OK lets see........
Since the last update in June, Dahlia was hospitalized for a couple of days due to some virus she caught. She got over it pretty quickly but while she was in the hospital, they took an X-ray and noticed that it looked as though she might have torn her diaphragm again.
So we met with Dr. Grikscheit (her surgeon) who said that since she wasn't having any symptoms that were bothering her, lets wait about 3 months and follow up.
About 3 months later she caught a nasty cough and to rule out pneumonia, they took an X-ray. Dr. Grikscheit checked it out and confirmed that is was in fact torn.
So cut to today. She had her 4th diaphragm repair. What was estimated to be a 1 1/2 hr surgery turned out to be just a bit over 5 hours.
Apparently the previous patch that was placed to repair the hole was gone! So she put in another one, one that should hopefully stay and stay for good.
She said there was a lot of scar tissue and lots of intestine in her chest cavity and so she had to be very careful and take things really slow. This is why it took so long.
Now she's resting. She has a chest tube in and should hopefully only be in for about a day or two. She also had an epidural for the pain since having a tube between your ribs is very painful.
She's been in and out since the surgery. She's given us a few smiles and nods to us when we say something she likes.
They (the nurses) tell us that she is looking really good. We are praying that everything keeps going forward.
Abel and I had a pretty hard time with this one. You'd think it would get easier after the 5th surgery but it doesn't. I don't know if its because she's older and she kind of knows whats going on. I don't know if its just because its been a while (just over a year) from her last surgery. Or maybe because its a new hospital and a new surgery team. In any case, Abel and I were a mess all morning. When Dahlia was taken away to the OR, I felt like I couldn't breath, it was pretty bad. Oh poor me, she's the one who was cut open and is lying on a hospital bed but whoa is me!! haha
Here she is patiently waiting and playing.
Getting closer and still finds time to play.
Here she is after 5 long hours of hard work.
Aside from this big surgery, Dahlia has been a crazy monkey. She's talking, running and playing all the time. She is a such a great baby. She's also eating a lot. She ate so much the other day, she made herself gag! We've also taken our first family trip!! And where did we go? Disneyland? Nah! Grand Canyon?! Nah! Wally World?!?!?! Nah!!! LAS VEGAS!!!!
You know that saying, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas"? Well let just hope thats true...... because she might have drawn on the hotel door and bathroom wall with a crayon.
Here she is making herself a drink. Only Patron for her!!
This bed should do!
Bath time anyone?!
Checking out the view.
We also went to Solvang for our cousins beautiful wedding.
She got herself a new hat & sweater.
And this trip to Solvang wouldn't be complete without a Danish dress!
Here are some wedding pictures...... of her!
Last but not least, Halloween EVE! Abel coworkers were sweet enough to get together for some pizza and candy and she got to dress up as her homegirl Minnie!!
I will post something soon as soon as she is feeling better.
Thanks!!
