Hannah's Surgery

Surgery to repair Hannah's herniated belly button occurred August 15. At first the idea of scheduling two surgeries a week a part seemed to border on certifiable. However, both surgeries have been hanging over our heads and with a $4,000 deductible on our health insurance policy it made sense to get them done so anything else that needs to be done this year will be covered. Having both of them behind me has lifted a 100 pound weight off my shoulder and I am sleeping much better than I have in a long time.

While Rachael's surgery was at the Central Baptist outpatient surgery center, Hannah's was at the University of Kentucky's outpatient surgery center. My good friend Lori works at UK's outpatient center which was a blessing for us. Although Hannah's surgery was much less invasive and the recovery less painful in some ways it was the surgery that concerned me the most. I was worried about how Hannah would handle having to go into surgery and how I was going to "hand her over" if she got upset. Lori went above and beyond to make sure Hannah was taken care of and prepared for surgery. Prior to both Rachael and Hannah's surgery Lori brought over a surgery mask, gown and smock as well as anesthesiology supplies - mask, tubing, etc. We showed the girls what the people in the operating room would look like, what would happen with the mask on their faces to go to sleep, and how they would go into the operating room without Mommy and Daddy. They also practiced on their stuffed animals. The night before Rachael's surgery the two of them put about 30 stuffed animals to sleep and took out their tonsils. Lori made sure the right staff for Hannah were assigned to her case - from pre-op to post-op. She talked to each one of them ahead of time explaining Hannah's personality and I bet her mother's paranoia. The day of the surgery Lori was on vacation but came in and dressed in scrubs to walk Hannah into the operating room. Hannah was very brave and walked in holding Lori's hand. The staff took great care of her.

Following surgery Hannah was very calm and well behaved. She was told she had drink something to go home so she downed a cup of apple juice in record time. She didn't like the IV any more than Rachael but only shook her arm a little to show her discomfort. If you didn't know her you wouldn't have known that she was uncomfortable. We arrived at the surgery center at 6:30 am and left at 10:00 am and by lunch time she was ready for food. She has had some discomfort but Tylenol has been enough. The stitches will dissolve on their own so we don't have to go back to remove anything. She can't remove any of the bandages until Sunday night and probably there will still be some sterile strips in place for another few days. Once she is healed we will take pictures of the new belly button. For now we have posted a "before" photo and a photo of her stuffed animal Marie following surgery. Marie went with Hannah into the operating room and when she came out she had a mask, hat, booties on each paw and a band aid where her belly button was repaired.