Tenley's Surgery

Last Tuesday night I noticed a large swollen mass in her groin area and I was so freaked out by it, that I screamed to my mom that was visiting from out of state to grab my other daughter and get ready because we're headed to the emergency room.  I called the doctor to see what they suggested as I started to calm down and since they were unsure they told me to come in right away.  While on our way, it hit me that we had just switched back to Tricare and this visit would not be covered...wonderful to remember at the last minute, right?  I turned around and called them to see if this was urgent enough for the Emergency room, or wait to make an appointment with the new doctor.  We decided to wait until the next morning to see the new doctor.  At our early morning appointment he confirmed it was an inguinal hernia and needed to be repaired immediately.  With our referral information I went home to find a surgeon.  I chose one at Egelston because I have confidence in our Children's hospital, rather than our local hospitals for a surgery.  The mass started to go down a little at home and we made an appointment the next day.  I then noticed her stomach descending and the mass swelling again, they told me to come in right away.  So off we went.  My husband was able to leave work early and meet me at the surgeon's office.  Two doctors examined her and confirmed as well and inguinal hernia and it needed to be repaired right away.  They will not go away by themselves and can cause serious problems if not removed.  In girls, it's almost always hereditary.  In boys its just more common I guess.  After a day of waiting, they were able to schedule her Emergency Hernia Repair for Friday as a work-in.  Friday morning we arrived and started the pre-op.  My little Tenley was pretty happy for not eating all night or morning.  Poor thing had no idea.  In the pre-op room they prepped us for everything and hours later they came to start the process.  It was very emotional and stressful for me, but thankfully my hubby was there to help calm my fears and lighten our mood.  Surgery lasted 1hr and 15min.  Probably one of the longest hours of my life.  Along with Madi's surgery on her eyes back in December, 2weeks before Christmas in 2010.  Needless to say, its been quite a ride with my little women.  Two surgeries in less than 1year.  She was in recovery about 30-45min.  When they brought her to us she was screaming bloody murder.  Pretty understandable.  Her little legs were numb, I.V.'s in her hands, a breathing tube down her throat for the anesthesia(it was removed before during recovery),  incision from hernia repair and small hole in her tummy from the camera scope to check the other side for a hernia....  She wasn't sure if she wanted her daddy or mommy..she was going back and forth crying, it was so pitiful.  I finally calmed her down and wrapped her up in a blanket with her paci and she took a little catnap.  A little while after her nap, they asked me to change her diaper and to check her vitals, not happy about that either.  She really didn't calm down until she was able to have her bottle.  We were able to give her a little water and juice, but that wasn't cutting it.  My girls are both great eaters, so to deprive them of food at anytime is worse than taking away their favorite toy.  Now that she was able to hold down formula and start to move her legs, we were able to be discharged.  Being home never feels more wonderful than after being in a hospital all day.  It was very exhausting.  I feel like I'm still trying to recover and I didn't even have the surgery.  Tenley is doing wonderful and is crawling around as if nothing has happened now. We are doing our best to keep it the incision and scope area dry and only give her sponge baths.  We are also giving Tylenol and Motrin to keep down any pain she may be experiencing.

This is her during Pre-op at Egelston.  So happy and so unaware of what was to happen next.  She is always so happy.  She is my smiley girl.

Madison's Eye Surgery Journey

6months old

When my first baby, Madison, was 6months old I started noticing that her eyes were not lining up correctly.  I spoke with her pediatrician time and again and he just kept assuring me she would grow out of it.   I began doing research online and soon discovered that babies do not just "grow out of it."  After multiple pediatrician visits and showing constant concern to the doctor, he finally referred me to an optometrist.  In Georgia, we have  a program for children under the age of 1 that entitles them to a free eye exam, so we made her first visit.  They determined that she needed glasses, and so she was fitted for her first pair.  Talk about stressful!  Trying to keep a bow on her head was difficult enough, imagine keeping a pair of glasses on a little one!  During this time, my husband was deployed to Iraq so I was going through this all alone.  This is a picture of her new glasses:

 So we started our journey with glasses.  
As time went by, I didn’t see any change.  But every month she was growing and we had to  keep up with having her prescription changed and the frames resized at $300 a pop.   I still didn’t feel like her eyes were improving and our insurance only covered the first pair.  After that, it was all out-of-pocket.

