In three days, Samuel will have his dental surgery. Which, despite my acute fear of anesthesia, seems like nothin' in comparison to the big-daddy-type-surgeries to follow.
In 14 days both Samuel and David will have their big-daddy-type palate surgeries.
I have been thinking back to our last palate surgeries... ugh... the poor fellas were miserable! And I can't blame them. From what I have heard, the hard palate surgery is the most painful to recover from. Which makes sense, since they are having their bony top of the mouth fixed. This means their existing bone is sliced thin kind of like sliced lunchmeat, then layered across the top of their mouth and secured so the bones can heal together. (That is such a medically accurate description, I'm sure... not...)
Sammy had that last time.
David gets it this time.
So thinking back, the munchkins were in aLOT of pain for about two weeks after surgery. We kept them on their mega-pain killers for almost that long - around the clock for Samuel.
Aaaaahhhhh, sweet sweet memories~~~
~~Memories of not sleeping for three weeks until the arm restraints were off...
~~Memories of LOTS of coffee... truly a gift from God...
~~Memories of LOTS of coffee... truly a gift from God...
~~Memories of taking the boys potty every time they needed to go...
~~Memories of the boys being in so much flippin' pain and feeling so insufficient to help them...
~~Memories of the boys being in so much flippin' pain and feeling so insufficient to help them...
~~Memories of feeding the boys every. morsel. of. food. that. went. into. their. mouths. for. three. holy. moly. stinkin'. just. shoot. me. now. weeks... (except the sweet, sweet soups and smoothies and drinks that could go in open cups that they could feed themselves ~ cue the angels singing~~~~)
~~Memories of said open cups containing high-fat and/or thick liquids spilling all over the place ~ at least once every meal or snack time...
~~Memories of the munchkins (understandably) regressing and turning into little needy-bombs... and never being able to comfort both of them at once when they both needed it...
~~More memories of the munchkins waking up several times a night either in pain (poor guys) or just plain ol' uncomfortable because seriously, arm restraints suck...
~~Memories of being THE HELICOPTER-PARENT-ON-STEROIDS so they didn't bump their faces and tear open their stitches and need another surgery...
~~Memories of taking lots of Tums to calm my new ulcers...
~~Memories of in-and-out, in-and-out, in-and-out of the car with arm restraints on...
~~Memories of taking lots of Tums to calm my new ulcers...
~~Memories of in-and-out, in-and-out, in-and-out of the car with arm restraints on...
~~Memories of loving those boys like their lives depended on it. But of course, their lives do depend on it...
If I had to pick the hardest thing to live with as a parent of a munchkin recovering from a cleft surgery, I would have to say the worry that they might bump their face or stick something in their mouth and rip the stitches (aka their face or mouth) wide open. Everything else was draining and tiring, but getting past the "danger zone" and into the "healing zone" was the worst for us.
Prayers would be most appreciated. Don't worry, I will remind you again right before their surgeries ;-D
(((hugs))),
chris
The Lord will guide you continually,
giving you water when you are dry
and restoring your strength.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like an ever-flowing spring. Isaiah 58:11
giving you water when you are dry
and restoring your strength.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like an ever-flowing spring. Isaiah 58:11
Love that scripture! I do not envy you the days ahead...but the Lord will carry you all, and I will for sure be praying!
ReplyDeleteYes. Yes. Yes. and Yes.
ReplyDeleteJust reading about this makes my stomach hurt and my throat constrict.
After Mary's third surgery to close her lip, I would get up several times in the middle of the night with the flashlight to look at her face, I was so worried that she would roll over and somehow rub it open. I actually had to have Cory look at her first thing in the morning and call out an "Ok" because I was so stressed from the previous surgeries. I had such a relief after two weeks (the date the surgeons gave us as a time I could begin to relax).
All I can say... pain killers are our friends at this house. Anything to help the munchkins sleep through the night after that surgery.
Hope you made it to bed early tonight, it's time to stock up on the sleep hours now while you can!