Pre-op Day 2

We saw four docs today.

We started with dentistry.  And that went as I expected.  They were not able to get the dental molds done.  Although I must say that Harlie was way more cooperative than I expected her to be, her mouth simply cannot open enough for them to get the mouth trays in.  They made several attempts and tried cutting the trays to fit better.  But, her mouth did not form in standard shape, so it just didn't work all around.

Taking a quick peek in there.

She even tried to get it in herself, which I think is amazing!!!
She doesn't even want to put a scoopful of yogurt in there!

Last attempt.  It just doesn't fit.

So, they are going to come to her in radiology tomorrow while she's under for her CT scan with contrast and do it then.

No surprise, really.

Since that appointment went pretty quickly, we had some time to kill before the next one.  Somehow we ended up in this open area and they were doing this role play thing they do once a month.  They gave her a hat, which she loved, and a stuffed lobster and they had stations for her take him to to be weighed, get shots, have his temperature taken, have blood drawn, etc.  It was SO cute!

We named him Claws (he even got a hospital bracelet).
He's getting his vitals taken and he was weighed.

Blood pressure time.

He got x-rays and is now getting a cast.

Harlie loved it.  They had an x-ray film there for her to touch and it was an x-ray of a teddy bear.  Adorable!

Then we headed to the cafeteria for lunch.  When we were at the aquarium the other day I found these nesting penguins.  I knew she would love them and I had a feeling they would keep her busy!

After lunch we went down to the lobby to look around the gift shop and let her look at the whatever you call this...

While in the gift shop, I had to really fight urge to buy this...

It was written for us!  Well, and a bunch of other people...  But, it was a little big and would be a royal pain in the butt getting it home.  I'm sure I can find it somewhere closer to home.

Harlie made a bee line for this toy...  so I just had to get it for her.

She got to open it when we went to our next appointment, to see Dr. Labow and Dr. Meara.  I asked her if the little girl was her and she said yes.  Then I told her to tell the little girl to be nice to her mama.  :-)

Dr. Labow and Dr. Taghinia (who we saw yesterday with Dr. Padwa) are the micro surgeons.  We just spoke a little more about what to expect, etc.  Nothing really new there.  Although his after care about her leg was slightly different.  He didn't mention a cast at all.  I meant to ask him for a little clarification, but forgot.  I'm used to hearing different info from different docs, so that's not unusual.  And I learned a long time ago that things don't always go as expected, so we'll just have to see what happens.

After Dr. Labow left, we saw Dr. Meara.  He is the plastic surgeon who is going to "fix" her left eye.  I  must say that I'm pretty darn excited about that.  He said it is going to be a big change.  I honestly can't imagine her looking any different than the way she looks now.  So, it's REALLY hard to picture what she's going to look like with her eye more "normal."  And I want it understood that I think she is so freaking cute just the way she is.  I've never wanted her face to change.  But, at the same time, I know that one of the first things other kids notice about her is her eye.  Plus, I think it has a lot more drainage issues because it is so open and exposed.  It needs to be fixed, so we might as well get it done.

He said the risk is that he is working against gravity.  So, he'll bring it up, but over time, it could go back down.  We'll just hope that doesn't happen.  Back to being excited and hopeful...

After that, we went to cardiology to see the electrophysiologist, Dr. Cecchin.  He asked me a few questions about why they set her pacemaker so low (meaning that they are letting her heart rate get pretty low before the pacemaker kicks in).  I told him it was because they wanted her heart to initiate as many beats as possible.  I think.  If I remember correctly.  Luckily he said that they weren't going to change anything today.  While I'm sure he's a fantastic doctor - I don't need anyone else in there recreating stuff.  Although he said they were going to adjust her settings for surgery.  He doesn't want it that low during/immediately after surgery.

And then we were DONE!

Even though it wasn't the busiest day we've ever had, we were BEAT!

Surgery is exactly ONE month from today.

I'll end with two more pictures.

Awww, Harlie and Maggie watching Wild Kratts.  

And I just HAD to have this hat.  It says, "Powered by Optimism."  I might need it in the coming months!

Yes, I'm a dork.

You might notice the hodge-podge of crammed furniture in the background.  And the gorgeous window treatments.  Yep.  Storage room.  Oh!  I forgot to mention that when we checked in and got our room key, the clerk said that we got her "favorite" room.  That kinda scares me.  We made a mental check not to ask her for any recommendations on places to go or eat, etc.

Okay, that's it.  Tomorrow we have to be at the hospital by 7:30am.  So, more later!

Thanks for all your love!
~Christy xo