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So, what goes through a mother’s mind when her baby girl is about to have surgery and hurt? Lots. I don’t like the idea of her hurting. I am worried about them coming to get her from me to take her to surgery. I have certainly thought of the risks of anesthesia more than once. I am wondering how she’s going to handle a stitch in her tongue- a precaution in case they have to pull it out to clear her airway, how she will handle the pain and discomfort, how she will handle the restraints they have to put on her arms to keep her from putting her fingers in her mouth. I am hoping she will eat the first day, enough that we can bring her home and not have to stay there for an additional night.

I am remembering my baby Katy’s surgery when she was only 10 months old and I am thankful that it’s only the hole in her mouth we have to deal with this time. I am encouraged that Katy, now a healthy, happy (most of the time) 5 year old, seems to be none the worse for wear! I am wondering how the fact that Ella Grace is 3 and has only been with me for 5 months will make it different or better or worse.

I am believing that my cold will only get better and that it won’t bother me terribly as I spend the night at the hospital and do my best to take care of her. I am considering how this event will affect my big girls for the next few days.

And, I am in awe of how this whole event has unfolded and how God may use it to impact eternity. How did this little girl from an island in the South China Sea become my daughter?

These are some of my personal thoughts. It is my hope that you, the people who have followed our journey, would use these thoughts to petition The Almighty on our behalf tomorrow. May He be glorified.

We visited Children’s Hospital yesterday for Ella Grace’s pre-op visit and we were seeing the anesthesiologist when the nurse heard a murmur in her heart. She consulted another nurse, who heard it too and then went into the OR to consult with a doctor. The doctor said that, in the absence of more medical and family history, she would need to see a cardiologist before we did surgery. I called Dr. Cook, a pediatric cardiologist in Montgomery, who agreed to fit her in this morning. His conclusion was that she has a very slight, innocent, murmur which will not cause problems for surgery. Whew! What a couple of days.

So, it looks like we will be going to Birmingham Wednesday, Feb.1, 2006 for the repair. It is likely we’ll stay 2 nights. Dr. Grant, whom we met for the first time yesterday and we LOVED, said that if the restraints on her arms drive her crazy we can remove them. That was huge. Please continue to pray for her and for us as we take a big step physically and emotionally with her this week.

Ella Grace will have her palate repair done at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham on Feb 1, 2006. Dr. Grant, who specializes in pediatric craniofacial surgery, will be her doctor. We expect her to be in the hospital overnight and hope to be coming home Thursday. She will have splints on both her arms, preventing her from bending them, to keep her hands out of her mouth-she is NOT going to be very happy about that as she is an avid thumb-sucker. Please be in prayer for the whole experience.