Oh the Places You'll Go!

Makenna's first day of life consisted of a bunch of tests with as many visits as we could sneak in (Mark and I could only escort people in one at a time) to meet her throughout the day. In addition to the grandparents, Michael and Tara drove down for the night and got a little meet and greet of their own.  The following morning we learned that her surgery would take place that day at 12:30 which we were very excited about so we could get the healing process moving. At only 28 hours old we watched our little girl get poked and prodded as they prepared her for surgery and followed her little caravan down the hall to the OR.

We spent an anxious 2.5 hours up in our room with our family awaiting the news of when it was over and we could come see her.  We finally got the call and raced downstairs (I use this term loosely as I was a pretty slow-moving being for the first couple days) to be by her side. They said the surgery had actually gone better than planned as they did not have to do much manipulation of her digestive tract which meant that recovery could potentially be much quicker than they had anticipated and that she had a new designer beach-ready belly button beneath all of the bandages.

It is crazy to think that in just one day all of the things that had happened and how much she had already been through in her short little life. We spent the better part of the next two days sitting by her bedside stroking her face and telling her about all of the people who love her. To see our baby girl lying there unconscious with a machine doing the breathing for her is something I will never forget - and that's ok, because that image will always remind me of how brave she is and what an amazing gift she has been to us already.  We know this little person is special and that this and her new found challenges are only minor speed bumps in what is going to be a pretty incredible life. That night we sat by her bedside, and with tears in my eyes read her the first of many bedtime stories, Dr. Seuss's 'Oh the Places You'll Go!' to let her know just how much there is to look forward to, despite the situation we were in at that very moment. We're going to use this as her special book and have people sign it throughout her life, starting with the gifted surgeon, Dr. Bickler, who we can never thank enough for what he did for her.