Frontalis Sling Surgery - 24 Hours Post Surgery

We had a crummy night's sleep. Or at least I did. Steve slept on the couch so Ainsley could sleep in our bed. She has to sleep with her head elevated for the first 2 nights. Her crib doesn't have enough space to do that. Besides she needs care in the middle of the night, especially post-surgery. I think I must have suctioned 30 times last night. Having her in my bed makes it easier, but still....

But I think she slept okay and she was pretty much ready to wake up at 9am. Here she is 24 hours post-op. Wearing the same purple "shirt" because she doesn't have any other button down tops. (We have to be careful of the eyes.) She smiled at me while we were in bed so I knew she'd have a pretty good day. The thing about Ainsley is she heals amazingly fast. We had more smiles throughout the day. She's not "herself" but is on her way.

A few hours later I let her know she could get off the couch if she wanted and she responded right away. I think maybe she thought she wasn't allowed. That helped her mood considerably. Even though she loves to watch DVD's she really is usually always doing something else at the same time. So then she was all over the place doing her usual things.

Playing with Evie and Adrian at our "therapy table".

Playing with Evie's IPod Touch, while Evie was getting ready to go to a friend's sleepover birthday. I'm amazed that Ainsley can use one of these things.

Over all I'd say it's too soon to say what I think about the success of the surgery. Her eyes really don't look any more open that they did but there is a lot of swelling that you just really can't see in the pictures. The surgeon said her eyes were lifted to just over the pupil. If indeed that is true her eyes should automatically be pretty open. With the fascia now connected directly from her eyelid to her brow she should be able to use her brow muscle to lift her eyelids more easily than you and I(who don't have a direct connection). So if she chooses she should be able to fully open her eyes using her brow. When she was a 9 month old baby (prior to that fateful 2nd craniofacial surgery) she used her brow the majority of the day to lift her lids. So I would think that she will again, now that it's been made easier and more effective for her. In addition there is too much swelling to be able to see the results of the canthoplasty. You know I'll be counting those eyelashes (kidding).

This is yet another situation when we must be patient.

Although Ainsley is on her way to healing we will be sticking close to home for a few more days to minimize the risk of infection or injury. With the hours Steve has been keeping at work it will be nice to have some family time.  Happy Father's Day everyone!