In the middle of October, I felt like I should call and make an appointment. They had an opening for that weekend so I took it. This meant that Ashlyn had surgery while James and the girls were in Italy. It was a little nerve racking for me as I worried about the risks of the anesthesia. Our amazing home teachers came and gave her a blessing the night before. Ashlyn and I headed down early the next morning. She couldn't eat for six hours before surgery but she was happy. When they took her in they told me it would be about 30 minutes. As the time progressed to over an hour, I started to worry but remembered her blessing and knew she was fine. They finally came and got me after an hour and twenty minutes. The doctor asked if I had been worried that it was taking so long. I admitted I had been. He explained to me that they had had a problem getting the IV in, it took them 13 tries before they hit a vein. He then showed me the cyst and talked about the surgery. The cyst was much bigger than I thought it would be. He told me she had a small indention in her skull because it was pushing into her head. Other than the IV problem, everything went smoothly.
I went back to see her after she woke up and they let her cry for a bit to get the blood circulating. She was not happy but I think it was more because she was starving and she had braces on her arms to prevent her elbows from bending. The braces kept her from touching her eyes. She had to wear the braces for a couple of days. Other than frustration of not being able to get the binky to her mouth, she didn't seem to be bothered at all by the surgery. She is back to her old self and happy as ever.
I have often thought about parents who go through much more difficult situations-- where the anesthesia is the least risky part of a surgery. How grateful I am that we are blessed with healthy children.