6 1/2months old after taking her glasses off.

I continued to do more research still looking for a more definitive answer.  I kept finding information about a surgical procedure that many found successful. So at Madison’s next visit I asked about surgery and the possibility of seeing an Ophthalmologist, but the doctor kept reassuring me the glasses were working and there would be no need for surgery.  But, I was not seeing positive results, and my mother’s-intuition just knew something was not right and I needed to get a second opinion.  So back to the Pediatrician we went.  I told him the glasses were not working and I asked for a referral to see an Ophthalmologist.

 
We made our first appointment as soon as possible and I felt like this was going to be the right direction.   The Doctor did many tests.  She also checked out Madi’s glasses and found that the prescription was the wrong type and they were actually making her eyes worse!  I was advised to take them off immediately and not to put them back on.

The Doctor also informed us that surgery would be in the near future and start to prepare.  Since Madison had this condition at birth, wearing glasses would not correct her eyes. We were also told that her vision was fine, the eyes were simply going in different directions.  There was also the possibility that Madison would not need glasses until she is much older and maybe not need them at all.  I was very satisfied that I had followed my instincts and pressed on for my baby girl.

At this point my husband came home from his 14 month deployment.  This now created another obstacle with our insurance, changing from Tricare back to his regular employers insurance.  Her current doctor did not accept Tricare so we had to start all over again with a new Ophthalmologist.  Prayerfully and thankfully, we found an excellent doctor that could not have made me happier.  He was great.  He confirmed all the same things her previous eye doctor had recommended and suggested that surgery be done very soon.  His course of action began with Madison wearing an eye-patch everyday on her good eye during awake hours.  We had to do this for months.

Madi wearing her Eye Patch

September 2010 Madison before her eye surgery.

On December 14th 2010 Madi had corrective eye surgery for her condition Strabismus.

She was not happy at the Children's hospital.  She just knew something was going on.

I was trying to calm her nerves and let her know that Mommy and Daddy would be there the entire time.

We arrived at the hospital at 7a.m. with surgery scheduled at 11a.m.  It was a scary process, but we made it through.  Her daddy went back with her while she was administered anesthesia.  As soon as they put the little gas mask on, she fell asleep.  The surgery lasted 30 minutes and the post-op lasted about an hour.   As she was wakening we were able to go back to the recovery room to comfort and hold her.   It was difficult to know she was in pain and see how bewildered she was by not being able to see at all.  The Childrens Hospital in Atlanta was excellent and very caring and attentive to us all.  A nurse brought Madi a Popsicle and a small toy.   At 8p.m. we were able to leave the hospital and take Madi home. 

Her vision was blurry the first couple of days. Her eyes bled for a few days after and I had to change her pillow frequently.  I also had to alternate Tylenol and Motrin every few hours to keep the pain at bay.  The first night she slept through and I had her sleep in the bed with me.  The  next few days, she was relaxed and laid on the couch, but would get up and play a little, then cry, then lay down, then go play again.  She actually did lot better than I expected.  I'm so proud of her!  She was a trooper.  We had a follow up appointment 2 weeks later and everything looked great. 

At this point, we go back in 3 months to see if she will need a second surgery.  But, for now she is doing well and the world is a whole new place for her! :)  Her depth perception is great and she doesn’t bump into things as often.  We have also noticed a marked improvement even in other skills, such as speech.   I'm so glad Madison was able to have the surgery.  God is so good!  All the prayers from family and friends were so appreciated during this long journey.

This is my beautiful girl after surgery and our New Years family picture.  All Madi wanted to do was get down and play with her friends.  She didn't want to sit still for a second!!

Her eyes are still a little red, but have healed and corrected so well. :)