I set my alarm that morning for 2:15 am so I could get S up and have her eat a snack and get some fluids in her. She gobbled down 3 sausages, drank a ton of milk and ate a container of yogurt. YAY!!!! I was so excited with how well she ate and knew it would help tide her over through the next morning. She wasn't as eager to go back to sleep, so I put her in bed with me and we both fell asleep until my alarm went off later that morning. Cody was up a little after me and we both got everything ready to get Seiden up and going for he procedure. I bathed he while he packed her bags and called my parents to tell them we were heading to the hospital and see how far along they were. When he called, they were just on the other side of Ranger, putting them at the hospital right at 8:00, which is when we had to be there to check in. We headed out the door by 6:30, stopped for some coffee, and were all checked in by 7:30. Just like last time, we went up to the surgery waiting room until we were called into our pre-op room. My parents got there a few minutes after we had already gotten our room. And, after the doctors did all their pre-op stuff, we just played and played and played until Dr. Mac came in and told us it was time.
This part is never easy. Seiden had already been sedated, so she was calm and happy. Holding on to her baby doll, teddy bear, with a paci in her mouth, and a warm blanket snuggled over her (the sweet nurses always get her a warm blanket before surgery!). We gave her hugs and kisses, and I snuggled over her for a long time before they patted my shoulder and told me it was time to take her back. We stood there and watched them wheel her all the way out the double doors and down the surgery hallway before we gathered up our things and headed downstairs to the food court. Her procedure was scheduled for 10:00 am and it was about 11:15 by the time we got out of our pre-op room. We decided to go ahead and eat lunch. Dr. Mac had told us it wouldn't be longer than an hour. So, we figured we had better get some food in our stomachs so we could be attentive to her whenever she was finally in recovery. This second procedure seemed to go so much faster than the first. Dr. Mac's nurse called me right at 30 minutes into surgery telling us that Seiden was already done and had done amazing!!! Praise The Lord!!!!!!!!!! We had just finished paying for our food when Stephanie called. So, we just took our food up to the surgery waiting room and ate there while we waited for Dr. Mac to come out and talk to us.
When Dr. Mac came out, he looked so thrilled and happy. Which was so good to see because the last time we had seen him, he was pretty disappointed with how it appeared her first procedure had gone. What he said next was just music to our ears. Before he started her sclerotherapy treatment, he did a sonogram on her cheek and neck. What he described he saw was literally a miracle. He told us that between the time we last saw him and this procedure, Seiden had shown significant improvement in her healing and those three spots he had treated last time had completely dissolved. It was working! And...if you remember...after we got the news that this might not be the right thing for her...we chose to say no to that and believe that God was going continue working in her body and heal her from these cysts. Well...He did just that! And, for more amazing news, Dr. Mac was able to treat more cysts this time because those three bigger cysts had fully dissolved and he was able to inject 10mL of medicine into seven spots this time. The good/hard news, is that those seven "sticks" he did treated probably 50-60 microscopic cysts. Sweet princess...
We were back in recovery with Seiden just a little after 12:30 and it took her quite a bit longer for her to come out of anesthesia this time. She wasn't wanting to drink anything, eat a popsicle, and just seemed to be in more pain. The recovery nurse finally suggested we give her a little dose of pain medicine through her IV to help her start to feel better. After about 30 minutes, that seemed to work and she finally took a few sips of apple juice and started asking to go home. We got her changed back into her jammies and headed back to Mimi and Pow Pow's. She was asleep when we got home, so I took her up to her room to sleep. Sandra and LaDell were there too, so we decided to order some dinner from a Mexican food restaurant up the street from their house. We ordered it and Mom, Sandra, and I went and picked it up while the boys stayed at home with S. By the time we got back, Seiden was up from her nap. She seemed really out of it and super unaware of her surroundings. It was so different than how she had acted after the first procedure. After that first one, she was up and running around and playing and asking to eat. This time, she just seemed completely out of it. We finally decided that it must be from that extra pain medicine we decided to give her while she was in recovery. It was just too much for her little body. She wound up getting sick from being nauseous, and then seemed better. She wanted nothing to do with food though, which made me nervous. But, I had to keep reminding myself she had just been through surgery, under anesthesia, and had just gotten sick from being nauseous...who would want to eat?!? She sat at the table, in my lap, while we all ate dinner and was perfectly happy. She just wanted to be snuggled. After dinner, dad and Cody headed back to Abilene. Mom was going to stay with me through Wednesday in Ft. Worth because Cody needed to get back to work after just missing the week before with us being in California. After they left, we were all exhausted. I bathed Seiden, took a bath myself, put her in her crib to go to sleep, mom and I watched a few minutes of TV, and I finally just couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. I was in bed before 8:30! We all slept really great that night and Seiden woke up happy and ready to eat some breakfast. Donuts it is!
