The Big Day

Well, Ingrid did a great job yesterday and slept soundly through the night.

We arrived at the hospital at 6am and were in the surgery prep area by 6:30. Ingrid was relatively peaceful and quiet while various doctors and nurses asked us the same questions about allergies, etc. And then, with everything ready, she was whisked away in the arms of a young anesthesiologist on her way to her very big day!

Our pager beeped around 8:30 with the message that Ingrid's surgery was beginning. And then, every hour after with encouraging news of her progress. Around 11:30 we got the call that she was done and we met with Dr. Barksdale, her surgeon. He said they we able to close her "primarily" which meant that she now has skin and muscle going across her belly with a biodegradable patch added for support (rather than to help fill in any gaps.) And he gave us a before-and-after picture so we could see the suture and her brand new bellybutton!

We were finally able to be with Ingrid in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) around 12:30. Her nurse said she had already woken up and had pulled off her nasal cannula (supplemental oxygen). She has plenty of other tubes to yank at: an NG tube to get rid of fluid in her stomach, a catheter, an IV, an epidural, a pulse-ox, and a blood pressure cuff. She's a feisty one - she's rolled herself over a few times already!

Right now the main issue is pain management. We've been told (and Kate has read before) that redheads process pain medication faster than other folks and, therefore, need more! There have been a few adjustments this afternoon to her pain meds so that, hopefully, she will sleep off the worst discomfort.

Kate is spending the night at her side. She's a little worried because the PICU nurse said she'd be in for a rough couple of days! My girls are strong, though!!

Thank you all for the thoughts and prayers these past few days.