On January 26th we arrived at UC Children's for Hadley's surgery. This momma had lots of anxiety to say the least. Some things are just different depending on where you stand in the grand scheme of things. Yes, this is what we've been waiting and praying for, but there are a lot of different feelings that come along with the decision we've made.
Decision questions;
Will this work? Will our daughter be able to hear?
Will she thrive after surgery?
Will she be okay with us doing this in the long run?
Will she wonder why we chose to "alter" her?
Many of you reading this may think these points are silly, even wonder what I was thinking asking myself these questions. Who wouldn't want the opportunity to hear? The best way I can answer that is by saying if you have never been deaf, then you can't truly answer that. It's not for me to decide if a person with hearing impairment should be "changed" so they can hear. Maybe they are perfect just the way they are. The issue is that with children the earlier we proceed with implants, usually means the better results we get. And time is precious....so we proceeded with our decision to have bilateral cochlear implants performed.
Waking up from anesthesia was well...... horrible!!!! But Momma and Daddy just loved her through it. She had some nausea and vomiting, and wouldn't eat anything, and I mean anything... Not even her beloved gold fish. My mother and I kept vigil by her bed all night, sending Brian out to sleep so he could drive us home the next day. I was through this time I spent with Hadley, holding her and showing her I will never leave her that helped form an even stronger bond between her and I.
After some medicine, and a sleepless night we were more than ready to come home. So in order to leave she had to eat something.... what else is better than rice? egg noodles?
Once home we got Hadley some much needed rest. The kids were so glad to see her, and even more excited about the possibility that their baby sister will hear.
Hadley had to wear this red headband for 10 days, which was a challenge. She wasn't happy about it at all, but by day 4 she accepted that she had no other choice. The first few days at school were rough, but just like always, she made it through it. Now we anxiously wait for two weeks until we get to turn the implants on.
