Cochlear Implant Surgery Day- 1/11/12!

1/11/12, the day we've been waiting for has finally come and gone! It was a long day filled with every emotion possible, but I wouldn't have changed a thing about it. The day started with a 5:30am wake up call. Evy is like me and LOVES to sleep, so she knew something was up when it was still dark as we woke her. Regardless, she woke up with that wonderful Evy smile on her face, ready to get the day started. She relaxed on our bed and had some juice while we got everything ready to go.

After 6:30am Evy couldn't have anything to eat or drink. She was a little upset about not getting a real  breakfast, but was quickly over it and was all smiles the whole way to Cardinal Glennon. In fact, she was so happy that Kyle and I almost felt bad because she had no idea that today would be so hard for everyone. But we reminded each other of the many reasons why we want this for Evy and quickly pulled ourselves together.

We got checked in at the hospital, then they took us to a room to get her changed into her hospital gown. The nurses got all of her vitals and soon after, the anesthesiologist and Dr. Costa came in to speak with us about how the day would go. They asked if we had any other questions, but my mind went blank. I asked a couple things that I pretty much already knew the answer to and then said "Ok, we're ready!" A nurse came in after that and gave Evy some medicine that would help with separation anxiety when they took her back to the operating room. The medicine made her feel comfortable and she was pretty funny to watch for the next few minutes. She was carefree, happy, and even did some dancing for us! Then came the moment we had been dreading. The anesthesia team came to the room and said they were ready for her. We walked her back as far as we could, then the doctor reached his arms out to take her. My eyes filled with tears, and my heart broke. I wished I could do it for her and I knew Kyle felt the same, but we knew she was in great hands. Luckily, Evy went right to the doctor and made it easy for us. She went through the doors and didn't look back. It felt as though she wanted to say bye guys, I'm comin' back with new ears, see ya in a few! We felt more confidant then ever with our decision and headed to the waiting room for our LONG day!

The nurses called from the operating room every 2 hours with updates. Every time the phone rang we anxiously waited to see if it was for us. The secretary would call out "Evynn Grubb's family?" and we would quickly head over to the phone. Luckily, every update was a great one and the nurse always said "Evynn is doing wonderful!" We occupied ourselves with magazines, cards, snacks, computers and conversation. Kyle and I were so lucky to have our support system with us! And yes, we took up about 1/4 of the waiting room!

 The day went on and one by one, each family left. By 6pm we were the only ones still waiting! The custodial team had even come in to clean and that's when we started to get anxious to see our baby! Finally, at 6:20pm, the nurse made her final call and said that both implants were in, Evy was doing great and that we could see her in thirty minutes. We were SO relieved! We started getting our things together and making sure the camera and video camera were ready.

Dr. Costa came to the waiting room and explained how the surgery went. After he was done I started crying tears of happiness and said "Can I just give you a hug?" We are so thankful for him and what he has made possible for Evy, we just can't thank him enough! I asked if she was crying or upset and he said not yet, she actually woke up and started waving to us and blowing kisses. Kyle and I laughed and said "Yup, that sounds like Evy!" In the recovery room Evy had 3 nurses with her and each one kept telling us how sweet she is. When we went in to see her she was pretty swollen and still a little out of it, but being with mom and dad was exactly what she needed! We held her for a few minutes in the recovery room while the nurses down the hall prepared the room where we would spend the night.

When we got to the room we were all pretty exhausted. Evy got some pain medication, then laid down for some rest and Kyle and I shortly followed. That night was a little rough. Evy was up every few hours and nurses were in and out of the room checking her vitals all night, but by morning Evy was already starting to act like herself again. Around 8am Dr. Costa came in and took her bandages off. We were amazed at how great the incisions looked. Dr. Costa didn't even have to shave any of her hair during the procedure, he used a special glue to keep her hair out of the way.

Dr. Costa said that Evy looked great, and that we were ok to leave whenever we were ready. With his say so, we started packing our things to leave. The only problem was that it had snowed over night and the roads were horrible! We stayed at the hospital until about 10am and waited for traffic to clear, but it still took a little over 2 hours to get back home (normally a 40 minute trip). Regardless, we got home safely and Evy, Kyle and I were happy to see Paityn who had been anxiously awaiting our arrival.

Evy has done an amazing job recovering and pretty much seems to be back to her normal self already! She was sent home with a pain medication but we have already stopped using it! We are so very proud of how strong Evy has been through all of this. With the scariest part behind us, we are looking forward to January 25th, when the audiologists will activate Evy's implants and she will join the hearing world for the very first time. I love you SO much Evynn Reese and I cant wait to watch you do wonderful things!