Upcoming Surgery

We’re in Arlington, near Dallas, because we lost power after Hurricane Ike last week. It’s given us a much-needed chance to visit with Cathy, the godmother of all our children, and her twin girls, Sophia and Olivia.

Mallorie is scheduled for her “definitive lip repair.” We are pretty certain it’s her last cleft surgery, and it’s supposed to be the most minor of all of them. We were even told that many children have the surgery done on as a same-day procedure. It’s the surgery she was supposed to have in February, but the plans changed once the plastic surgeon saw how the front of her palate had come apart, and he ended up re-doing the first surgery, and adding the closure of the entire palate. But in February, most of you know that she ended up being hospitalized, unexpectedly, for almost a month, so it’s not been easy to plan for this surgery. We know, from experience, that things can go wrong.

The pre-op visit and registration work-up will take place on Wednesday, and Mallorie is scheduled as the surgeon’s first surgery, at 7:30 a.m. on THURSDAY (Sept. 25). As much as ever, we crave your prayer support.

A really nice surprise this time is that the amazing Z. (Cleft Lip and Palate Coordinator) told me we could make a “parent request” for an anesthesiologist. If you ever heard me talk last time about her anesthesiologist, you know she’s the one we want again, so I called right away and requested the sweetest anesthesiologist I’ve ever met, Dr. B. She knows Mallorie’s history from February, and from the moment I first met her, I felt Mallorie would be safe in her hands. She also came to check on Mal almost daily while she was in the hospital. Just knowing that she could be part of the team on Thursday is a bonus I hadn’t even thought of hoping for. So I’ve made the request, and we’ll see if it works out.

The specific things we’d love prayer about are:

• IV site. Except for her umbilical line (in her belly-button) in the early days after birth, and the central IV line and arterial line while she was in the PICU in February, the nurses and doctors have only been able to place IV’s in her scalp. Last time, we told everyone to feel free to shave her head, as needed, because we expect that’s where they’ll end up with the IV, but since God knows where he placed those veins, it will be interesting to see what they find this time. I am always in awe of those who find any IV site on her.
• Successful surgery with no problems during or afterward – particularly no respiratory problems.
• Can we ask for no pain? J Post-surgical pain management is typically a problem for her, and her habit for dealing with surgical pain is thrashing her head back and forth … typically hitting her lip. After surgery to her lip, this wouldn’t be a good thing.
• Quick recovery and no additional problems with gagging/vomiting. After the past hospitalization, she had both of those for a LONG time. I’ve come to think some of it was related to how long she had a tube in her throat … supposedly, it affects the gag reflex. We’ve recently seen such improvement in that area, so please pray about that.
  

It comforted John and me last time to know that others were praying, and we could just rest, knowing our family’s needs were being brought before God continually. Thank you all for this gift!