Let me take you back to last February. When we first reviewed Tessa's file from China, one of her medical needs was listed as "archostenosis". We'd never heard of it. The international adoption pediatrician we consulted suspected it was a poor translation of anal stenosis, since her file also said she had anal dilations as an infant. We honestly didn't know what was awaiting us in China, as far as her medical needs, but trusted God would give us whatever we could handle. The first couple of months home were crazy busy. Regular pediatrician, ENT, ophthalmologist, urologist, ultrasound, Echo, MRI, contrast enema. Every single Thursday I took her to an appt after I dropped the boys at preschool. I knew from her first diaper change in China that she would need surgery on her bottom. Or, at least I hoped she would. Our worst fear is that we would take her to the pediatric surgeon and he'd say there was nothing he could do for her- which meant she'd always be incontinent of stool. As parents, we wanted more for her. She deserves it. We rocked her world and dragged her halfway across the planet, we really wanted phenomenal medical outcomes for her.
Well, cue my favorite person on the planet, Dr. Dan Bambini. One of the perks of working at a large Children's Hospital is knowing precisely who you want to operate on your child. All of our pediatric surgeons are great at different things, but I knew Dan would be great for Tessa's surgery. What she ended up having was an anorectal reconstruction with postsaggital anorectoplasty. In short, her bottom is all fixed, anatomy is normal, and we should be able to start potty training this summer. The surgery went WAY better than we could've expected. Going into it, he said there was over a 90% chance of a colostomy. Him and his partner, Dr. Cosper, agreed just minutes into the case that she needed it. But by the time they were winding down, they agreed it was a textbook, picture perfect repair, and she could skip the colostomy. Huge PRAISE!!! I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that God was all over her surgery that day. The surgery and anesthesia both went perfectly. She spent 4 days total in the hospital, and you would never know anything was ever wrong.
She still has other non related issues, like strabismus. We need to patch one of her eyes to correct that. She does have some abnormal shaped vertebrae, which we will soon see a pediatric neurosurgeon about. He doesn't think it needs any surgery, but he wants to do a baseline exam on her. Another perk of my job- having a surgeon pull up my kid's scan and go over it with me, all without an appt:-) So, that's an update on our sweet girl. She is adjusting and attaching, and things get better every day. She is truly a joy and I'm so happy God put the desire to adopt in my heart, and gave my husband the heart to agree. I have even more respect for him, seeing him as a "Father to the Fatherless". Tessa is a Daddy's girl, and they are such a cute twosome! Here are some pictures from Tessa's hospital stay:
In pre-op holding: She pulled that little wagon all around after this picture. She even pulled it TO the OR, and it was adorable. I went with her to the OR, which is not standard, but hey-there have to be perks to working here. She was such a big girl breathing through her mask, and went to sleep beautifully.
Outside the hospital at night. This was actually the night we were discharged.
Laying with Daddy a few hours after surgery.
Oxygen monitor
Central line (Big IV in her neck)
Asleep in the pediatric recovery room. We were there about an hour after surgery.
She only wanted Daddy. And Morphine.
The Morphine worked:-)
She wasn't supposed to be laying on her bottom, so I put her in the nest of pillows.
Why do kids always flip horizontal?
Her beautiful pillow and blankie that her Grandma made.
Another Dilaudid induced nap.
WE ARE GOING HOME!!! Best picture from our hospital stay. Her surgery was Feb 15th, and we went home the 18th. We are so happy to have it behind us!
Outside the hospital at night. This was actually the night we were discharged.
Laying with Daddy a few hours after surgery.
Oxygen monitor
Central line (Big IV in her neck)
Asleep in the pediatric recovery room. We were there about an hour after surgery.
She only wanted Daddy. And Morphine.
The Morphine worked:-)
She wasn't supposed to be laying on her bottom, so I put her in the nest of pillows.
Why do kids always flip horizontal?
Her beautiful pillow and blankie that her Grandma made.
Another Dilaudid induced nap.
WE ARE GOING HOME!!! Best picture from our hospital stay. Her surgery was Feb 15th, and we went home the 18th. We are so happy to have it behind us!
He was confused by the crepe paper, and wanted me to help bust through it.
The dogs were ready to bust in!
He did it!
His big present was a train set from Ikea, and it was a huge hit.
And later that night, time for cake and ice cream.
Blowing out candles!
Later that night, we had her own little celebration with cake and candles, and a joyous singing (shouting by Drake) of "Happy Birthday to You".
