Surgery Time

There was a time when we hadn’t seen this sweet face.  A time when we didn’t know her name or even her gender.  I remember the waiting like it was a different lifetime.  It changed me.  Or rather, God has changed me as he has carried and pushed and prodded me along this journey.  

She made me totally crazy the other day.  We had just gotten back from Matthew’s swim practice and she had a baggie of Cheerios she’d been munching on at practice.  As we came into the house, she sat on a stool to watch some tv with her brother while she finished her “O’s.”  Then she very purposefully turned the bag over and spilled.them.all.  

“Uh Oh.”

“Eliana.  Pick up the O’s and put them back in the bag.”

No movement.

“Eliana, clean up your mess.”

Nothing.  

“Eliana Faith.  When we make a mess, we clean it up!  Pick up the cheerios and put them back in the bag!”

One Cheerio picked up.

Two.  Wait.  That Cheerio is stuck to her hand.  Noooow she’s freaking out because her hand is dirty.

“We’ll clean up your hands after the mess is picked up.  Pick up the O’s!”

Well this continued on for much too long.  Picking up one or two Cheerios, freaking out because her hand was dirty, refusing to clean more.  On and on and on.  Finally I got up (from my comfy spot on the couch where I was enjoying a cup of coffee) to help her out.  We have a set of kid sized cleaning tools so I grabbed the hand broom and dust pan.  Taking her hands in mine, we held the cleaning tools together and had the mess cleaned up in no time.  Something that was impossibly frustrating for her, when done with help from mommy became not only easy, but fun.

And in my heart the whisper was, “Becca, she is you.  When you feel frustrated and unequal to “cleaning up the mess,” you need My help.”  Funny how often the Lord uses our kiddos to teach us things about ourselves and his love for us.

With surgery on Wednesday, I really need the Lord to hold my hands and show me what to do.  The next few weeks are shaping up to be very challenging.

We’ll arrive at VCU at 6am on Wednesday morning.  Eliana is scheduled to be in the OR at 7:30.  Surgery will begin with draining fluid from her ears and placing tubes.  After that a hearing test will be done to ensure the hearing nerve is functioning correctly.  Next, the genetic team will draw blood for genetic testing.  The final and lengthiest part of the surgery will be the palate repair.  The cranio-facial surgeon estimates that Eliana will be in the OR around 3-4 hours.  Then when she is in recovery and cleaned up we will be allowed to go back to her.

We will stay in the hospital for 24-48 hours after surgery.  After Eliana has relearned to breathe and swallow with a new roof of her mouth and nasal floor, we will be released from the hospital to come home.  From there we will have about one week of alternating acetaminophen and ibuprofen around the clock to manage pain.   For three (or maybe up to six) weeks after surgery Eliana will be eating a liquid diet.  Smoothies, applesauce, yogurt, ice cream, Pediasure, etc.  We will have to eliminate many of Eliana’s favorite foods.  No bread, no bananas, no oatmeal, no cheese, no goldfish, etc.  Also no you can’t hold your spoon, no you can’t hold your toothbrush and no you can’t go swimming.

As a little one who started her life in the orphanage, the food restrictions are likely to be difficult for Eliana.  She often looks for food in new places or uncomfortable situations.  It makes her feel safe to know she has access to her favorite foods.  With the all liquid diet, there is a good chance we could see some setbacks in the progress we’ve made as a family in the last nine months.  I know we will push through and Eliana will recover, but it will be difficult in the meantime.  I’m anticipating many, many meltdowns over the next few weeks.  I’ll need an extra measure of patience and compassion as we navigate this as a family.  Matthew, Kyle and I will likely need to eat our meals and snacks in a different room or at a time when Eliana is sleeping.  Sleep could be hard to come by.  And of course, Kyle still has the summer student ministry schedule in full swing.  He will be leaving one mission trip early to join us for surgery.  He will be in town for about a week after surgery…then he leaves for another mission trip.  So for a significant portion of Eliana’s recovery, it’ll be Matthew and I holding down the fort.  

SooooOOoooo.  Let me give you some bullet points on how to pray:
*Pray that the palate repair would be successful!  It is possible that some holes will open up again after surgery.  Pray that nothing would happen to damage the work done by the surgeon!
*Pray that Eliana’s pain would be well managed and that we can bring her comfort while she is so uncomfortable.
*Pray for Kyle as he continues to work as a pastor while caring for his family.  Pray God would guide him moment by moment on where to focus his attention.  Pray that God would provide for Kyle’s health and rest throughout so much busyness!
*Pray for Becca as she cares for Matthew and Eliana each day.  Pray for peace in the midst of chaos.  Pray for patience and compassion and maybe some good sleep, too.
*Pray for big brother Matthew.  He really is just the sweetest, kindest big brother.  Pray that he would be able to enjoy his last few weeks of summer.  Pray that he would be compassionate and understanding as he is asked to do many things on his own and for himself while mom’s attention is on sister.
*Pray that our family bond would be strengthened through this time and that Eliana would learn to trust us even more through this difficult time in her little life!
*And please, let's not forget to praise the Lord that our sweet girl is HERE and part of our family.  She brings us so much joy!

As I’ve said so many times before, we so appreciate all of the love and support from so many friends and family near and far throughout so many years!