First Surgeries

Ethan had his first surgery last week. We planned to begin surgery on his right hand as soon as possible since it will likely take 3 surgeries to give him the best hand we can. I have been blessed to have 4 very healthy children. My oldest had tubes in his ears 13 years ago, but that is the extent of my experience with hospitals and recovery. Of course, Rob and I were nervous sending our little Ethan into surgery, but we knew that this was his path and part of why we brought him home.

I got Ethan appointents with one of the nation's top hand pediatric surgeons. He does a lot of teaching and speaking, so he chooses his cases, but it was one of the few things I could do during the long waiting between LOA (letter of acceptance) and TA (travel approval). During this point in the process, the paperwork is all hurry up and wait. The turn-around for paperwork is one or two days with weeks of waiting for the next step. I was glad to be "doing something" during this time. I'm a do-er, not a wait-er.

So, we go in very early for surgery. The doc schedules the youngest first and we were the youngest. Once the anaesthesiologist saw his tonsils, he called in the ENT. She recommended that we remove his tonsils and adenoids immediately after the hand surgery. Tonsils were on my list of concerns, but we had so many issues in the first two well-check visits. Before surgery, Ethan snored all night long, drooled constantly, really chewed his food and spit out a lot his meat. We thought the eating habits had to do with the orphanage, but the ENT said that his tonsils were so big, she didn't know how he was eating.

This was a very long day. During recovery, I sat beside Ethan as he ate Popsicles. As soon as he saw me, he began to cry and say "Mom, mom." It was pitiful. He rode to the room on my lap in a wheel chair wrapped up in a warm blanket. He spent the entire day on my lap, eating Popsicles and Jell0. He was distressed because the IV was wrapped up on the hand with the thumb that he sucks.
We were so glad when he was released and they could free that thumb.

Ethan will have a cast for 2 weeks. When we take it off, we will see his new pinky finger. The time at home has been tiring but wonderful. It has been a good bonding time. Ethan separates from me easier when I leave him with dad to go to the store. He gives kisses and hugs to my parents when they leave. His new words are "blanket, Popsicle and HAPPY."

The first time he said "happy," I said, "Are you happy?"

Ethan said, "Yes, happy!"

We have lots of Popsicles and ice-cream in the house and are working on setting the record for watching Walle and Cars. It didn't take long for me to get to that so exhausted feeling again. I forget how hard the travel was. It's just really easy for me to take on more than I can accomplish, but my children of all ages suffer when I do that. I'm so thankful for friends who bring meals and take older kids to do stuff. It's pretty hard for a 12 year-old to hang around the house for days and days eating ice-cream and watching movies. Also, for Mother's Day, my best gift was my husband taking the children off for the afternoon so that I could nap and relax. I feel totally recharged after my wonderful afternoon.

Overall, we are thankful that these surgeries are over and a week has already passed. Ethan is such a blessing to us and he continues to thrive beyond our expectations. Thank you, Jesus, for Ethan.