A Happy Smile

I posted this photo first, the morning after her surgery. All smiles. Lucey and I spent the day together shopping and playing. Lucey had a great nights sleep. No pain meds and felt great. I have been praising God for her quick recovery. No more pain and boy did she eat this day. I took her to The Olive Garden where she inhaled a bowl of pasta.

I took this fuzzy picture with my phone.

The rest of the pictures were taken with an old point and shoot. I just didn't want to lug extra baggage on to the train. As it was, I struggled with the little I had with me.

Packed up and ready to go to the hospital.

My parents were visiting us in Oklahoma for the Labor Day Weekend. Lucey and I rode back to St. Louis with them. Lucey's surgery was at St. Louis Children's Hospital. I'm so grateful they could get us in sooner than the planned October 19th date.

Lu was a little concerned about what was going to happen. The staff at St. Louis Children's Hospital made her feel comfortable very quickly.

She let me help her into her scrubs and we tucked her in for what became a long wait. Lucey's last meal was completed at 6:00 a.m. and she was not wheeled to surgery until 3:00. She struggled a little towards the end. The television was a huge distraction. (I also gave her piggy back rides and we played in the waiting area.)

She chose bubble gum flavored medicine for her mask. She was really enjoying this scent. She chose bubble gum but she has never had a piece of gum in her life. I guess it sounded fun.

I was told that Lucey came out of surgery, was awakened and then she let everyone know that she wanted to sleep. She came to us looking so peaceful, angelic. This was a very different scenario from her experience last summer. She was very agitated coming out of anesthetic last year and then became sick to her stomach. I was prepared for that but she never had a problem. Another praise was that the anesthesiologist was very familiar with the difficulty in intubating Lucey last year (Lucey has a challenging airway). So he used a fiberoptic scope and was able to intubate her on the first try. Which also made the recovery much easier. She never seemed to have a sore throat.



Lucey slept for an hour. She woke up and asked for that Popsicle. She chose grape.

My Dad drove us to the hospital and stayed with us for the day. Lucey was very happy to have a little snuggle time with her Papa.

My dear friend, Katie, also came and was such a huge support to me. Thank you, Katie....for the coffee, for the sandwich and also for the "Lucey Sandwich"....you know what I mean! That was so sweet and so very helpful!

We took the train home. 17 hours. It was fairly pleasant. Lucey slept well....I did not. We snuggled all night and that I loved.

We loved the lounge car where we could spread out our Polly Pockets and play. The view was really nice.

Ron picked us up in Dallas.....what a fantastic sight for my weary eyes. I was never so happy to be with him and to be heading home to the boys minus Adam.

Thank you for praying for us. The surgery could not have gone any smoother. Two root canals, two crowns and two fillings. I was expecting more damage. The surgeon was wonderful and positive. Lucey now has some silver bling in her mouth.

In 3 days we board a plane (all 5 of us) to South Carolina for Adam's Basic Training Graduation. Stay tuned. I am prepared with tissue. I can't wait to give my tall guy a huge hug!!! I last hugged him on July 5th. Over two months ago. That's way too long for this Mom. My Children mean everything to me. I'm so proud of Adam. But I still miss him more than words can express.

xoxo

Beth