So many days when my heart is hurting or my spirit is weary I plead, "Hurry up, Lord...please." Yet, even while the petition is leaving my lips I am reassured that everything is happening at exactly the pace it is supposed to, even when that is to my disappointment.
We got a huge exclamation point to that thought today when we visited Abbie's ENT for her pre-op appointment. I was curious about how the surgeon was going to close a hole that is fairly big. I found out that normally it requires taking a piece of cartilage from the ribs (another incision...ugh), and then using it to fill in while the surgeon pulls both end of the hole together. The normal outcome is that a divot remains in the throat, and, even more importantly, the windpipe is often narrowed during the closure procedure, to allow both ends to meet. This narrowing can lead to respiratory distress either immediately after surgery, or down the line. Ugh again.
But, but, but...God's stopwatch for Abbie was beeping, "right time, right time" today. Finally. After scheduling this procedure four times in the last two years He showed us why we waited. Abbie's surgeon has recently begun using a resorbable material (meaning over time it disappears into the body) to do closure on large trach stomas. As far as she knows she is the first to use this material for this purpose. There are huge benefits for Abbie: no cartilage needed from the rib, no divot left in the neck -- it will be smooth with just a straight scar across it, and her windpipe will not be narrowed. It is likely that Dr. T. will publish an article in a medical journal after Abbie's surgery so that other surgeons could consider using this technique. All of the things that would have concerned me about this surgery vanished in an instant, thanks to the brilliance of Dr. T. I cannot explain how incredibly blessed I feel.
We'll plan on spending 2 days in the hospital (for her trach, not sure what the GI will say yet). So, perhaps at this time next week we'll be home with our ready-to-swim Abbie. I now that she'll be tremendously more comfortable. She cried in her carseat on the way to PT today, because her tummy just hurts so much. We had to lay her down the backseat on the way home. Please pray for her comfort for the next five days. It is stunning to watch one little girl endure so much, and yet smile and press on.
2 comments:
Just wanted to say that I was equally amazed at the closure of my husband's trach hole. He didn't have the fancy technology they have today (this was eleven, no TWELVE years ago) but the success was the same. Just beautiful. He sports a white cross-looking scar and no one ever really notices anymore. And his GI tube hole? Yes, there's a little dimple there. Thought I'd never be able to look at it... but twelve years later, I don't even see it. All those memories really do fade.
Best of luck and lots of prayers for the comfort of your beautiful little girl. There really is a light at the end of the tunnel!
~ Kris Kahle (wife of a brain-injured man - who is doing beautifully, and a friend of Diana and Samantha Palumbo)
Wow...God's timing is AMAZING! We will be praying for Abbie and all of you too! What an exciting event...minus enduring the surgery and hospital stay. But swimming and bath time will be so great! :)
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