Post-op, Praises, and Prayers

Last Thursday we saw Dr. Bauer for Sallie's post-op. It is really wait and see now. He wanted to take her into the procedure rm to get her more accustomed to that and not so nervous in hopes that we can move toward cleaning the inside of the ears more often in clinic. He was not surprised that she was still sick and said it was probably a combination of issues which all would take time. He said the sponges he had placed in her ear the day of surgery could be creating some pressure and contributing to the sickness. He removed those as planned. He also blew some powder in there to aid with healing.

He said to us, "if I did not make it really clear on the day of surgery I want you to know that it was really good that we were in that ear when we were because we were about to have major issues from the growths". Yes we already knew this. Yes we had acknowledged it as a blessing but I was glad he brought it back to our attention. I think we had been so busy taking care of her that we had failed to completely acknowledge how big this was. Our initial goal was to do this surgery in March. I never liked the idea of January. It is right after the holidays, there is always so much sickness, etc. When we asked for insurance approval we asked for January-March because there are many issues to work through as far as timing so we asked for a larger window. The approval came back for only Jan. and Feb. When we talked to Dr. B he could only do 2 days during that time. A had already planned to be in Africa during 2 wks of Feb so Jan 7th ended up being the only date. I really was not happy with this date BUT we accepted it as when it needed to be. We had no idea! What would have happened had it worked for us to wait? I am not sure. However, we give our God the credit for the timing! I asked how he felt about them coming back and he said he had done A LOT to keep this from happening and that he was able to be very aggressive since he was destroying what hearing she had and implanting anyway. So, he was very hopeful.

I am happy to report no V word since! She was able to go to church yesterday morning which wiped her out so she and I stayed in last night. I prepared her for going to school this morning which she accepted well!

This morning as I was helping her get dressed for school I noticed that something was on the outside of her that came from inside... This may be totally gross for some of you but you gotta do what you gotta do. We examined it closely and it appears fibrous. We can also see that there is more of whatever it is. We really have no idea! We called Dr. B's nurse. He was in surgery which we knew but she sent him a txt and he wants us to bring her in tomorrow. Please pray this is nothing major... God knows and He knows every detail! The same God who knew the exact time she needed surgery knows every detail of what is going on right now and we rest in that.

She was able to go to school today until lunch. She is tired! She is resting now but brought home lots of makeup work so we have to get busy!

This pic was from last wk when we went to the Dr. We were so excited to be out of the house!

I hope the words sick and/or vomit are not in my next post! Sick of sick and really sick of vomit!

Here's the rundown:

Sallie was able to wash her hair! If you know me, you know that made me happy!

Monday was crazy! Sallie had a bad day of vomiting, Lizzie had the stomach virus so once again vomiting, and Ell had something similar to the flu! Uh yeah!

Tuesday Sallie had a great day! She felt the best she had since surgery and was able to wear her first cochlear most of the day. In the pics below there is one with a cute stuffed pig. One of her sweet teachers from last yr sent it to her. It is a Scentsy buddy so it has a fragrance pack inside. So cute, smells good, and she loves it! She has gotten some thoughtful things to help with recovery including LOTS of candy, movies, and other goodies.

Wed was another bad day for Sallie with you guessed it vomiting! Dr. Bauer told is this recovery would be worse and he was right. We really did not expect the sickness to last this long though. It is so hard to see her so sick.

We are now headed for her follow up. Feels good to leave the house for the first time in 8 days! No V word this morning but she still will not eat and is dealing with nausea.

All the other girls are back in school today! Ready to put an end to this week! I am really thankful that neither A or myself have been sick!

Word of the Week

The word of the week is VOMIT! What a gross word! Really, it just sounds gross!

Wednesday was rough. Sallie was so sick... The vomiting was non-stop. She woke up throwing up and then we could never get Meds to stay in her so it was not good. We made it home that afternoon and that night she began to improve and we were able to keep her Meds down.

Yesterday was a much better day for her with no vomiting! She dealt with pain off and on but considering what she had done I think it was a good day! Glad she was not vomiting because Millie was... Wed Nt she began complaining with headache followed by fever, vomiting, and upset tummy. She threw up lots. This morning she still has fever and tummy ache but no vomiting. We are praying no one else gets this!

Sallie seems irritable today but we don't blame her! We will take irritable! She gets to take a bath today which makes me happy! We may attempt to back of the prescription pain Meds and anti nausea today. It may be a while before she is completely off them and that is ok but in the next day or so we will try to reduce them.

Nanna and Grandy left this morning so we are solo now. Well I guess we are a duo. It was great to be able to focus on Sallie while we were in FW and not worry about the other girls. It was also nice to have extra hands and super nice to have someone to cook meals and do clean up. Back to reality...

Here's to hoping our word of the week does not become our word of the weekend!

HE Knows!

