Libby's surgery

All in all the day went really well. We tried to capture the whole day in pictures, so I will describe the whole thing. Libby woke up and was not allowed to eat, so she had a juice pop and crushed ice for breakfast. She thought it was really cool to eat the ice with the spoon. She never complained about being hungry-which I think is a miracle in and of itself.

We got to Pittsburgh around 11:40 and got all checked in. The wait was manageable. We were brought back to a play room and Libby was really happy. She was even happier when Pappy arrived to be a much needed distraction. Her favorites were the little car and a game she played with Pappy where they fed animals weird foods. (aka the elephant eats ice cream?)

The anesthesia team was running a bit late so Libby wasn't called for until 2:00. Funny thing is that around 1:55 she curled up on my lap and fell asleep. When the anesthesiologist saw he got Corey garbed up to take her to the OR. Corey grabbed Libby and took her back, they threw a blanket over her and administered the gas under the blanket. She never woke up to know she was being put under! What an awesome answer to prayer.

Then we waited. Corey read a book and listened to music. Rick and I took a nap in a pair of recliners (he has the ability to fall asleep ANYWHERE). Ate snacks. Anything to make the time pass faster. All in all Libby was in surgery for right around 5 hours. It was the longest 5 hours of my life. My mom and dad arrived around 6:30 and gave us a chance to go get some dinner. Right before we were going to eat, Dr. Deeney arrived to tell us he was all done. He was happy with how everything had gone. The left leg was almost straight and the right could get there with therapy. He said they put casts on her (hot pink) and they would see her in 2 weeks. While I was going with dad to get dinner, someone came back to get Corey and mom to see Libby. I wish I could say it was a pleasant reunion, but she was confused and agitated. Mom only stayed long enough to give her a hug and then she waited to get me.

The rest of the evening was spent settling Libby down. She would fall asleep for a moment and then wake up crying. The only thing that calmed her down was when I talked or sang to her. So we had in depth conversations about all the fun things we are going to do. It was a long night with very little sleep. Between nurses taking blood pressure and Libby waking up, we maybe got 2 hours of sleep. An Aside: Around 4:00 am, the nurse came in to administer some more pain meds since Libby was complaining about pain a bit. Since she was awake the nurse decided to go ahead and do a blood drawl-finger stick. So she pricked Libby's finger and then squeezed the blood out. Tears were just running down Libby's face, but when the nurse was done, Libby turned to her and said "Thank you." It was so pitiful.

The next morning was better. Libby was aware of her surroundings, able to drink some juice and eat a few bites of food. She took a nice long nap and watched some of her favorite TV shows. After lunch we were discharged (Hooray!) The ride home was fine. Once we got here, Libby went to sleep in her own bed and so did her mommy and daddy. She didn't wake up until 5:00 pm.

She had some visitors-Pawpaw came to say hello. And then Meme and Pappy came to visit and bring Joe back. (P.S. Thank you Meme for taking care of Joe so that he didn't have to suffer through a super long day in a hospital. He was MUCH happier playing with you).

All in all, things are ok. Libby is frustrated and whiny sometimes, but she is also sweet and determined. She has already figured out that she can army crawl and roll. She can get out of chairs and bed-and we'll have to make sure that she doesn't start trying to walk since she isn't allowed to bear weight on her feet.

We've appreciated all the concern and prayers that you have poured out on us. Libby is a special little girl and I am excited to see all that God can do through her!