Update on Ceilidh's surgery! UPDATED NP with pics!

Ceilidh did wonderful! She was more scared this time. She started to cry when the doctors and nurse came over to talk to us, and when it was time to go away with the nurse. One of us could have stayed with her until she went to sleep, but she is the type of child that does much better when we are not around (plus I didn't think I could handle that). She made a Jack Russell dog at Build-a-Bear to take into surgery with her. The anesteologist (sp???) was great. She found a mask to put on Abby (her puppy), so they could both wear one. When she woke up, she was very sore, so they had to give her codeine. Not sure if it would have hurt that bad normally (there were tears pouring down her face), but the nurse accidently bumped it (Ceilidh turned her head and the nurse didn't move her hand quick enough). She was anxious to go shopping right away, but again, we made her wait. I was physically and emotionally exhausted. When they went shopping, I stayed in the hotel to sleep. I didn't want to miss it (it's my favorite mall), but I was nauseous and dizzy, so I really couldn't go.

She is now dealing with the same emotional issues as last time. She doesn't think she's pretty, and whenever she looks in the mirror, she puts a hand over the half with the bandage. I'm hoping once the bandage comes off, she will be fine.

Well time to get them to bed. It's been a long day. Thank you again for all the prayers and positive thoughts!

Sounds like things went well. Glad you could finally rest. I'm sure she will feel better in a few days. Keep in mind the meds are playing with her emotions.

Oh I bet it was awful when she got bumped. If I were that nurse I would feel so bad. But I'm glad to know the surgery went well. Maybe now you can get some much needed rest.

I think she'll feel better when the bandage comes off. It must make her nervous to wonder what's under there since she doesn't have a very good understanding of what's been done.

Oh I bet that did hurt, poor thing. I am glad things went well, she'll feel better soon. I am glad it is over for all of you.

Aww, give her a big hug from all of us. We're proud of her! She'll be running around and on summer vacation before you know it.

How long does she have to wear the bandage? Wanting to go shopping immediately is a good sign. Poor honey, breaks my heart she is worried about not being pretty. Be sure to tell her I said and Saige agrees that she is beautiful.

Good news. Hugs to you and yours.

Thanks everyone!

The bandage will start to come off in about 5 days (they are steri-strips). We are not supposed to pull them off when they start to come off, they will just come off on their own. I'm sure she will be find once the bandage comes off. There wasn't much visible on her cheek to begin with (just a little redness), it was mostly internal.

Her brusing and swelling already started to go away. She was not nearly as bruised at supper time as she was earlier in the day. I am suprised about that as well. The surgeon warned us that she will probably bruise and swell worse then last time, because he had to go so deep this time. The surgery actually took almost the complete hour! That had to have been the longest hour of my life!

When I commented on her crying, the nurse said that the kids sometimes get a little teary when they see their parents. I knew that wasn't the case, because I could tell she had been crying before she even registered that we were there. She wouldn't let me let go of her hand (after the IV was removed) until we were released to go upstairs (where we were then discharged from the hospital), because she was terrified she would start bleeding again (last time, she starting squirting blood from where the IV was). Luckily that didn't happen this time, but then again, I held it for a long time.

She wanted to go shopping right from the hospital! LOL. We told her that she had to go back to the hotel to rest, and eat (brang a bunch of the Beech-Nut snacks from my bzz kit). She wouldn't nap (even tho she was exhausted) because she already had a good nap at the hospital. LOL.

We took Ceilidh into preschool today to visit her friends and see the teachers. They were all so happy to see her! They were so worried about her. When we got there, her teacher was just getting ready to take a group down to story time, but they never made it downstairs. She was so excited to see Ceilidh. There is a little boy (Alexander) in Ceilidh's class, and he is just the sweetest boy. He needs to give Ceilidh a hug before she leaves every day and he always asks about Zach (he will be 5 during the summer). Well he isn't really rough, but he likes to give big hugs, but when he saw Ceilidh today, he kept giving her the most gentle hugs I have ever seen. He wanted Ceilidh to give him a hug after each time she hugged someone else (which she was more then happy to do). One of her BFFs wasn't there today because it was her birthday. I was really hoping she would have been there, but at least she got to see the rest of her friends.

