Wednesday Morning Update

Sarah continues to be making great progress. The doctors say she will probably move out of the ICU onto the Children's floor at somepoint today. It was a long night for Miss Sarah who had naseua and vommiting throughout the night. She hasn't been able to keep any liquids down yet which is not unusual given the amound of time she was under anesthesia yesterday. She is a little more swollen today but no too bad at all. Her blood count is a little low so they are considering giving her a blood transfusion. They will take her blood count in a couple of hours to make that decision.

First Post-OP Pics

So we finally got to see our Sarah. She is still very sleepy but will open her eyes off and on to see what is going on. She is stable and as comfortable as you can be with all she went through today. The nurses seem to be right on top of whethter she is having pain and give her morphine as needed. We are so very proud of our brave girl. I don't know if you can notice from the pictures but we can see a difference with the advancement of her forehead already. This helped with three things: It gave her skull more room to grow, gives her eyes more shelter, and creates a much more proportinate look to her face. I think this is the best picture of Sarah you will see for a little while. The next few days will bring bruising and swelling. She asked for a drink and had a few big sips of some ice water. Her lips are so dry and I am sure the breathing tube they used left her throat a little scratchy. Next on the menu maybe when she wakes is some cold treats. Perhaps a popsicle or ice cream.....we shall see. Daddy has headed home for the evening as we are both exhausted from the early wake up and just the whole day in general. Last thing we wanted was for Daddy to get stuck in traffic....we have all had enough stress today. Mommy is staying with Sarah and will be sleeping on a bed by the window. Sarah has not needed a blood transfusion as yet which is amazing the doctors tell us but is not out of the woods of needing one. She is just on the border now so we will see. The nurse tells me she is doing great. Her blood pressure is a little low but they gave her something to try and help that. The ICU requires that cell phones be powered off at all times so if you need to reach anyone you can call Bill. We think it is so important to show you pictures of Sarah and her progress so as not to be afraid. It is easy to be afraid of the unknown, and I am sure she would agree (She's quite smart ya know :)).

Bill and I are in the Pediatric ICU Family Room awaiting the go ahead to see Sarah. It is taking longer than we would like but we want whats best for Sarah so we must be patient!

Surgical Portion Complete

Dr. Meara (plastic surgeon) just came out to let us know the surgery was a big success. They were able to complete everything they needed to with no problems. Again, he was able to advance her forehead as planned and fill in most of the boney gaps. Sarah continues to be stable. Anesthesia will continue to be with her for a little longer. Dr. Meara reports we should be able to see Sarah in about 45 minutes or so in the ICU. Thank you all for your support and prayers.....keep doing what your doing cause its working! Bill and I are relieved that the surgery is over and are anxious to be back with Sarah.

2nd Update-11:00am

Dr. Proctor (the nuerosurgeon) just came out to give us an update. Sarah is stable and doing well. Surgery is progressing along. He did report it did take some time to get to bone and there were a couple of tears in the Dura (covering of the brain) but that he was able to stitch them up and feels it won't cause a problem. Tears in the dura happen easier during subsequent surgeries, the risk is that spinal fluid will leak out. Like he said though they have been repaired and they will watch them closely. He reports they were able to advance the forehead about 11 milimeters and that they are now working on repairing the boney defects (gaps in her skull). Dr. Proctor reports Dr. Meara (the plastic surgeon) estimates the surgery portion being completed in about an hour and a half.

1st Update

We just got our first update. After anesthesia was all set the first incision was made at 8:29am. The OR nurse reports because of her previous surgery (which we are aware of) it is a little bit more difficult to get to where they need to go from things like scar tissue, etc. Everything is going well so far. She is stable. We'll take it.....let the docs take their time and do what they do.

All Systems Are A Go

All systems are a go! Sarah went into surgery around 7:30am. The doctors have told us that between anesthesia and the surgery it will be a total of 4-6 hours. They will update us at some point.

We are thankful to be surrounded by such a supportive team of doctors and nurses.

We will update you as we get updates.