Brooke was scheduled to have an appointment with her ENT doctor on Tuesday, March 27th (which was the earliest they could get her in). At this appointment we were going to discuss decannulation (the trach coming out) and the process involved. On February 27th, I got a call from our Nurse Practitioner saying they had a cancellation for the next day if we wanted it. Before even checking with our babysitters ;) I said yes. I would take all three girls if I had to! Thankfully, Granny was able to come up and watch Kami and Hadley, and Bill, Patti and Brian helped on their lunches. Brooke and I headed to St. Louis by ourselves, which doesn't happen very often. Thankfully I just had Brooke because we waited in the waiting room for what seemed like forever!! When we finally met with Dr. Molter with the ENT department, he explained that Brooke was ready for her trach to come out and we scheduled her surgery. On Wednesday, March 28th, we would head down for surgery. We were told that we would get a phone call the day before letting us know what time we needed to report for surgery. For a planner, that's a little frustrating. I just wanted to know exactly when we needed to go. So, on Monday morning I called down to see if they maybe knew Brooke's surgery time yet. And, lucky me they did!! We were scheduled to report to surgery at 8:45 with the procedure starting at 10:15. Because St. Louis traffic is pretty unpredictable in the mornings, we decided to get a hotel room the night before. This would allow us to sleep in a little bit (who can sleep the night before their child's surgery??? But, more on that later...) and not be so rushed to get to the hospital. The day before we were suppose to leave, my mom started getting a cold and decided not to come down with us on Tuesday night. Patti, Brooke and I headed out around 5:00 p.m. and checked into our room at the hotel. Details are a little fuzzy because this was just about three months ago ;) but I will do my best.
So, we are in St. Louis with the knowledge that Brooke will MOST LIKELY get her trach out the next day. We knew that she needed a scope done to make sure that everything looked good with her trach area and inside (I know they have medical terms, but I don't know exactly what they were looking at). I didn't want to get too excited, but I was certainly praying for the best.
Grandma and Brooke talking about what was going to happen the next day...
...And, Brooke talking to Daddy before bed. We had given the I-Pad to Daddy so he could face time with us before the girls went to bed. Well, this ended up being a bad idea because Hadley became pretty upset after seeing us. She can be a very sensitive little girl, especially at bed time.
The next morning, we headed to the hospital for surgery. When Brooke first got her trach, the surgery was scheduled rather quickly and we were bumped around a few times before we actually went into the operating room. This time, we were provided a nice area for waiting. Four years ago, we sat right across the waiting room from this area and waited, and waited, and waited. It obviously was not a joyful day, like this was turning out to be.
Brooke and two of just about the best Grandmas a girl could ask for. My mom decided to get up early Wednesday morning and head down to the hospital. She wasn't missing this, she said :) These two women have been with me from the very beginning and I couldn't be more thankful! I also couldn't have asked for better companions when I wanted to rip my hair out, puke, scream, etc... ;)
They came out to get Brooke and get her prepped and ready to go. I asked about the "happy medicine" they use to calm children down before they leave their parents and they said Brooke could have some. Thank goodness!! When Hadley had her appendix taken out, she didn't get this wonderful medicine and screamed for me the entire way to the operating room. Talk about torture. That was such a horrible feeling! They kept explaining that she wouldn't remember it, but it still breaks your heart.
The medicine kicked in almost immediately and Brooke was putting on quite a show!! She could hardly talk and just had this silly grin on her face. She would ask us to turn on the t.v. and would try to point but would just stare at you. We were all getting quite a laugh. It was great, especially because she didn't care when they wheeled her away. Why can't they give this stuff to parents?!?!
They took her back a little before 10:15 and we were told it would take about an hour. Again, I didn't anticipate that they would find a problem, but I was preparing for the worst. If they decided she wasn't able to get her trach out, fine. She was off the vent, who cares if she has the trach? Right? I can say that, but deep down we all wanted that silly trach out. Dr. Molter came out about 10:40 and gave the thumbs up as he was walking down the hallway. My heart jumped!! We all hugged and then got on the phone.
This picture was taken back in recovery. She was pretty upset when she woke up and didn't see Mommy, Grandma or Nana.
Face timing with Daddy again. He was anxiously awaiting our call and so excited to see Brooke without her trach. His co-workers were excited to hear the news as well. They had been waiting for him to get the call too.
Brooke and Tracy in their matching pj's.
Brooke's appetite has gotten better since her trach was removed. Almost as soon as we got back to the room she was asking for food.
Daddy sent Brooke a gift on Wednesday night. She loved her puppy and slept with it while we were away from home.
On Thursday morning, the hospital hosted a circus down in the cafeteria. We weren't able to leave our room, but they did broadcast it on the t.v. That's almost as good as being there for the real thing. Brooke was glued to the t.v.!
Nurse Linsie came to visit and brought Brooke some fun goodies. It's always fun to see Linsie!!
Uncle Stu came to visit too!
Balloons from her sisters and cousins!
Daddy came down on Thursday evening after work. He took Friday off so he was able to spend the last night at the hospital with us. By Friday, we were going stir CRAZY!!
Getting ready for discharge!!
Leaving the hospital without a trach was definitely a great feeling. I will admit that I was pretty nervous. I would tell people that I relaxed a little bit more each day. Now, three months later, I am feeling pretty good. Brooke's hole is not quite closed up, but it certainly getting smaller. She is waiting for the day when she can go under water without a band-aid.
Before leaving the hospital, we stopped on the fifth floor to see one of our other favorite nurses, Nicole. We also saw Dr. Cole and Dr. Warner (two of our favorite doctors).
We had planned a fun day for Brooke after we left the hospital. We started out at Union Station, but it's changed quite a bit since we were there last. Most of the stores are closed, so we did more wandering than shopping. It was a good time killer because the restaurant we wanted to go to didn't open until 11:00.
We ate lunch at Fitz's, one of our favorites. They have delicious hamburgers and they bottle their own soda right there at the restaurant.
It's really neat to watch the process and see the soda being bottled.
Our server was so nice and explained the entire process to us.
After our yummy lunch, we headed to the Magic house. The last time we had been to the Magic house, Brooke was in my belly. It was nice to have this one on one time with her.
When we arrived back in Rochester, we had a little welcoming committee to greet us. Uncle Brad, Aunt Devin, Ellie, Ryker, and Aunt Kathy were all waiting for us at Grandma and Grandpa's house. My Mom and Dad joined us for dinner later. A big thank you to Grandpa Bill, Aunt Kathy and Granny for helping watch Hadley and Kami while we were in St. Louis. Our family is so important to us!
LOVE this picture!! :)
Wahoo!!! What a wonderful day! We are so proud of you Brookie!
