3 week old ear

Friday February 22, 2013

3 Weeks Post-op

This coming week we will start to wash her ear using some gauze so we can start to ease the stitches out. 

Big Ear Reveal

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2013 

2 Weeks Post-Op

We are back in LA for the big unveiling of Sam's left ear.  My emotions are all over the place, excited, nervous, anxious, but most of all grateful!

Francesca is taking out the ear cup stitches

Loosening the ear cup

Taking the cup off...first look!

Washing her hair and cleaning the ear.  Her hair really needed a good washing since it had been 2 whole weeks without washing.  I was praying I would be able to get all the tangles out of it!

Clean, brushed hair and a big smile after she saw the ear for the first time!  Her first comment, "I look like Ella!"  (Ella is her little sister)

 Official office pictures

Samantha and Dr. Reinisch

Before and after photos

Happy girl!!

New Self Portrait

Sam's teacher asked her to document her surgery experience so that it could be made into a little memory book.  As I was looking over her work, I found this self portrait of herself.  Brought tears to my eyes!

1 week post-op

1 week post-op, Sam is giving a very short presentation at school.  I only took her in for the last 2 hours of school because she really wanted to be part of presentation of the "city" they had built.

Sorry the picture is dark, but you get the idea that she is feeling good.

5 Days Post-op

Sam is feeling good 5 days post-op!  No pain medication at this point, just some Benadryl at night to help with the itching.

Big Day for a Big Ear!

I had big plans to blog throughout the day of Sam's surgery and each day following, but it didn't happen.  So, now you get a play by play almost 2 weeks post surgery!  

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 1, 2013

We check in at Cedars Sinai for Samantha's left ear reconstruction.  Prior to leaving for the hospital, Mike went to wake Sam up and when she woke, she was upset and scared.  It broke both of our hearts because she had been the one that was so strong leading up to this day.  We were taking cues from her, so to see her finally break down was really, really hard.  It was understandable to be nervous, but since we had only seen our brave Samantha, it definitely made me think again about the decision we had made to do the surgery.  

In true Samantha fashion, as soon as we got going, she was fine (at least that is the way she appeared).  We got to the hospital and all she wanted to do was get checked in, so she could play with the iPad.  Hey, I admit, there was a lot of bribery going on!  Pretty much whatever she wanted, she got at this point. 

My beautiful little girl just before they wheeled her away!

She sat right down in the bed in pre-op, drank the "pink juice" and waited for Dr. Reinisch and his team to come in.  The operating room nurse, Al has been working with Dr. Reinisch for 17 years.  He reiterate what everyone else said..."it's harder on the parents!"  The Anesthesiologist, Dr. Maria deCastro was amazing and definitely made Mike and I feel very comfortable.  Before we knew it, it was "Go Time" and they wheeled Sam away.  This was a 9 hour surgery, so it was hard to fight back the tears as they wheeled her away.  I don't think Sam saw my tears though! 

Maybe 30-40 minutes later, Dr. Reinisch came out to let us know that everything was going smoothly and Sam was "asleep" and doing great.  He told us where the Pharmacy was and told us to go out for a walk and get some food.  His team would keep us updated by phone every 2 hours or so.  Then, he gave me a hug and told me he would take care of my little girl!  Funny thing was, I was so nervous leading up to this day, but once she was in there, I had complete confidence that all would be okay.

Soon after, my parents arrived to wait with us.  We went to get something to eat and drop off Sam's prescription.  

Just as Dr. Reinisch promised, 2 hours later we received our first phone update that all was going smoothly.  The next several hours were just waiting for that next update!  

At 5:30pm, Dr. Reinisch walked through the doors and I practically jumped out of my seat!  He informed us that everything went smoothly.  He was happy and that we could go up and see her. 

Note: The left ear was purely cosmetic.  The canal was too narrow and short for atresia repair to be done. 

They moved Sam up to the 5th floor for recovery.  It was now evening the 3rd Floor recovery room was closing.   As soon as we got up there, we could hear Sam saying, "I want to go home now!"  Even though she was still completely groggy!  

 This was right after she got to post-op.  Groggy, but telling us exactly what she wanted/needed.

We waited about an hour just to make sure Sam felt okay enough to leave.  She drank some apple juice and had some jello.  There was some drainage out of the ear, which made me nervous, but they assured me that this was normal.  So, we loaded her in the car and headed back to Aunt Marcia and Uncle Jeff's house.  

Sam was so confused because it was 7 (pm) and it was dark outside.  We left for the hospital at 6am, so she lost day and it was hard to understand at first!  Anyway, we got "home" and Sam had a little bit of challah and we put her to bed.  

We decided to only give her regular Tylenol to see if that would work, because Codeine can make you sick.  It worked pretty well.  She slept from 8pm until 3am.  I gave her more regular Tylenol and she went back to sleep until 7am. 

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 2, 2013

On Saturday, Sam woke up feeling pretty good.  Ate just a little bit for breakfast, but just wanted to take it easy today.  She laid around reading books and watching some TV.  

By afternoon, she was ready to get some fresh air.  So we took a "stroll" over to a neighbors house who has a train set up in their front yard. 

Throughout the day, we kept on top of giving her regular Tylenol every 3 hours along with the Antibiotic that was prescribed.

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Today Sam woke up and got out of bed herself and walked to the bathroom.  Walking has been a challenge the past 2 days because of the skin graft that was taken at her bikini line.  This has really been the only uncomfortable part of the recovery so far.

We had been talking to Sam about doing something special after her surgery and today was the day she felt ready to try it.  So, my Mom, sister and I took Sam to the American Girl Store at The Grove for lunch.  She has been super excited about this for weeks and wanted to go immediately after her surgery!  She still wasn't feeling 100%, but she was definitely better than the past 2 days.  

Our waiter was so sweet to her and made the experience really special.  The other highlight of the day was when my Dad told Sam that she could pick out whatever she wanted at the store.  I was thinking I would get her a doll outfit, but this brought the shopping experience to a much bigger level!  Sam has been flipping through the AG catalog for weeks and knew exactly what she wanted...

Twins!

The look on her face when we opened the box was priceless and well worth it.  Thank you so much, Dad/Grandpa! 

MONDAY FEBRUARY 4, 2013

Today Sam had a post-op appointment at Dr. Reinisch's office before we headed back to San Francisco. 

I couldn't get a good pic of her smiling, but you get the idea.  3 days post-op! 

Oh, and I found this really cool "accessory" at the American Girl store for Sam's doll.  It is sold as a "headlamp" for camping (because every doll needs camping gear!), but it looks like a Baha.  Sam was so excited because we knew you can get hearing aides for the dolls, but this is more realistic for Sam.
You can find it here
http://store.americangirl.com/agshop/html/item/id/197590/ctc/SI
 

Everything was looking good, so we hopped in the car to start the drive back home.  We'll be back in 2 weeks for the unveiling of the ear.

  

Here is a closer look at the Baha on her doll.