Blake's 3rd Surgery and Kindergarten

I thought I would just share with you my journal entry I wrote today to give you all an update on Blake's surgery and Kelsey's first day of Kindergarten:

Blake just had his 3rd and hopefully last surgery yesterday. Kelsey also started her first day of kindergarten. The day started off early for me at 5:30 A.M. I hurried to finish packing and clean our bathroom for Blake's mom who would be using it for the next couple of days while she stayed at our house to watch Kelsey and Mylee. I went and woke Kelsey up for school and quickly went to french braiding her hair and getting her ready for the day. She was SO excited!! It warmed my heart to see her so excited and I was glad that I was able to participate at least a little bit on her special day by doing her hair. On the way to Abilene I got a call from Blake's mom that all went well when she dropped her off at school. When Joyce dropped Kelsey off at her classroom, Kelsey's teacher Mrs. Spradley said, "Are you Mormon!?" To which my mother-in-law replied, "Yes". She then asked her to see if I knew a girl her daughter goes to school with--I do. Joyce was surprised at getting asked such an abrupt question of that nature. I have learned though that people here in West Texas are uninhibited when it comes to religion. They aren't afraid to let everyone know they are religious and to ask if others if they are as well--which is great!! It also makes it really nice for missionary work. I was relieved to hear that her morning started off well!

Twenty to thirty minutes after Blake was called back to get prepped for surgery we were informed that Dr. Kendrick got called into an emergency case so his surgery was going to be delayed. Blake's surgery was scheduled for 12 PM, but he didn't end up in the operating room until 4:15PM. Chuck, Lanaea and I hung out in the family room located on the floor all of Dr. Hendrick's patients go to. It was great! We had the room to ourselves for most of the day. I had brought along Lanaea's pack n' play so she could play and roll around and take naps in it. It worked out perfectly. I was even able to catch a few z's with her. I called Joyce around 3:15 to see how Kelsey's day went. She immediately handed the phone over to Kelsey. When I asked her how her first day of school went she said, "It was AWESOME!!" I couldn't wipe the proud smile off my face. She then told me that she had spilled milk on her pants. But it was okay, she said, because it just dried. She also told me she got to sit on the rug and sing really funny songs and listen to some stories her teacher read. She then told she got to color a ROCKET SHIP!! She thought that was really cool. She also drew 2 giraffes and taught a little girl sitting next to her to draw a giraffe on her paper too. Her day went on without a hitch!! Okay except for that evening when we was demonstrating to grandma how she prevents Mylee from flushing her panties down the toilet (yes it has happened and no we have not experienced any plumbing problems YET!). In her demonstration she jumped up on the toilet seat thinking the lid was down only to land right in the toilet getting all wet and scrapping her back on the way down. She cried and cried and she even called me to explain the incident, which I didn't understand until Blake's mom told me the whole story this morning. Joyce eventually had to bribe her with a go-gurt she was to get in her lunch the next day if she stopped crying. I'm a little concerned about how her school schedule will affect her with it being ALL day. I won't hesitate to pull her out half day or even all together to home school her if it comes to that. I think Kindergarten will be really good for her though and hopefully she will get used to the schedule. To be honest though, it has been really hard for me to send her away like that. I worry about the influences that will surround her and the things she will learn from the other kids that may not be acceptable. She's my sweet little girl and I felt like I sort of gave her away a little bit today. I was able to handle these emotions without any tears though, which is good for me.

At 4:15 I got a call informing me that they had just started Blake's surgery. I became a little anxious when I didn't receive a call an hour into his surgery. This surgery was supposed to be a "no-brainer" essentially and wasn't expected to be very long. Dr. Kendrick didn't call until 6:35 PM. He told me he had finished the procedure and everything was closed up now like what was planned, but it had taken longer then expected because Blake had quite a few adhesions (scar tissue) that he had to cut. So much in fact that he had to open his abdomen up again about 6 inches. This was disheartening and a little upsetting to hear. It would have only been an 2 inch horitzontal incision where his stoma had been, but Dr. Kendrick had to cut vertically an additional 6 inches to get to all the adhesions. All in all though, I was glad Blake was okay and that they were able to complete the procedure that was originally planned.

I didn't see Blake until that evening at 9 PM. Chuck and I went out to dinner then we checked into the hotel. At that point Lanaea was ready for bed. I got her dressed in her jammies and put her to bed. Before long she was off to sleep. Blake's dad came over to my room to sit with her so I could go over and visit Blake. When I arrived at his room he was sleeping, but his color looked good--he wasn't pale like he was after his last procedure. Eventually he realized I was there and we briefly visited. His pain was at a 10 and he was very uncomfortable. But after receiving some Toradol on top of the Dilaudum he was taking, he started to feel a little bit better. He was unaware that Dr. Kendrick had had to open him up. He was disappointed to hear that. I was surprised that no one had informed him. After helping him brush his teeth and getting him settled I kissed him goodnight and went back to the hotel where I found Lanaea still sleeping soundly.

This morning Blake looked good. The pain meds make him really sleepy and his eyes roll back and he dozes off quite often. It's funny sometimes because I think he is sleeping and I'll say something to Blake's dad and then he chirps in like he fully alert. He pain is much more manageable today and he even went for a walk with his dad around lunch time. His wounds seem to be oozing more then his last surgeries however, so hopefully that is not a reason for alarm. Lanaea at the moment is sleeping in her port-a-crib. The mantra "3rd time the charm" is ringing true for me. I have found ways to entertain Lanaea much better then our previous visits and I found a better place to park our car and get to his hospital room. We hung out in the family room instead of the cafeteria like his last surgeries this time and I'm learning to read Blake's cues of when and when not he wants and/or needs my help and/or attention. I hope to get my blog updated during our stay this time. We will see how successful I am in getting that done with Lanaea to keep busy and entertained.

Love, Cami