One Year Ago

One year ago today, we were sitting in a pre-op appointment at Children's Mercy Hospital.  

The preparation for surgery number 4, heart surgery number 2, was very different.  We had been home with Lydia for 6 months, all the pre-op routines were on us to do, and we just showed up the morning of.  

This was all very different from the PICU nurses handling everything and Dan and I just squeezing her and kissing her before surgery.  Remember how big her cheeks were?  My goodness, I thought they might explode!  And that hair.

Lydia went through surgery with no complications and was having a great initial recovery.  There was talk of going to the 4th floor in a matter of days and going home.  Then pneumonia hit.  Nasty stuff.  Even nastier when recovering from open heart surgery and breathing through a trach.  Our baby girl took some time and bounced back like we knew she could.  We spent 10 days in the hospital.

 While Lydia was in the hospital, I was preparing for round 2 of 3 job interviews.  I remember pacing her hospital room thinking up things for my presentation.  I finally went to PT's on the Blvd. one rainy afternoon to work on my presentation and enjoy a cookie and a latte.  I got it done! ... only to be greeted with a parking ticket when I left.  Oh well, I presented interview round 2 that Friday, just days after Lydia's surgery and just days before we brought her home.  I'm not sure how I did it, but that doesn't matter now.  I did it!  

 We headed home with our baby girl on March 12, just in time to celebrate her 9 month mark and St. Patrick's Day.  This year we are in a similar place but with a different surgery.  We visit Lydia's plastic surgeon on March 13th to determine when she will have her sub mucous soft cleft palate repair.  It was scheduled for December, with the ear tubes, and was postponed due to lack of weight gain.  She's gaining now and is 22 pounds!  I'll never be ready for this surgery, so let's just get it over with and move on.  Here we go...