Preparing for Surgery

     Shriner's Hospital for children in Salt Lake City seemed different from any other hospital the first time we went there. It was clean, beautiful, and...peaceful. Funny words for a hospital, but it's a special place. We went for the first appointment when Edythe was about 4 months old. The surgeon, Dr Angela Wang, looked at Edythe's hand and said it looked like surgery could be done but we would need to do x-rays when she was a little older. We were also informed, while there, that Shriner's is run on donations, and patients aren't charged! It seemed too good to be true.
     When Edythe was 7 months old we returned for x-rays and were glad to find out the bones weren't joined, which would make surgery easier. But surgery would have to wait until she was one year old.    
     Meantime, Edy learned to crawl, and walk, and feed herself, and wave, and all kinds of things, making do without fingers. She seemed to be right-handed, but learned to do a lot with her left hand when fingers were essential.

    Finally we were able to make an appointment for her surgery: January 12th. To be safe, Edythe was not to get sick during the last 6 weeks. So all during December, when colds and viruses were everywhere, we tried to keep her away from it all. Having 7 older siblings made that a bit challenging. But she stayed well- until about a week before, when she had a clear runny nose and a cough at night. I talked on the phone to the anesthesiologist about it, and she said if no one else was sick to watch it for a day or two. I did, and she seemed to be getting over it, and then she cut a tooth. I was relieved to know the cause, and that her surgery didn't have to be cancelled. Actually, part of me wanted it to be cancelled. As it drew closer, I felt a lot of anxiety; was this the right thing to do? I needed more assurance. What if there were complications? Was it worth it? All I could do was pray, and I did, and peace came and grew through the last week, until by the day of the surgery I felt more calm than ever before! One night her 3 year-old brother prayed, "Thank you that the doctor can cut Edy's hand so it will be...like mine". So sweet. I hadn't realized he knew what was going on. And his faith strengthened mine. Another thing that was a blessing to me in preparing was finally finding a blog about another family's experience. When I read Ania's Syndactyly a week before Edy's surgery, it was such a relief to know others had experienced what we were feeling!
     The night before the surgery we bathed Edythe, fed her solids before eight, as instructed. I set an alarm so I could nurse her at 3:30 am since she was not supposed to nurse after 4. I didn't know how we would make it through the next morning with her not being able to eat, but though we got up before 5 am to make it to the hospital at 6:30, and though her surgery didn't actually start till 8:30, she was happy and busy, and not too hungry. Another tender mercy!