Sophie's Surgery

Looking back I realized it began on Wednesday.  Sophie and I had gone out shopping with Mamoo and she sat quietly in her seat and never said much.  At lunch she barely ate.  The next morning she began to throw up and complain of stomach pain.  On Friday she was still feeling bad so off to the pediatrician we went, sure it was something simple.  The examination was typical and she was diagnosed with a bad stomach bug.  The nurse practitioner advised that if she got lethargic and wouldn't let us touch her belly, she would need to be seen again.  On Saturday evening Camden called me at work to tell me something was wrong, he was taking Sophie to the hospital.  He and Madison swung by to pick me up.  We speeded downtown to Kosair's and I sat in back looking at my sweet baby cry in pain, something she never does. There was no comforting her.

By the time we reached the hospital her fever rose to 103. She was miserable!  Her daddy's heart was breaking.  Her big brother was visibly upset.  I went into "Mama Bear Mode" making sure they were doing everything they could to help my baby as quickly as possible.

 They wheeled Sophie into a room to put in an IV.  It took three tries before they could get her vein to take it.  My brave little girl, who is as tough as they come, never cried.  She just watched them and asked, "is it going to hurt?"  The nurses kept commenting on how they couldn't believe she didn't cry. Word began getting around the ER about the little girl who was unlike any patient her age they had ever had.  They started coming in to say hi, bringing little gifts with them to make her smile.  Like most people she meets, Sophie was wrapping them around her little finger.  This continued throughout our hospital stay with every nurse and Doctor she encountered.

 After X-rays and Cat Scans the Doctor could not say for certain that it was her appendix but they felt she had enough symptoms to assume it was.  They were confused because she didn't cry when they pushed on her tummy which is a classic symptom of appendicitis.   Luckily we had a very experienced surgeon who knew something wasn't right and insisted she needed to go in and see what was wrong. Surgery was scheduled for the next day.  Mommy and Daddies hearts were heavy.  We didn't want our little girl to have to go through this.  If only we could take her place.   Sophie was doing okay.  Madison wasn't, he was very upset.  We had to comfort him more than Fu.  He was so worried about her.

 Daddy ran home to get Sophie some of her favorite things and bring me some items to get by during the hospital stay.  This would be our home for the next 6 nights.  It was rough.  My little girl kept looking at me and saying, "mommy I want to go home."  Our first night I tried to sleep in fold out chair but couldn't.  I ended up climbing in bed with Sophie and sleeping with her.  I just needed to be as close as I could get.

My bed.  It was awful!

Sunday came and grandparents began to arrive to lend support during the surgery. This was the first time Sophie cried during the whole ordeal.  She didn't care if they stuck her with needles or put her in a big strange machine.  She was scared that we coldn't go with her.  I climbed in bed with her again and just wiped the tears, hers and mine.  We all felt so helpless.   If things went well they would be able to do her surgery laprascopically.  If there was a ruptured appendix, they would call me during the surgery to let me know they had to cut her open.  Unfortunately I got that call.   The reason they had trouble diagnosing her ruptured appendix was because hers was up behind her colon where the Xray couldn't see and it cushioned her pain when they touched that area.   I'm so glad the surgeon insisted to go in and look around.  After an hour of constant pacing and praying, the surgery was done and if there were no complications, we would have a 5-10 day hospital recovery.

The first thing she got eat after surgery was a popsicle that she shared with her big brother.

For 24 hours she was on a liquid diet only.  Those who know my girl know she's a eater.  She loves her food and when in the right mood can put it away.  She was so excited when her dinner tray arrived the next day, only to be sadly dissapointed with the Jello that stared back at her.

Soon visitors began to arrive with gifts and good wishes.  Aunt Sandy and Landon brought a bag of fun items.  Even though she still felt really bad Sophie loved having the company.  She looked at her all her balloons and flowers one day and said, "it looks like were having a party in here!"  Only a child could look at a hospital stay as a party.

 

There were certain things each day that the Doctors wanted to see Sophie doing.  No matter what it was my tough little paitent made it happen.  Soon after surgery they wanted her up walking.  Even though she was in pain and we could see the tears about to come she did what was asked of her with minor complaining.

Soon she was put on a solid liquid diet.  This meant oatmeal and pudding.  After a few bites she pushed the pudding away and exclaimed, " I want some french fries!"  She refused to eat the mushy food any longer.  What did she have to do in order to get "real food?"  Go poo poo.  Her daddy promised her the minute the Doctor gave the go ahead, he would get her some fries.  She immediatly began working on the big #2!!!

More and more friends and family came by to check on Sophie.  One day we were surprised with a visit from 3 players of the River Bats.  They were really nice and gave Sophie an autographed baseball.

If you have a sick child, Kosairs is the place to go.  They are all about the kids and they knew the secret to my girls heart, crafts.  They brought the craft cart around and she picked it clean. 

We spent our days painting, coloring and watching Dolphin Tale (her favorite movie) over and over again.  Her recovery couldn't have gone any better. 

The day finally came when she was able to eat real food.  Daddy ran to McDonalds and got her some fries just as he promised.  From there she moved onto pizza and strawberry shortcake.  My girl was about ready to go home.

The Doctor released us after 6 days because Sophie had done so well with her recovery. 


Camden and  I are so thankful that God was watching over our little girl. He knew Sophie was going to go through this long before we did.  The first night in the hospital we looked at each other as we watched her sleep and we knew what the other was thinking, "what if...what if she wasn't with us.  What would have happened?"  Neither one of us could go there. The thought made us  both sick.  She was with us and she was going to be okay and that was what we had to focus on.