Surgery

Ryder's surgery took approximately 2.5 hours. We had love and visitors throughout our entire wait which, of course, helped pass the time.  We also ate donuts, snacks and loaded up on coffee.

One of the items included in Ryder's goodie basket was this awesome superhero lovie my sister crocheted! (We had just walked in from watching Ryder being wheeled away hence the seriousness on my hubby's face.) 

Mom, dad and Uncle Marcos waiting with us. 

Part of our cleft family - mama Kelly, Francine and baby Anthony. They came bearing love, support and a book for Ryder. Kelly has been SUCH a source of encouragement and support for me. I honestly don't know what I'd do without her! Francine had her palate surgery back in July of 2013 by the very same plastic surgeon. 

Sitting outside of CHOC while waiting for our superhero. 

Finally, around 12:15pm we were called back and able to see and hold our little superhero.  Dr. Prutsok wasn't sure if Ryder would need a cheek graft (taking cheek tissue and skin to help fill in Ryder's cleft palate) but turns out he needed one on his left side. All things considered, Dr. Prutsok said the surgery went well and full recovery would take 8-12 weeks. 

Our hearts dropped the moment we saw him! Blood and drool falling from his mouth and his little cry was trying to crack from his throat but because of being intubated during surgery, Ryder's voice was hoarse and throat was raw. I immediately expressed my concern for the amount of blood I saw coming out of Ryder's mouth but they assured me it was normal and would get better as he continued to recover. 

Watching your child being wheeled away into surgery is tough but I honestly think seeing him post surgery is even tougher.

How we wish we could take his place! They say it sometimes gets worse before it gets better and I feel like that's been the case for all of Ryder's surgeries. 

Ryder HATED his arm IV and his post-op nurse said that his IV was the very first thing he tried to yank off while he was waking up after surgery. Every time he came in and out of anesthesia, he reached for his arm and tried to yank it off. 

In post-op, we waited for about an hour for Ryder's anesthesia to wear off and then we were transferred to our hopsital room where recovery officially began.