March 7th, 2018 will forever be the day Evie’s new journey began!  Every day after today she will be living a spasticity free life!  For those that know about spasticity and what it does over time to one’s body knows how big of a deal this is!

Last night we all slept pretty well actually all things considered. Perhaps we were just exhausted but when I woke up I felt pretty calm.  Even Evie last night knew her tricky leg was getting fixed today and seemed okay with it.  We had to get ready and be at the hospital for 7:00am.  After rushing around and forgetting the van keys we finally made it to the Day Surgery floor (we booked it, not a short walk from the parking garage).

Once we arrived Ev was checked in. Her weight and height were noted, she was given cute fish scrubs to wear and was brought into a waiting room.  As we waited for her big surgery we met with a few nurses, a nurse practitioner, members of the anesthesia team, and a child life counselor.  Everyone asked similar questions about allergies and how we were feeling. Evelyn picked apple as her mask flavour and overall she cooperated.  She asked to go home twice and wasn’t a huge fan of the oxygen reader on her finger.

Just after 8:00 am one of the nurses brought her the “funny drug” which tastes brutal but keeps them calm.  Ev drank it like a champ and within 10 minutes she was asking to lay down and have a nap. She also said humorous things like that she had a baby in her tummy (remembering when Wes was born perhaps?).  At this time we were getting more anxious so seeing her being a bit silly made us laugh.

Then once everything was confirmed to be ready two nurses took her to the OR.  Up until then I didn’t cry. There was definitely some tears as I told her I loved her and would see her soon.  The fact that she was feeling so calm really helped us with the separation.  They promised they would take good care of her and update us and off she went!

We quickly went to the cafeteria and grabbed some food and headed to the new Ronald McDonald House room. They will soon have two of these at the hospital once the older room is renovated. The room is beautiful and inviting with coffee/snacks, laundry, showers, computers, two TV areas (including a play area for little ones) and kind staff!

The longest part of our waiting was waiting for our first update call (took longer as they had trouble reaching our cell phone, luckily they could reach us in that room. Make note other Canadian fams, your phone might not work) and waiting to go see her in recovery. Wesley and my parents waited for a bit with us too so that helped pass the time.

Our first call told us the procedure was beginning and that she was doing great. The second call let us know that the procedure was done and that they were closing up the incision and that Dr. Park would meet with us shortly.

About forty minutes later Dr. Park came down and said everything went well and that she did great.  He also said we would be going to recovery shortly to see her. Short and sweet.

The waiting to see her was the most anxious we were. After her eye surgery her recovery room period was rough. She was inconsolable and thrashing and it was a very long 45 minutes. We were warned that her reaction could be very similar.  Finally we got the call and we rushed up to the 6th floor!

When we got to her she was awake but very sad. The nurse said she had been crying for us but overall been good.  She was watching Bubble Guppies.  Poor thing looked so sad and scared.  It was hard.  The nurse tried to take the tape off her foot but it was very sensitive. She also said her back hurt a bit.  Soon we were transported to the 12th floor.

So far Evie has been sleeping on and off.  She hasn’t eaten anything but will drink. Sometimes she gets startled and cries a bit.  She is on several medications through IV  (don’t ask me to say them or spell them), has a catheter, epidural, monitors and a few hospital bracelets.  She was very excited to see Wesley and in fact asked for him as soon as we saw her in recovery (love their bond). Currently her roomie is a newborn baby.

Both Brian and I will stay with her tonight and then will likely alternate depending on how she is the other four nights.  She has now been asleep for a few hours straight so hopefully she gets a good sleep tonight.  Both of our nurses are so nice and I swear every person here asks if they can help us. Also, Ev can order meals off a pretty cool menu!

So happy today went as well as it did.  The next few days will definitely be hard as she adjusts to her new legs.  We are so thankful we were able to have this surgery for her and for all of the support we have received. Being in a Children’s Hospital also reminds me how fortunate we are that Evie had life changing surgery and not a life saving surgery.

Hoping tomorrow is a good day. Will keep you posted on how things go.

For now I just want to say…Bye Bye Spasticity!!