Gracie was cleared for surgery by the pediatrician today. Her surgery is set for Tuesday morning. Ricky and I are scared and dreading the entire process. It is absolutely horrible to know what you are about to put your child through. This is an elective surgery meaning she doesn't have to have this done to live but to make life easier. It's hard to make a choice to sign her up for this without her having a say in the events.
We have to be at the hospital at 6am. They said that her surgery would start at 7:30am. It's a minimal of 3 hour surgery maybe longer. We are taking all the kids with us and will have to wake up around 4am to have everyone up, fed, and out the door. I hope that Brody and Madi will be in good moods and make it through the days ahead cheerfully and obediently! Once Gracie is out of recover, she will be moved to her own room until she is released from the hospital. She will have to stay at least 23 hours after surgery so they can get her pain under control, make sure she is stable, etc. We hope that the hospital will let Brody and Madi stay the night. If not, one of us will have to drive home that night.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE pray for Gracie on Tuesday and the following six weeks. She has a long recovery ahead of her. My hope is that she won't been in too much pain and that the experience will be not as bad as we've imagined and have been warned about. She is our tough girl and we know out of the three she is the only one that could handle this type of stuff. This girl has been fighting since the moment she was created. She is a miracle and more importantly, she is our Gracie girl!
What our Gracie girl has overcome in her two short years:
No fluid in the womb the entire pregnancy
Kidneys not functioning in the womb the entire pregnancy
Being told she wouldn't survive the pregnancy or birth
Entering this world 15 weeks early weighing 1 pound 10 ounces and 11 inches long
Having emergency heart surgery within her first week of life
Having a central line (IV) surgically placed after many failed attempts at a PIC line
Countless IV lines including in the head
Developing NEC aka the NICU killer (deadly intestinal infection) and BEATING IT!!!
MSRA thanks to the hospital
Release of tendon at the ankle
Casting and painful braces to fix club foot
Surgery for vocal cord paralysis
Countless therapies
I think it's safe to say that she is one special, amazing, fearfully and wonderfully made little girl!
We didn't know if she was a girl or boy until near the end of my short pregnancy because of all the complications she had but we did know one thing, that baby's name would have Grace in it. It's because of His grace she is alive and thriving. She is a pure living miracle and make no mistakes about it, we realize this every single day. His grace for us shines in her smile. It's a God given smile that fixes any bad day or bad situation. She is such an old soul... there is something about this little girl. If I could be just half the person this little girl is... We love her so much!
Krista