I really think taking her in to see her friends helped with her confidence. Not once did she try to hide her face. I think that she was thrilled to see how much her friends and teachers missed her and how glad they were to see her. I am so glad that we took her in today. We told them that we would try to bring her in for a visit next week as well. Ceilidh already really misses going there.

She also has a birthday party to go to on Saturday. I am terrified of her going (don't want her to bump her face plus the germs), but it is for one of her BFFs and I would never dream of not letting her go. I think that will help her confidence even more. I know her BFFs mother will really help to build up Ceilidh's confidence. It broke her heart when I told her what Ceilidh was saying about not being pretty.

Here are some pictures.

This was the evening after they got back from shopping. The kids are each holding their Build-a-Bears. Ceilidh's is Abby (a Jack Russell) and Zach's is Chicken (a blue bear, no idea where he came up with the name, LOL). You can really see the bruising at the bottom edge of the steri-strips.


Another one.


One the way to Costco (day after surgery). She is in much better spirits here. She is holding Abby's new bed that my sister bought her from Build-a-Bear.


Just having fun while waiting for BIL to get to Costco (he had the membership card). You can sort of make out that the bruising is already going down.


Actually it's hard to see the actual bruising since the pics are so small. I will have the whole set on facebook if anyone is interested in seeing them. You have to be a friend frist tho (Dawn Kirk-Marley) since I have will have them marked as private (or whatever it's called).

Thanks for looking.

Oh my mom, she looks so happy! She will do just fine you worry wart! (I know, I'd worry too.) She looks great, and tell her I said she is very beautiful! A smile like that, how can she question it? I'm glad to hear she is bouncing back.

Thanks. She usually always looks happy when the camera is on her. That's my sister in her. LOL. She has to smile and pose when she sees a camera. Shortly after the camera went away, she went back to not smiling and hiding her face.

What a doll baby. I hate it that she thinks she won't be pretty at such a young age. I think she is a beautiful little girl. She looks very happy in the pics too (maybe because she got a bear..lol. They are cute too btw.

That's not as bad as I was afraid. I figured the bruising would be worse. I think most of my kids have had bruises that bad just from falling down when they were playing. She really is a beautiful child, but even if she were ugly I couldn't help but fall in love with her smile. It's not the physical looks of it, just the joy reflected in it. Beauty comes from the inside and her happy face does so much more for me than any model's pout I've ever seen.

So how's she doing now? Let us know.

What a sweetie, and with or without bandage or birthmark (?) she is a beautiful little girl, and be sure to let her know we all think that! She's also a very brave little soul.

She is doing really well now! None of the bandages have started to come off yet (we were told around 5 days), but that is fine. I'm not looking forward to them coming off then having to put polysporin on it. She doesn't like cream going on cuts, or scrapes because she is afraid it will hurt.

The other day, her face was pretty bruised, and she had a black eye, but a lot of that is almost gone. Near the bottom of the steri-strips is still really yellow and is tender when I try to wash it, but I'm sure that will go away soon. I am still terrified that she is going to bump her face. She is no longer being extra careful, which I guess is good, but it worries me. LOL. She is getting sick of hearing "Becareful" and "Watch your face".

She is agreeing with us when we say she is pretty now, so that is a good thing. She went to her BFF's birthday party on Saturday, and that seemed to really help her as well. She is also anxious about going to preschool to visit again. She wants to go today for a visit. She still has one more week to go before we let her go back to preschool for the day, and even then it will only be 2 days a week.

Thanks for asking about her! I'll keep updating on how she is doing.

It's great to hear she's coming along well! It's normal to be a little apprehensive with change, but I think she will do great.

Thats wonderful news!!

It sounds like she's doing really well. It's so hard when they're old enough to understand that something hurts, but not that it will be better for them in the long run.

That's such good news. She'll bounce back in no time. You can't help but worry, it's a mom thing.