I had gotten up early to go and workout before mom and S got up. So, on my way home, I stopped by a donut shop to get Seiden some donut holes and mom a cinnamon roll. I also went into the Starbucks inside Kroger for mom and I some coffee. I wasn't sure how Seiden would do with dairy just yet, so I opted to not get her a hot chocolate this time. When got back to the house, everyone was still sleeping. So, I hopped in the bath and took a quick bath and got ready. My mom had gotten up before I was out and Seiden wasn't too far behind. She was super excited for donuts, so that made my heart happy! We ate our breakfast and drank our coffee and not too long after that, it was time to go see Dr. Hymn, a specialist that Dr. Mac referred us to so that Seiden could start taking oral medication to dissolve the cysts that Dr. Mac wouldn't be able to get safely with sclerotherapy treatments. When we walked into the Dodson Specialty Clinic and up to Dr. Hymn's office, my heart almost dropped out of my chest. Dr. Mac had told us Dr. Hymn was a hematologist. But, under his name, it also said oncologist. I started freaking out. I tried to play it off as much as I could and act like I wasn't terrified that Dr. Mac may think this was something more. But, my mom totally called my bluff. She asked if I was ok and, of course, I said yes. She let me believe she believed me and soon, we were called back in to a room to see Dr. Hymn. He told us all about this oral medication Seiden would be on and said he wouldn't start her on it until Dr. Mac was done with these sclerotherapy treatments. This oral medication (I can't remember the name of it) would weaken her immune system. Since her immune system is already weaker anyways, he didn't want her to be trying to heal from a surgery and be on an oral medication that would further weaken her. The oral medication would work the same way the medicine involved with the sclerotherapy would work. Just without anesthesia and recovery! When he was done telling us everything, he asked if we had any questions. I said no, not that I can think of at this point. And, my mom, said...well...wasn't there something you were wondering about. She got me! So, I finally choked out the words, is there something going on that we don't know about? Does Seiden have cancer? He reassured me in seconds and said no, she definitely does not. But, an oncologist and hematologist go hand in hand because it all relates to blood, tissue, and the lymphatic system. A huge weight was lifted off my shoulders and we left the appointment with a huge new optimistic perspective on furthering Seiden's healing and getting all these cysts completely out of her body! Thank you Father for amazing doctors!
