In My Daughter’s Eyes

I asked Abby to write a little about what she experienced to share with our readers.  I can sit here and tell everyone about my experience again and again….but only the true hero, who lived the experience firsthand, can really share what it was like.  In her own words, this is her story:

I guess I should start from the beginning so here it goes.

I woke up that morning ready to face what I had to do.  When we got to the hospital they took me in for a check-up.  They made me put on clown socks and old man jammies.  Then we went to the waiting room.  The child life specialist Rachelle waited in the waiting room with me.  I found Mario Party 8 on the Wii and started to play.  Soon a nurse came out and told us that Annie, the baby girl before me, was taking longer than expected.  A few hours later Dr. Kaza came out and said that he would be my surgeon.  That kind of surprised me because we thought that Dr. Burch would be my surgeon.  But I liked him a lot.  He explained the surgery and said that next time I needed a valve they probably wouldn’t have to open the chest.  I asked if they would put it up my leg.  He looked at me astonished and answered yes.  About 45 minutes later they came out and said they were ready for me.  I took squeezer, my bear,  and walked down the hall.  I wasn’t really scared… I just wanted it done.  When we got to the point where I had to say goodbye I said goodbye and went to the operating room.  The operating room was pretty cool.  The lights over the table looked like giant lasers.  When they put the mask on me and started the air I instantly felt that weightless sensation.  I talked until it went black.

I remember waking up puking.  Apparently I puked three times but I only woke up once when I was puking only to fall back asleep right after.  I also was apparently yelling “Mommy I can’t breathe” when I was on high flow oxygen but I don’t remember that either.  The first time I really woke up my mom wasn’t there, just a nurse.  My dad and the nurse had persuaded her to get some sleep.  I was struck numb. All throughout the night I kept waking up every hour asking the nurse to call my mom.  I finally got her to call her.

The next day I wasn’t very happy, just blah.  I didn’t want to do anything but the nurses had other ideas.  So I got up and sat down in a chair.  I didn’t like it.  They also made me use the bathroom.  I didn’t like that either.  I also had a problem–my back had HUGE knots in them and it made my back sore.  My grandma stayed with me that night.

THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH IS NOT FIT FOR THOSE WHO HAVE ISSUSES WITH BLOOD!

On the third day I was ready to move into my own room.  I just had to have the drainage tubes to pull out.  When they came I wasn’t too worried it hadn’t hurt when they pulled out other tubes.  The one in my side didn’t hurt to pull out but the middle one did.  They told me to breathe out when she pulled on the tube–I did as instructed.  It was a long tube so I didn’t have any more air to breathe out.  I cried out in pain when it broke free from my body.  Blood splattered everywhere.  I then was moved into my room.

I had a lot of visitors the next few days and was slowly getting better.  Finally it was time to go home.  I was happy to leave but I left a different person.   I left with a memory that changed my life.

That is my story of my 2^nd heart surgery through my eyes.

MOM’S NOTE:

Abby truly did leave the hospital a different person.  She has slowly gained back her spunk and sunshiney personality.  She laughs more often and we see her beautiful Abby smile…..but something has definitely changed.  She is more thoughtful.  She spends more time thinking and contemplating.  She seems less carefree and a little more serious, as if the weight of the world is sometimes sitting on her shoulders.  She looks at the world and those around her differently–noticing that the world is full of not only carefree happy experiences….but also those that test and try her, making her stronger.  Making her reach beyond the darkness she never noticed was there before.

Related posts:

1. My first experience with the NG tube
2. Can You Ever Really Prepare?
3. The beginning of Khloe
4. Father’s Day Letter
5. Arayah Faith