Day 2 after surgery.

I did it! I am finally home after two very long days at the hospital. The surgery went great, it took less time than expected; only 3 1/2 hours.  I am still very puffy but feeling a little better. I have to say that the first night after surgery was not fun at all, but the nurses were very nice and helped a lot.

Now, I'd like to introduce you all to my mommy! Since I am still not well enough to be at the computer for too long, she's going to write on my behalf.

Some good news before I go, right before surgery, Dr. Gauger told me that I might not have to be banded shut, but I would be splinted, but guess what? No splint or bands! yayyyy!
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Letter from Mama:

I want to start by saying how proud I am of my daughter. Her surgery was at Children's Hospital so while we were waiting to be admitted, we saw many little kids in the waiting area. There was a little boy who was also going to go into surgery. He started kicking and screaming at the top of his lungs, "I don't want to! I don't want to anymore!" Atenas looked over at me and said: "That's exactly how I'm feeling right now but I'm holding it in. He's my spokesperson."

sometimes Atenas has a little bit of energy to reply to messages and check Facebook, but only for a couple of minutes, I think for the next couple of days mom and sister will continue to be 'personal assistants'

We spent two nights at the hospital and were surrounded by many wonderful nurses. Although it was great to have a lot of help, that meant we had very little sleep.

Now that she's done with the surgery and in her own room, everything is going much better. Being able to recover in her own home is going to help her a lot. Atenas and I took a long nap and she's feeling much more rested.

Sister found the perfect gift at the gift shop of the hospital!. Atenas' nick name is "hermit crab" because sometimes she is crabby and sometimes shy. Also because sister in Spanish is "hermana" so it kind of goes with hermit :-)  Atenas calls her sister Shish kabob (started as 'shistah')

I think the worst part is over but I also want to make sure Atenas takes it slow. Her big sister has been amazing as well, helping a lot and keeping her sister company.

I am not "cyber person" but when Atenas found that a lot of people write blogs about the surgery, I agreed that she should write her own blog for a couple of reasons, but the main reason is because we learned a lot  from reading about other people's experience. The suggested items to purchase have helped a lot (and it also gave some of our friends ideas to shop for gifts for Atenas -thank you!).

 I am a visual learner and I need to see pictures. Looking at other peoples pictures before and after surgery helped me a lot to know what to expect. Also the best tip a friend gave me was to "be prepared when you see your child after surgery, she is going to look very puffy and have bruises". I also shared that with friends and family who wanted to come to the hospital to see Atenas. Our visitors were very nice and sensitive and only stayed for a few minutes. I appreciated their visit a lot and Atenas was very happy to see them but I also know she was tired and wanted to rest as much as possible.

Food: be ready with multiple choices, some things taste very different after surgery.

Atenas and daddy

Atenas has been drinking a protein shake, a little juice, a lot of water and for dinner her dad made her roasted eggplant (her favorite) and blend it. She liked it but I don't think she was ready for that today, we will try again tomorrow, for now we will stick with apple sauce.

Items: have plenty of wash clothes and syringes. Atenas bought baby spoons but she is not ready for those either.

Pain management: Very important to stay in schedule with pain meds.

Thanks to our friends and family for all of their support. It feels very good to know that you are thinking of us and we appreciate your calls, messages and presents!


So proud of my baby!