After the appointment, Seiden was getting so sleepy. We drove back to Sandra and LaDell's and I put her down for a nap as soon as we got home. While she was napping, mom and I just hung out and talked and watched some TV. After S got up, we all drove into town and did a little shopping. We got Seiden a bunch of new clothes for the fall and some new decor for our new house. We grabbed a late lunch and then headed back to the house for another nap for Seiden...she was asleep in the car before we had even picked up Subway! We got back, ate our lunch, let Seiden sleep until she woke up...3 hours later! And, then fed her some of Mimi's homemade mac and cheese, then headed back into town for shopping round number two, frozen yogurt, and a vanilla frappuccino for Seiden. And...for picking up Panera Bread for dinner when we got home! Well...I probably should have waited a little longer than 24 hours to give Seiden dairy. Or...at least as much dairy as she had gotten. The vanilla frappuccino had sent her over the edge and before we got back to Sandra and LaDell's with dinner, Seiden got sick in the car. It was a no fun, very big, very scary, messy moment. Thank goodness for Mimi and Pow Pow and my sweet mommy though. I got Seiden inside and got her in the bath while they got the car seat out and proceeded to hose it down and clean out the inside of my car (thank goodness for leather!). After Seiden was done bathing and I had changed clothes, Mimi took her inside while I helped my mom and Pow Pow finish up cleaning. We took the entire car seat apart, hosed it down and cleaned it with soap and water, sanitized it, washed all the cloth parts in the laundry, and Pow Pow set the car seat outside in the backyard to sun and air dry. We did the same thing to the inside of my car and febreezed the tar out of it...and left the windows cracked all night long! Phew...crazy times! But...after it all...S was a happy camper, ate a good dinner, had a good, fun night, and slept like a little princess!
The next morning, I got up to work out again and got the same thing for breakfast. When I got back from my workout, Pow Pow had already put Seiden's car seat back together and brought it inside for me. Such a sweet man. These people are wonderful. I'm so glad I have them as family! Mom, Seiden, and I were heading home this day. So, we just hung around the house that morning and then headed out about 11:00 so that we could stop and eat at the 'Ole South Pancake House before heading home. Seiden at the best lunch ever! She pretty much cleaned her plate...which was so good! Before we left, we did a little shopping in University Park Village and then headed back to Abilene. Seiden snoozed the whole way home and we were back, safe and sound by dinner!
The next few days we just spent at home so Seiden could recover. I didn't take her anywhere except to run a few errands and get treats. Starbucks, Nikki's, and Sweet Life are necessities while recovering! She was much more swollen this time and it took a good 6 weeks for her cheek to go completely back to normal. Dr. Mac's office called every week to check on her and make sure she was still healing and that the swelling was going down and there were no other complications. Such amazing people! We had told them she had gotten sick the day after surgery, and they were very protective of her and wanted to make sure she was ok and that wasn't happening anymore. One of the times they called, we went ahead and made an appointment for the next sclerotherapy treatment. With school starting and us getting ready to move and then her birthday coming up in October, we made the appointment for November 9th. That way, it would be nearly the holidays and we could all be off with her. The nurse told me that Dr. Mac wanted to do another MRI before this procedure. Because the sonogram showed much more improved results than he expected, he wanted to get better images with an MRI to see just how far Seiden had come and get a better idea of how many more of these sclerotherapy treatments she would need. The MRI would be at 10:00 am followed immediately by the sclerotherapy procedure. We were looking forward to a long break in between the second and third procedures. Everything had turned out far better than we had ever hoped and Seiden just continued to heal and go leaps and bounds over all the obstacles that have been in her way. God continues to prove His love and truth in His actions for Seiden's healing. We are forever grateful and just continue to remain faithful for God's promises for Seiden's future. Seiden Grace...you are a miracle and we are so, so blessed by you. We love you more than you could imagine baby girl!
Aunt Kimmie took care of our 3 fur babies while we were away. They LOVE her!
Snack time at 2:30 am!!!
Pre-surgery scooter ride up and down the halls. Let me tell you...she had those nurses rolling in their chairs!
1 day post surgery...Starbucks was a necessity.
Play time at Mimi and Pow Pow's!
Sweet Piper watching over Seiden.
Walking over to Opa and Bella's house with her make-up. 4 days post surgery.
4 days post surgery and just a little fashionista!!!
4 day post surgery celebration. Because...well it's Starbucks! And...look at that face!
Lunch time after nap time. Super excited to finally be back to eating real food!
And of course...there was shopping...
Sleepy girl. That anesthesia takes way to looooong to get out of a little girl's system. At least she has her puppies to hold her up and entertain her when she gets tired. My whole heart!
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