Yesterday was a long day... We got to the hospital before 5:30. Sallie had a low grade fever and anesthesia wanted her to have a breathing treatment. She had a good bit of congestion going in. I was reminded yesterday about truly believing the words that I say. I say God is in control and I trust Him but I was reminded that is easier when things are going the way we think they should. I held it together but I admit I was concerned. I know that is normal but I was tested yesterday for sure. I had not been that concerned about her being put to sleep in a long time. After all the drs and nurses walked out A and I talked over our concerns. I finally just said, "the Lord knows". That's what it all comes down to. He knows! Each moment may surprise us but not Him and it is in His hands anyway. That little hiccup prepared me for what was to come. Dr. Bauer came to talk to us and as many surgeries as he has done on Sallie I have never seen him as exhausted. His first word was wow. When he got into that ear she had a cholesteatoma ( the skin tumors) growing in her eustacia tube and one in the mastoid area behind the ear. So a huge praise that he went into that ear and caught that before it got out of control. He got all that out and tried to do everything possible to prevent it from growing back. Then he began the work to build the area for the implant and then finally implanting the electrodes and the magnet. He told us we would need to discuss a plan for keeping those ears as clean as possible which will mean more visits to him. He cleaned the other ear and said it was not healed as well as he had hoped mostly because of all the debris that collects in that ear. What now? Come up with a plan for cleaning out the ears more often in his office, see how both ears heal and what possibly will need to be done, we activate hopefully on Jan 31st if swelling is not too bad. The greatest concern and prayer need we have at this time is the cholesteatoma NOT coming back in either ear. Yesterday when he told us there were 2 in that ear panic took over again. That ear is historically bad for them but it was just a reminder of the riskiness of implanting. If they grow back with the implants in #1 it could be a long time before we caught it and #2 we would have a huge issue with removing it. Dr Bauer left out and A listened to my list of fears (bless his heart he has done this a million times) and at the end of my rant I said "we can't change it and He knows" to which A replied, "yep". We plead with you to join us in praying the skin growths are gone forever! He also told us with all he did to expect recovery to be worse. So far, he is right but we have Meds and are keeping them in her and for the most part they are working now. Vomiting was an issue last night and nausea continues to be an issue but she was able to drink some Gatorade and eat some crackers this afternoon. We left the hospital this morning and are in a hotel tonight and hopefully she will be up to going home tomorrow. Please also pray for her recovery so that she does not miss too much school. A few pics from the past couple of days:

Christmas, Birthday, Christmas, and More Christmas

This year our church had a Christmas Cantata and they did a really good job.  They did a performance on Sat nt and then during morning worship on Sunday.  This was taken after the Sat nt performance. 

Each year the 1st grade presents a Christmas Musical.  It was precious and they had as many songs about Jesus as they did Rudolph!  It was really sweet! 

 

Lizzie and her friendWith her teacherThe girls dance class danced at the Nursing Home again.  They did a GREAT job!Posing with their Seymour Buddies.  They take dance in another town and there are girls from several different towns.

When they finished dancing their teacher asked them to hug the residents.  I was SO proud of Lizzie and Millie.  They looked at me for just a second like, “do we have to?”  I nodded yes and they began hugging and hugged every resident in the room. 

Next up was class Christmas Parties.  Notice the girls have on the same outfits over and over!  These were their Christmas outfits and they wore them A LOT in 2 weeks!

We celebrated A’s Birthday with a PINK cake!  He loved it!Our original plan was to travel to AL the day after Christmas.  However, our plans changed once the weather forecasts predicted snow for us on Christmas Eve/Day so we headed out on Christmas Eve to avoid being stuck and not able to travel.  We avoided the snow but AL was full of tornadoes on Christmas Day.  There was one after another.

The kids found their safe place!Sallie was NOT concerned!  I love this pic of her!Ell with our oldest nephewLove this of Ell and Sallie!

We took a few pics.  Not nearly enough!  I just never take enough pics when we are there anymore.  I have to do better!  My family was supposed to do family pics but the weather did not cooperate so we are going to do that our next trip home. 

My sisters and I.  This one is not great quality but I do like it!SMILE Mama!Mama smiling but the rest of us are tickled about something!  There really is no telling what!  Our family!  By this time I was on fire from the fire behind us!I do not have one pic with my Daddy in it and this is the ONLY pic I have from our time with A’s family!  Once again, I have to do better! 

A and Adam canoeing down the river!  We all feared for their lives.  They made it down and called us to come get them, thankfully!On our way home we stopped by the Duck Commander warehouse!!!  WE LOVE DUCK DYNASTY!!!  It is the one show we all LOVE!  It is wholesome and funny and we just love it!  The warehouse is not far off the interstate at all.  It was freezing and Millie does not have enough meat on her bones SO she was not happy because she was COLD!There were lots of other people there doing the same thing as us and one family had a dog SO with Mill being cold and Sallie not liking the dog they got back in the van.  THE RV!Lizzie looking into the store inside the warehouseWe are definitely stopping again during the week when they are open!  It was neat and fun but maybe next time we can see somebody!  All the partying left the Hall’s TIRED!!! 

We had a WONDERFUL break!  It went by really fast as usual but it was good and now we are getting back to our routine.