Frontalis Sling Surgery Started

It's a long process, getting prepared for surgery. Although we checked in by 6:30 it was 8:00 by the time we were walking out of the pre-op area. Today as we sat in the waiting area I felt haunted by images in my head of Ainsley on Steve's knee before her second craniosynostosis repair when she was a 9 month old baby. I went into that surgery thinking that her appearance would be improved and she would look "normal", whatever that is. Little did I know that instead we would start the countdown until this surgery, today, when we will hopefully be "getting back" her eyes.

I lay in bed last night with a lot of thoughts turning around in my mind. My emotions about this surgery vary by the minute. I'm both excited and terrified. I have to remind myself to breathe.

Luckily (or unluckily) we've been through it so many times that I am able to cope pretty well with the pre-surgery anxiety, the procedures, the post-operative care, the consequences if things don't turn out the way we expect. The only thing to do now is wait.

This surgery is outpatient so if all goes as it should we will meet her in post-op, let her wake up a bit, make sure her stomach can handle fluids and formula and then we'll be on our way home. That will be nice. I don't care for hospitals much. I think she recovers quicker and is more comfortable at home.

Here are some pictures of our morning.

 She's a big girl now. She is growing up so much. Normally she is terrified of having her blood pressure taken. This time she held her arm out. I took her back to the OR to be put under and she didn't even cry. It all went as smoothly as if she were an adult. Which makes me a little sad. She shouldn't be so used to all this.

The surgeon marking her lids.

A close up.

I was very clear with the surgeon, NO EYELASH removal. He agreed and said he'd been thinking about it and will try to fix the left eye where the lashes bunch together some other way having to do with taking out a tiny triangle of skin, that I'm going to have to trust will work, so technically in addition to the frontalis sling she is having a canthoplasty too.

With any luck, after a little healing, we will be able to see her eyes better again.

I will update later.