Peter's Surgery...no longer a unicorn

So if you didn't follow everything on facebook, here is the update:

A few months back I was cuddling with Peter and tracing his face trying to get him to fall asleep. I found a little bump in between his eyebrows and just figured it was probably from Lucy playing with him. You couldn't see it, you could only tell by feeling it.

I called my mom a week later and asked about it since it wasn't gone yet. She said to wait a while longer and when I took him in for his next check to ask his primary doctor. During his appointment I had all intentions of asking her, but with Lucy in there as well I forgot. So I figured I would ask at his next followup with the surgeon who worked on his throat to get rid of his laryngomalasia.

Finally I remembered to ask and he felt it and told me that it was a Dermoid Cyst and that it needed to be removed preferably before he was two. I asked if we could just do it now and get it over with, and so he scheduled a cat scan.



We went for the cat scan. He was so CUTE! They were worried about him crying and asked for a pacifier, and I just smiled since he is just like Lucy-happy all of the time(he cries every once in a while-but close to how Lucy NEVER cried when she was younger). They put him on the machine and he just giggled the entire time, the staff just loved him!

That was in Mid October. So we had an appointment scheduled for Nov 12th to go over the cat scan and then Surgery in early December. Then a week after the cat scan I got a call saying that there had been a cancellation and would I like to have the surgery early. So we were able to go in November 10th.

From the results of the cat scan they saw what they thought was a track of fluid from the cyst to the brain, so it was important to get this done soon.

The night before Evan gave him a priesthood blessing and all of my worries were taken away. I was calm, maybe more than I should have been:) I am grateful for the power of prayer and the priesthood!

Evan's mom came over to watch Lucy for the day. Evan's principal made Evan take the whole day off so he could be with me and Peter. We couldn't give Peter anything after Midnight so we fed him at 11:30pm and then clear apple juice at 6:00am, and then nothing after 7:30am so he was ready for food and a little sad.

We checked in to Children's hospital and waited for our name to be called. We love Children's hospital, they are so kind and I feel like the hospital is a giant playground not a hospital.









After we got to his room we just cuddled him(which he wanted to since he was so hungry and weak from not eating), a lot of different people that were involved with his surgery came in to explain things.







That marking is about an inch or so above the cyst.


Then they took him away. I was really emotional all of a sudden because I wasn't holding him making sure he was ok, and since he was under a year old we couldn't go back to see him get an IV or anesthesia. They asked us to go get breakfast, so we did.

We came back up to wait and after 1 1/2 hours the surgeon came out to talk to us. He explained that it was a miracle that all of this was caught when and how it was. That if we would have waited much longer we could have been in trouble. The cyst had fluid that had eaten all the way through the bone almost to the brain, which they could see with how thin the bone was. They said that everything looked like a barnacle. (When he said that it made me think of barnacle boy on Sponge Bob) -i really like the picture and wish I could have it for my living room.

They filled in the hole and patched up his head. We were taken to see him waking up. He was just laying there with an oxygen tube and blankets. I picked him up and he seemed loopy but smiley. He took some pedialite and formula from me, and then we transferred into a different room.












His Oxygen levels kept dropping, and we had to wait at least 2 hours to have him come to and get his oxygen saturation to 90-91 at least before going home. He kept dropping to the 70-'s and 80's with and with out the oxygen mask, so 4 hours later we were told that he should get admitted overnight even though it was an outpatient surgery. But that was a risk and we knew it. I would rather have him healthy then home.

So we got him admitted and then came home to relieve Betty and get Lucy ready for bed. They had a volunteer come in for the night to cuddle, play and feed him-so nice! Made me feel better about not staying the night.

I called on him through out the night to check on him and finally went to sleep. Thursday Evan had to go back to work and I didn't want to go up by myself, so after Evan got off work we went up as a family. Peter was super cute. Everyone there was in love with him and they kept taking turns with the volunteers because he was so cute. They took him on lots of wagon rides I guess:) When we walked in the room, he was rolling in his crib(which he learned there overnight), and when I picked him up he was jabbering and blowing bubbles and so happy. It was almost like he needed to tell me about his baby resort that he was at:) He couldn't stop squealing and drooling over seeing Lucy and daddy.





They did rounds and told us that he had a chest X-ray and they saw some pneumonitis in his lungs, and that they were going to have the pulmonary team see him, a possible barium swallow to see if he was aspirating fluids in his lungs, and maybe look at his vocal chords/voice box to see if there was any paralysis. We also started him on prevacid again(off for 3 weeks) for acid reflux.

We spent a few hours there and went home to get Lucy in bed. Lucy tasted some of Evan's food-with tabasco sauce. The nurse came in hearing screaming thinking it was Peter, but it was just Lucy. We'll never do that again!!!



Friday they were going back and forth and finally decided that he could come home. So I went by myself at 8:30 and picked him up, but really paperwork takes so long so we didn't leave until 10:30 or so. Late night, I talked to my mom all the way home to make sure I wasn't falling asleep on the phone.




So no more oxygen needed, he is home, happy. He needs tylenol sometimes but for the most part is doing just fine. Lucy has only tried taking off his bandage 1 time, so that is good:)




Tuesday we will go back in to get the stitches out, and then in 4 weeks we will go see the pulmonologist to get him checked out, to get a barium swallow and go from there.

I know that my testimony of the Lord has grown. I know that Heavenly Father helped the Holy Ghost help me find the cyst. I know that it was the Lord's timing that helped us have an earlier surgery. I know that the Lord has and will continue to bless Peter as he is meant for great things! Thank you for all of your expressed prayers and concerns and offerings! I really know that you all had a part in this miracle and will be forever grateful.


Lots of pics-and some backwards, but this is for journal keeping purposes:)