It is hard to believe that Niklas had his first surgery on Thursday. He woke up in a great mood and he and my mom (thanks for going with me!) played a bit while I completed paperwork at the hospital. His favorite toy in the pre-op room was the remote control. He became very relaxed just after they gave him Tylenol and Versed. I hugged him and put him on the bed when the nurse came to take him and he went without any crying. I had mixed emotions about this but at the same time knew that I felt everyone's prayers and God was watching over him.
Then mom and I proceeded to wait......she was knitting a sweater and I was reading the book Silent Tears (I finished it before we came home on Friday!) as we waited and waited some more for one of the doctors to visit us or call with a report.
Our ENT finally came in and said that they did find a large amount of fluid in both ears so Niklas' hearing should be better. Mom and I thought we had enough time to go eat but the cell rang and the surgeon said that he was done just before we were done with our lunch. We both finished and somehow Erik met us at the room just before they brought Niklas to us. Whew!
Niklas didn't like the nurses poking him or the machines beeping from time to time, but overall he was a trooper. He and I slept on and off that night. He drank a bit out of the syringe (cleft feeder) and then he had applesauce for breakfast. We had visitors from Northside Pediatrics, the nurse practitioner from the cleft clinic, and our doctor during the morning. Erik's sisters and parents were about to arrive with lunch when our doctor cleared us to go home. They went ahead with the visit as we got things ready to go home.
Our experience at CHOA was wonderful! Our friend Amy (she and her husband are waiting on their referral) was our Charge Nurse during the night. She would have been our night nurse if I had reminded her we were coming. I was reading my book until about midnight and then decided to try and sleep (would have rather stayed up talking) so I missed chatting with her. Sorry Amy!
Niklas has had a pretty good weekend recovering at home. I think we will feed him an early dinner tomorrow night though as he seems really tired and unwilling to eat anything by that time. His favorite food today was the Dora ice cream/yogurt that he spotted in the freezer. We did manage to get some more of that eaten instead of the mac n cheese at dinner. He got his No-No's (arm restraints) off during the first night but we now put a long sleeve shirt over them so they stay on. He hasn't put his fingers or objects in his mouth so we let him be free during the day while we can watch him.
We trick or treat every year with our neighbors. Maddy and Ellie Grace are both going to be in kindergarten next year.
Niklas wasn't too sure about his first Halloween. I tried to get him to put on the Elmo costume but he isn't fond of hats. So, I thought we would look around our house for his costume. He might be Bob the Builder? Ellie Grace was a cat last year and decided to be a Princess Kitty this year. Her pink crown and the kitty ears didn't work too well together.
The children enjoyed visiting Burt's Pumpkin Farm with their Nana and Pop a few weeks ago!
This is Timothy and Ellie Grace at the Knoxville Zoo where we gathered with other familes who adopted through CCAI. Timothy's parents went to Vanderbilt with Erik and were very instrumental in us choosing our agency.
Sheridan adores Ellie Grace and she thinks he is pretty special too! He is in our FCC playgroup/First Fridays group and we enjoy spending time with his parents, Michael and Kim.
Zeke and Ellie Grace are about to start their third year of preschool at RPP and they are in the same class again!
Niklas liked the pre-op bed but he wasn't quite ready to change into the hospital gown
Daddy comforting Niklas after surgery
Niklas is leaving CHOA with his treasured balloons (thank you to Grandpa How, Grandma Susie, Aunt Kristi, and Aunt Tina)
