Procedure Day Details

McKenna is doing VERY well! She acts normal! Three of the four things I listed I was nervous about or dreading in the last blog- did not happen.

The first thing is I had a nurse ask me, “do you know if she’s receiving anesthesia or sedation?” I suddenly realized that I didn’t *really* know! They made it clear she would be asleep, but I just assumed anesthesia. She was intubated and under anesthesia for her last procedure and though I knew Sclerotherapy was less invasive then surgery it didn’t occur to me she may only have to be sedated. The nurses didn’t know either. Well-- as it turns out she was taken care of by sedation! As most of you know I like to ask lots of questions and be fully informed about the details so I felt a little foolish having completely not investigated that aspect at all. Oh well-- a good surprise!

The second thing is they let me (and Dave) go all the way to the room where she was having her procedure and hold her while they administered the sedation. She was still thrashing and moaning a bit when I put her down on the table, but her eyes were closed and she was unaware I was leaving. Now while it was a bit traumatic to watch her be sedated I definitely preferred that trauma to them taking her from me screaming and leaving me to my imagination of how terrifying it must be to have a bunch of strangers in masks take her away from mommy and then hold her down and do “I don’t know what” to put her to sleep. So second- good surprise!

The third thing is her radiologist Dr. Rivard originally told us he thought she would need a drain. After everything was over and we were being escorted back to get her a nurse informed me there was no drain. She said once Dr. Rivard got in there he decided that the malformation looked small enough, he decided the drain wasn’t necessary. Third- good surprise!!

There were a few very- un-cool moments .

When they put her I.V./Heplock in she was very upset and angry about it. She kept trying to tear it out with her other hand. She was so worked up they ended up having to shoot her up with some valium like drug to calm her down. It was still going to be a while before her procedure at that point. I tried everything to calm her without the drug. I had brought her favorite books and toys, Dave tried his special games he plays with her, I was singing dancing around with her in my arms-- we tried EVERYTHING. That was sad. When they drugged her- her eyes rolled back and she started moving in slow motion. She got this really goofy grin on her face. It was really sad and funny at the same time. I think I was crying and laughing about it. She was really hungry by this point too. It was noon and she hadn’t eaten since dinner the night before. Obviously it’s dangerous to be sedated with food in your stomach.

Another un-cool moment was after everything was over. She was pretty upset when I came back to get her. The nurses had tried to get her to drink some juice and eat some cookies and she very angrily turned them down. They commented on her temper. LOL! She is a very strong feisty little girl and I like her that way! The two things people commented on all day were how pretty she is and how feisty. (-: She stayed obviously angry at me until in the car on the way home I received some inspiration on how to make it better. She is easily righteously offended by Cole every single day. We have this ritual where he gives her a hug, says, “I’m sorry Kenna” and then gives her kisses. It instantly makes everything better in Kenna’s world. So I did that exact thing. I said, “that wasn’t very nice was it Kenna! Momma is so sorry, I’m sorry.” And then I gave her hugs and kisses and she brightened right up. LOL!

But- by far- the winner for the most un-cool moment was embarrassingly --me having a complete physical breakdown in the middle of McKenna’s physical exam at around 11am. I have been having an irregular heart beat (pvc’s) since Sunday afternoon and added to that was cramping (female variety) so severe that I was vomiting, face and extremities were numb and cold and I was barely remaining conscious. I ended up laying in McKenna’s hospital bed with a nurse, my mom, dad and an Anesthesiologist who did acupressure and acupuncture-- surrounding me trying to get things under control. David had to take McKenna out of the room. That nurse and anesthesiologist were so cool though!! It was really a suprise- in a good way- to have such like minded (energy work) people there right when we needed it! There was talk of taking me home or to a hospital that treats adults, but things calmed down and by noon I was able to function. There were a few people in and out who thought I was the patient (a big kid) not McKenna. I remember at one point some one asking,” who’s the mother?” and they pointed to me lying in the bed. And then in answer to the confusion they pointed to McKenna saying-- that’s the patient. And that’s the mother’s mother. (pointing to my mom) At that point I’m crying and laughing about how ridiculous the whole thing was. Anyway I did not want to tell this story to the world on this blog because it’s embarrassing , but so many of you have been very encouragingly making comments about how strong I am that I figured the humbling truth should be known. The last 3 weeks of extreme stress and exhaustion has caught up to me in very dramatic fashion and I am incredibly weak and sick. So yeah-- I need prayer. And I need to practice what I preach, evidently. Peace be still Amber! Sheesh! And Anita-- your prayer about my weary heart was *right on*! Thanks for having my back. (-: I’m still struggling this morning physically so pray for me.

One more un-cool moment-- As we were getting ready to leave the nurses told us to make sure we watched McKenna closely that she would be under the effects of the sedation for another 4 to 6 hours and that she’d have trouble walking, don’t let her do stairs etc… We were like-- yeah, sure-- of course! So we get home and McKenna immediately starts staggering around like a little drunk. She can hardly walk, but she’s very happy to be home. I collapsed in a chair and Dave on the couch. Nate and Cole were chilling watching t.v. and mom turned her attention to me for a few minutes. Suddenly mom and I looked around and it’s like, um--where’s McKenna!!!! My mom jumps up and gasps. There she was up on top of the dining room table! I told you! Did I not say she’s crazy!! 0-:

So we won’t know the results of the MRI until McKenna’s surgeon Dr. Snyder calls. I’m expecting that call within a day or two. In a couple of weeks we will have a follow up appointment with Dr. Rivard (her radiologist) to assess how well the sclerotherapy worked.

I greatly appreciate you care and prayers! Grandpa Howard (Father-in-law) thank you for coming to the hospital in the middle of your busy day to pray for us! All of you guys have no idea how much of a support and encouragement your comments and prayers are to me! And thank you Jennette for taking over with the blogs.

Love,
Amber