Outpatient Day 5....

Today we didn't have to be to the hospital until 10:00, Yay!!!  We actually got to sleep in for a bit. Here is Ariauna ready to go for the day. This is her new outfit she got at the mall using her money she had gotten from people, I would have to say it is pretty cute.

Here is hopefully the last picture of her PICC line, as she is hoping they will take it out while she is in the operating room today.

Ariauna couldn't eat or drink after midnight. We had to catch the shuttle at 9:30 so we could get to the hospital and make sure we were checked in at 10:00 for her surgery to get her Hickman line placed. I think she was a little bit nervous, but of course she is a strong, brave and courageous girl. We got her all checked in and waited for just a few minutes in the surgery waiting area. It was not long and they called us back to the pre-op area. Here is Ariauna after she had changed into her hospital attire, getting her vitals taken, and just chillin with her doll Kit.

She is such a smiley little girl. It wasn't long and she was freezing, so she asked the nurse about getting her a blanket and the nurse said "Oh I have gotten something better than that for you". She got in the cupboard and pulled out a child size Bear Paw gown. It is a paper gown that you put on and then they hook it up to a hose that blows nice warm air to keep you warm. Ariauna was so excited, she could hardly stand it. She even got her own control to make it warmer or cooler.

The child life lady came in to try to help Ariauna focus on something other than the surgery she was going to be having. They talked for awhile and then she went and got Ariauna a pillow case to color on.

She worked on it for a few minutes, but that didn't last long. I think she got so warm and toasty in her Bear Paw gown that she quickly fell asleep.

We let her take a short nap and then the Child Life Specialist came in again. This time she asked Ariauna if Kit was going to the operating room with her and she said yes. So the Child Life lady told Ariauna they better get Kit ready to go to. Here they are getting her in her hospital gown and making her a hospital bracelet and a mask to wear.

Well the time quickly approached and it was Ariauna's turn to go back. They asked her what smell she would want to smell while she fell asleep. They brought them in and let her smell a few. They are actually just lip balms and they actually give it to the kids to take back to the operating room. Once back there, they actually let the kids use the lip balm to rub all over on the inside of the mask and then the kids can keep the rest of the lip balm. Ariauna chose the grape crush lip balm. They asked if I wanted to go back with her until she fell asleep. I was excited to get to go. So they brought me my operating room attire too.

Before we left the pre-op area they actually gave her some medicine through her PICC line that is suppose to calm them down so it is easier for them to fall asleep once they give them that medicine. I don't know what it did to Ariauna but all the way to the operating room she kept searching for something. It was like she had lost something and couldn't find it. It made me feel really bad for her. I kept asking her what she was looking for, but she couldn't quite tell me. Poor kid. I don't think I will ever let them give her that again. We got to the operating room and they helped her move from her bed on to the operating room table. They asked her what she wanted to think about while she was sleeping and she said her baby brother Jack Jack. So the anesthesiologist put the medicine in her PICC line while the nurse was asking Ariauna all about her brother Jack Jack. They only got a few questions asked when Ariauna went off to sleep. They told me I could give her a kiss and then I needed to leave. I leaned down, gave her a big kiss and they walked me back to the waiting room. I was so surprised they let me go all the way into the operating room with her. I spent the next little while in tears. I don't know why, but I just do not like surgeries. I don't like being the one having them done or sending my kids off to have them. It breaks my heart to know my child is going through something and I can not be in there with them. I don't like them going over all the paperwork and the risks of surgery and anesthesia. I was teary for the next couple of hours. I was so worried about her and how she would do. She was scheduled for about 4 hours because they are not only doing her Hickman line but they are also doing her bone marrow biopsy and aspiration.  It was probably about an hour and a half later that the bone marrow doctor came out to talk to me and said everything had gone really well with that procedure and that she would maybe just be a little bit sore for a day or two in her back where they went in.She told me that they had already started the Hickman line surgery and that when it was finished another doctor would come out and talk to me. It was about an hour later they came out and found me again. Things had gone really well and she was in the recovery room. They said it would be about 20 minutes and I could see her. Sometimes those 20 minutes seem to last forever. I couldn't wait to go back and see her and make sure she was okay. Finally, they came and got me and took me back to see my sweet angel. Here she is still sound asleep.

My poor sweet girl could not wake up. She slept sound for about 30 minutes. Then she wiggled a little, asked if she could lay on her side and went back to sleep for another 30 minutes. She must take after the Christensen's. They all have issues with waking up from Anesthesia. I just sat and held her hand and shed a few tears, watching the monitors closely to make sure things were okay. I love her so much and it breaks my heart to know this is just the beginning of a long journey. Here she is ready to go back to our room. They let her pick a balloon to take home with her.

We didn't get back to the RMH until about 6:00 p.m. I got Ariauna all settled in her bed upstairs in our room and ran down to get us some dinner before they quit serving it. We ate dinner and then she was looking forward to going to the movie tonight at the RMH movie theatre. She is suppose to be laying around but I decided she could probably lay down at the movie and rest as well as she could in our room. So we went down to the theatre and found us a recliner and got all settled in for "Hotel for Dogs". We had a good time snuggling and watching the show.

After the movie we went up and went to bed. It was a long day at the hospital today and we have an early morning tomorrow. Sending everyone at home lots of love from Minnesota.