Our brave girl

On Tuesday we had to take Brooke to the Kaiser in Oakland to have a branchial cleft cyst removed on her neck. She has had the cyst since she was born and when she was about 10 months old it got infected and kept getting infected every few months. We saw a specialist last year and he told us they were going to have to put her completely under anesthesia to remove it, and I'm not going to lie, that really made me nervous. We had her pre-op appointment last Wednesday and they told us we couldn't bring Brayden in the area that Brooke would be in that day. So not only was my baby girl going to have surgery, but I would have to leave my 7 week old baby boy for the first time too. Can we say emotional wreck?!? We had to leave for the hospital at 5 am on Tuesday. I nursed Brayden before we left and left him with my mom. At least I made it out of the door before the tears began. We got to the hospital around 6:15 and talked to the nurses, the anesthesiologist, the resident, and finally the doctor. It was a little overwhelming talking to everyone, but we finally felt like all our questions were answered and felt as comfortable as we could about the whole thing. They gave her what they call "happy juice" about 25 minutes before they took her in, and we didn't really notice any difference in her until right before they took her. She was laying on Tim's lap looking up at the ceiling saying "around and around and around..." over and over with her finger pointing up in the air. It was so sad...and a little funny... that she was that out of it. We prayed with her then walked her half way into the room she was going to have her surgery in. Then the nurse took her and walked away with her. I lost it. I can't even describe the feeling I had watching he take Brooke, and to make it worse the nurse carried her so as she walked away, Brooke was looking over her shoulder back at us. AWFUL!

As we walked away, Tim brought up how thankful he was that this is the only thing that we have had to deal with in regards to Brooke's health. The fact that she was just having a cyst removed considering all the diseases and cancers that are out there. It kind of put everything in perspective. It reminded me that our kids are not our own. They are the Lord's and we have been given them for a time and are responsible to teach them and train them in the ways they should go. The whole process has given me a new light on parenting and could not be more thankful for the blessing it is to be Brooke and Brayden's mom.

Brooke's surgery lasted about an hour and 45 minutes. When we got up to the recovery room she was just waking up. She was in a little crib bed hooked up with an iv, it was so sad. She woke up and the nurse handed her to me. She was still really out of it and started crying and tried to pull her iv out and take off her clothes. Nothing we did helped her. We talked to the resident and got discharged from the hospital quickly...so quickly we felt like we weren't really sure what had jsut happened. The resident told us everything went well, but we never got a ton of specifics. I am glad we have a follow up appointment next week! Brooke bounced back quickly and is back to herself already. She will feel the surgical tape on her neck or the soreness around her mouth where the breathing tube was taped and tell me she has a "boo boo" but that is it. She is such a brave girl and I am so proud of her.

sitting with daddy...not sure about what's going on

in her scrubs

we told her it was like a costume and she got to dress up like a Doctor

We had a long wait so Brookie and daddy read her favorite book. She loves Snoopy

Resting the day after with Brayden

here is her battle wound...

you can also see where they taped the breathing tube on the sides of her mouth. She has been such a trooper and has bounced back to her normal self!