Princess Pink Chickenwing

Emerson had surgery yesterday for a congenital anomaly of her thumb. Here she is in Pedi Admitting. We had to be at the hospital at 5:30AM for 7:30AM surgery, so our day started early at 4:00AM. Emerson did very well, considering she was up way early for her and she hadn't had anything to eat or drink since the night before. She was having a great time coloring and watching all the people. From the adminitting area, we went to the holding room where we spent about an hour an a half before surgery. Emerson did great there as well, watching all the hustle and bustle. She bonded with the little girl in the next bed who was having her hip fixed. Susan was our holding nurse and it was great to see a familiar face. I've known Susan for years and know she is excellent. Her surgeon and anesthesiologist came by before surgery and Emerson got the happy meds and was feeling fine...all smiley and giggly. At the appointed time, the OR nurse and anesthesiologist came and wheeled Emerson into the OR in a red wagon. Even though I worked in the peri-op department for over a decade of this same hospital and know everyone and exactly what was going to happen, it was VERY hard for me to let her go. I know she was in good hands, but still, it's hard when it's your own baby.

Emerson's surgery took 2 hours and she came through with flying colors. The surgeon had a good look around her thumb and found that the anomaly was very straight forward and did not affect the joint at all, which is great. She got a hot pink cast the completely covers her hand so she can't pull it off. We spent about another 2 hours in Recovery with another old friend, Jessica. It took Emerson a while to wake up, and it was a hard wake up that required a second sleep. This is normal for pediatric patients, so I was prepared. Emerson was finally awake enough to drink some apple juice and kiss her monkey, so we were discharged home. Here she is in her little chair drinking some milk and looking puny. We took a LONG nap together in the bed in her room. We all needed the sleep very badly.



After our long nap and a light bite to eat, we were up and walking around, getting some exercise. Already, Emerson is adapting to having the use of only one arm/hand and her non-dominant one at that. Emerson and her dad walked around the house for a while and then we just hung out before going back to bed. Emerson and I spent the night in the bed in her room. It was a rough night and Emerson was up earlier than I had hoped she'd get up. But, we had a good breakfast and a good nap and are now starting to feel more like ourselves.


Emerson has adapted to her cast amazingly fast and amazingly well. She initially has some trouble with her balance and was falling down a lot, but seems to have compensated. Today was regular PT day, and since Emerson seemed to be feeling OK, we went ahead and kept the appointment and she did great. Christie, her PT, was very pleased with how she was coping with the cast, and also warned us that she will have to adapt again once it comes off. NOW, as long as she doesn't get banned from baby school for having &/or using her new pink weapon, we'll sail through the next 3 weeks!