The Update

Well it's all over now and thank goodness! I was a long hard day for Ellie.. she wanted NOTHING to do with the nurses or doctors. If they even looked at her she screamed. My husband Jeff kept a running blog of the day and emailed it out. Here it is:

6:00am - Well the morning started off great Ellie was in a great mood and played in the car all the way to the Hosptial unaware that something ominious was approaching..

6:30 - Admiting took forever, we visted three waiting rooms in the journey to the pre-op

7:30 - Preop blues set in with Mommy and Ellie figured it out she was not going to Daycare today. She typically enjoys electro gadgets, but not today and particularly not the ones that had to touch her (pulse/ox/temp). She did get a lovely orange gown which I think of as a precurser to a straight jacket. Positive side our Dr as it turns out 5 years ago seperated conjoined twins in Denver so Mom felt much better.

8:00 - scratch what I said about Mom feeling better because this is where it all fall apart. It is go time both Mom and Ellie are crying and in a humane way the pryed her away from mom and took Ellie screaming down the hall. Weird silence sets in as her muffled cry fades away and you realize you can't be there for her now and it feels empty.Tick tock it is all a matter of waiting now.

9:30 - Mr. Little congratulations it’s a ….eewww tumor, growth weird thing that had hair growing out of it. Initial prognosis is it is not an evil thing, but pathology results will be run non the less and the doc described how big this thing was - lil bigger than a marble and very fleshy hard mass. The surgery went fine and there we no complications so a good sigh of relief, now the wait till we can see her and feel her stare of what did you do to me.

10:00 - Trip the lights fantastic! So Ellie started to wake up from surgery and the post op nurse came out to get us. She is breathing and looks like our child - quick check of the ankle bracelet and yep this one is ours, but she is mysteriously calm and quiet. Why did I think that because as soon as the anesthesia wore off and she was aware and wanted nothing to do with anyone, but mom.10:05 - Will you stop poking me! Well she developed a hematoma and the swelling started, they all came to see if they needed to take her back, but the sutures held, but a little pressure on the spot and some demerol to stop the pain things seemed to calm down.10:15 - In Steve Irwin's wet dreams! … wrestling alligators sums up the fiasco that ensued in getting her ready to go home. First they had to get some stats and she reacted like a shell shocked alien probe survivor very timid and untrusting. Then the best part - removing the drip IV tube, well Ellie helped in removing the bandages, seemed like a fun game round and round and round till the IV was exposed. Think that stopped her? We had a gusher, she yanked out the IV and covered Mom, Nurse, blanket and Rae (her stuffed rabbit) in blood which was like capping an oil rig fire. She was flailing her arm around and we needed to get it contained. Amazing a little gauze some pressure and an elmo bandage all better.

10:30 - all smiles when we walked outside the hospital, it was over and she was too tired and doped up to care about anything else expect to get home and go to bed. Get home and she did the drunk walk into the house and walked right to her high chair - guess she was hungry. Well things are quiet she is sleeping and then we begin the every 4 hour Tylenol for pain ritual. No sleeping tonight, but it will be worth knowing it she is safe.

Here are some pics:

(Ellie right before surgery)

(Here we are right afterwards.. before the incision became huge and before the wrestling!)

And here is Ellie today: