Mixed emotions

Levi’s palate repair surgery is tomorrow, and I can’t quite decide how I feel about it.  

I’m excited to get it over with and have this surgery behind us.  I’m scared that it will be worse than the last surgery we went through.  I’m nervous that something will go wrong and the palate won’t heal properly, or that Levi will have a lot of trouble learning how to eat during the healing process.  I’m also hopeful that everything will go smoothly and that all of my concerns will be unfounded.

I’m just one big bundle of mixed emotions today!  As a parent, it's hard to let my little one have this procedure done, knowing that he will be in pain and uncomfortable for a while afterward.  However, on the other hand, I know that this is in his best interest and will help his eating and speech development in the long run.

Man... parenting is tough sometimes. 

Going into this procedure, I do feel that Ryan and I are a bit more prepared to handle what might come our way.  In February, for Levi’s lip repair, we had no idea what was to come and that made it a bit more challenging to deal with some of the bumps along the road.  For example, we were told that it would be a day surgery and we would be able to take Levi home for night.  However, this didn’t end up being the case and we had to scramble to get our things to the hospital to stay the night.  Also, because he originally wasn’t supposed to be admitted for night, there were no doctors available to properly assess him or prescribe him the proper pain medication.  

This time we’ve been told ahead of time that he will be kept overnight, since the surgery is a bit more difficult.  This is nice to know, so we can bring everything we need for an overnight stay.  There should also be a better system in place for Levi’s post-op care, as everyone knows that he will be admitted.  Having gone through one surgery already, I now feel as though I have a little bit more knowledge as to what might happen and the questions to ask.  

A big prayer request that we have is that Levi will be able to come out of the anesthesia comfortably and that his throat won’t be as sore from the breathing tube.  That was one of the big issues we had with his last surgery.  He couldn’t sleep comfortably because his throat was so sore, his breathing was laboured and he kept coughing.  I hope that this won’t be the case this time.  

The other prayer request is that he would be able to learn how to eat during the period of healing time.  I’m actually not certain on how we are going to feed him, as we aren’t able to use a spoon or his bottle.  We can’t use anything that would touch the roof of his mouth.  I’m sure we will be instructed on the proper procedure, and I anticipate that we will see his feeding specialist after his surgery.  From the research I’ve done, it sounds like they will have him on IV for a while after the surgery to keep him hydrated and to give his mouth a break after the trauma of the procedure.

I’m not sure how surgery will go, but we do know that God’s got it all under control and He’ll be right there for every step.  We’re also thankful for your thoughts and prayers… your support is very much appreciated!  

Thanks for reading!