Rising Early
Brett's surgery date was finally here! It was exciting thinking of the big changes that were ahead for the little guy. Riley Hospital called and wanted us to arrive at 7am, meaning our departure time was 5am. It was a short night, but we made it work. At first we wondered why we needed to be there 1 1/2 hours before the scheduled surgery time, but soon we realized our time would be filled with nurse's visits and lots of questions. Our first stay was in a cubicle which had 3 chairs and equipment to handle the basic medical procedures. At Riley there are about 20 of these rooms and as we walked to our room, we noticed that most of the rooms were filled with families going through the same emotions we were. Seeing young children preparing for surgery is emotionally touching, especially the ones who are old enough to know what is going on. We were thankful Brett did not realize what we were doing there. We were soon visited by Dr Eppley, Brett's plastic surgeon as well as the anesthesiologist, and the resident Doctor who would be assisting. We asked questions and discussed the schedule for the day and soon it was 8:20 and the nurses were ready to take Brett from us. He was awake and dressed in a cute homemade hospital gown. We kissed him and told him to be brave and away he went. We were directed to the parent waiting area where we were given a pager and name tags, and we were asked to sign in and out. Each hour a gal came around and gave us updates on how Brett was doing and how the surgery was progressing. The time went fast and at 10:15 we were told that the surgery was completed. Around 11:00am we were notified that it was time to go see our little guy!

Amazing!
The recovery room was dimly lit and the soft cries of children could be heard as we entered the room. Our hearts jumped with anticipation as we strolled up to Brett's bedside. The nurse greeted us warmly and gave us a quick update on how surgery had gone. Brett was under a plastic tent that was being pumped with oxygen. This was to create a humid environment to enhance the healing of the tissue, as well as to make breathing a little less laborious. He was crying and she told us we should hold him and comfort him. He soon settled and we took turns getting a close view of the amazing work that had been done. God has truly given the surgeon a gift. Brett looked like a different person! After spending an hour or so with Brett, we decided we needed some lunch, so we left him and went to eat, realizing that he could be admitted to the observation floor while we were gone. The nurse said this was no problem, we'd just need to find him on 4B.

Waiting and Hoping
After lunch we did indeed find that Brett had been moved to a normal hospital room. He was still under the tent and sleeping peacefully when we came in. Our nurse met us and showed us around the floor and talked to us about what we'd be doing over the next couple of hours. The hope was to begin feeding him as soon as we could. The resident surgeon showed up to tell us that if Brett could tolerate his feedings, we would be able to leave later in the afternoon. We were so thankful! We also discussed with her how the surgery went. She told us that it went great and that Brett had a nice amount of tissue to work with, making the repair look more natural. She was very informative telling us that Brett had somewhere between 50 and 100 stitches as well as a layer of glue over the top of the cleft. She told us she'd begin to work on the discharge paperwork, and to begin feeding Brett ASAP. By this time Brett was beginning to cry and we both took turns holding him. The lighting was normal in this room and again we just looked at him in amazement. Could this truly be the same child we brought in here early this morning? The feeds went down fine, Brett settled back into sleeping and we waited. By 4 pm most things had come together and we were dressing Brett for the trip home. Thankfully he was staying calm and sleepy. We left the floor around 4:30, pulling our changed boy down the hall to the pick-up point. Now it was time to head home and meet his family!

Meeting the Crew
Our first stop was at Aunt Joan's house, who is one of Brett's biggest cheerleaders. She was full of hugs and admiration for how Brett looked. We soon arrived home to a house full of excited brothers and sisters. They too were so astonished at the change! It has taken some time for them to get used to the new look, for we had learned to look past the cleft. It was just a part of him. Now 2 days later we are not hearing them say things like "are you sure this is Brett"?

Journeying on
It is Thursday evening and Brett continues improve. We have not given him any painkiller in the past 12 hours. He will remain on anti-biotic until Sunday. It is good to see him more alert again and not so sleepy. For 2 weeks he will use elbow restraints to prevent any accidental damage to his incision. All stitches will disintegrate, as well as will the glue. We have no dates for the upcoming surgeries to repair the other problems, but we are probably looking at a June/July time frame for the gum graft and possibly the palate. If Brett needs a feeding tube put directly into the stomach (G-Tube), that may happen somewhere between June and August. We are taking each of them one at a time, trusting the Lord's timing in everything. The Lord continues to comfort and encourage us in this journey. Brett is His, given to us to care for in this earthly sphere. We know that as we give ourselves to Brett, we are learning to serve Jesus in a new a deeper way. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

In Christian love, Jan, Val and Family

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Isiah 41:10