have diminished significantly. We did not know if surgery would cause any regression with Daniel, but he doesn't seem to have, with the exception an aversion to certain foods. He is slowly returning to normal in terms of his appetite and diet. He is not supposed to rough-house, slide down slides, play on playgrounds, drink from a sippy cup, or self-feed until his re-check January 8th. He wears arm braces in the van and while sleeping to keep his hands out of his mouth. 

Daniel's surgery is another milestone in his life and ours where we get to see God's perfect timing. He had this surgery in plenty of time before Faith is born. He had our undivided attention for most of the week as Joshua stayed with my parents.

After January 8th, I anticipate everything returning to normal.

Have I mentioned what a blessing it is that he's had this surgery? It takes quite some time to coordinate such a surgery. Given the fact that it really takes over a month to fully recover, I'm relieved that it wasn't scheduled for later. I'll be full term with Faith mid-January. I don't know if we could have scheduled this surgery for 2015 once Faith arrives.