Operation day

 So today is the day that we have been waiting for since finding out about Daisy's deafness. It's cochlear implant surgery day and we are very excited and very nervous. I hardly slept because I was constantly watching the clock making sure we wasn't late. We was up at 4:45am to leave at 6:00am, to be at Nottingham for 7:30am.

When we got there we went straight to the ambulatory ward, where we was greeted by our nurse who would be looking after Daisy at her time on that ward. She was lovely.

We had so many doctors/nurses talk to us about what will be happening, my brain was going to pop with the amount of information I got. 

At about 8am the anaesthetist came and asked some general questions about Daisy and her health. Daisy was ticking all boxes for us to continue with the operation. Even though she had the slight sniffles and a cough due her to teeth, it was fine to still go ahead.

He told us we was 3rd on the list but he was going to try and get her in first as she was the youngest. 

It was about 30 minutes later when we got told Daisy would be first in, I started worrying about it all and also started feeling sick. 

At 9:10 The anaesthetist and the nurse came and got me and Daisy to take her for her general anaesthetic. Walking down the hall way was horrible, my heart was in my mouth. 

Thinking what am I doing to my baby girl. Am I making the right decision. I felt sick.

We got to the room, it was all very white with 6 members of staff in there ready to do the procedure on Daisy. I sat on the chair with Daisy in my arms hugging her tight. They got the mask and said it'll smell like strawberries at the start then it'll change to a not very nice smell and she'll start to moan, but she'll fall straight asleep after. They were right once they put the mask on she started to go straight away. They said they've never seen anyone fall asleep as fast as she did. The dreaded bit I didn't want to do was to let her go and put her on the bed, I gave her a massive hug and a kiss, told her mummy loves her so much and I had to leave. Walking back to the waiting room where Brad and my mum was, I was in floods of tears. I felt horrible I was leaving her with strangers. She hates strangers. She's very much a mummy's girls. Got back to the room and I just broke down on my mum and Brad. I hated the whole experience, its not nice for parents to see at all.
We didn't get given a time when they would be finished, we just had an estimated time of 4hours.

Once I'd got myself back together we then spent 2 hours in the Costa coffee downstairs. The whole time I was worrying and felt generally sick. Didn't enjoy of the costa at all.

I think it got to about 11:15 and we went back up to the ward to see how Daisy was and she was still not out. We got put in a side room for when she got back. Our teacher of the deaf Donna came with some information on what happens next and what we have to do with Daisy etc.. She also brought the cutest

teddy bear too which has 2 cochlear implants on just like Daisy will have.

While Donna was talking and then the nurse came in with the surgeon about 12 and said Daisy is now out, the operation went really well and that she is in recovery and that we can go see her. I literally ran. I was excited to see my little princess. I walked through the doors and my beautiful little girl, looked so poorly. She was sat on the nurses lap crying her eyes out because she wanted her mummy. Soon as she was in my arms she fell back to sleep and calmed down. She had a big black bandage around her head, her baby grow had god knows what all over it. She wasn’t the baby I brought to the hospital this morning. She just wasn’t herself at all.. 

While being in recovery I think from all the stress and worry I made myself ill from it. I sat on the bed holding daisy ready to go back to the ward where brad and my mum was and I honestly thought I was going to pass out! My ears went all funny, I went really hot and dizzy. Honestly thought I was going to do, the doctors we’re all asking if I was okay. 3 cups of water later and breathing through it I started to feel better. I felt awful as all the people in recovery were having major/miner operations and there’s me being a right douche because the room was hot and I got myself worked up over Daisy.

Back on the ward and Brad was very happy to see Daisy, so was my mum. We knew didn’t look right as soon as we seen her. Was horrible seeing her so low and didn’t know what to do with herself. Daisy was prettified of the doctors after she’d come round. 

We gave her a bottle to help her settle down which worked a treat! Considering she didn’t have milk since 7pm the night before and this was about 12:30 by the time she could have milk. So she was very hungry and nailed 9oz in the first bottle and 2 hours later another 9oz bottle.

After and hour of being on the ward we had to give Daisy some morphine to hell with the plain. Which was horrific in its self. Her breathing went really shallow which ment she needed oxygen and every time we took it away the oxygen levels would dip below 90.

After a nap from 2:30 til 5 daisy woke up a different baby. She was kinda back to her normal self. Talking, laughing and playing. I felt so much better knowing that she was feeling much better and looked it in herself too. 
I felt less sick at this point.

At about 6:45 we got moved to the overnight ward. Daisy looked very tired at this point so  I knew it wouldn’t be long until she fell to sleep. Brad and my mum left me at 8:15 to go back home as we got told only one person could stay on the war which wasn’t me. 

But never mind, atleast brad can sleep and do his turn tomorrow of looking after daisy while I sleep hehe.

It took the nurses until 9pm to come round and check Daisy’s obs and get me a bed and blanckets. Everyone else had a bed but me. Just felt a little unwanted as no one was coming to daisy to see if she was okay. But we got there in the end.

I’m not currently laying on the fold up bed in the hospital, daisy fast asleep and me constantly checking her oxygen levels. There staying at 94 at the moment which is good but ideally they’d like it to be above 97. 
I know I wont sleep a wink tonight so that’s why I’m writing my blog right now. 
Will have to update blog with pictures tomorrow once we’re home. 
We should be home after the X-ray tomorrow morning to make sure it’s all in place. 

I’m kind of hoping I haven’t missed anything out but when I’m in a ward with lots of crying babies it hard to concentrate. 

Activation day that most people are asking will be 4 weeks from the operation which would be the first week in December will be activation day! Very much looking forward to this day but we have 4 weeks to get our little super star better.


Later in the evening...


Laying in the hospital pull-out bed, wanting to go sleep but I can’t because Daisy’s oxygen levels keep dropping, not by much but enough for the machine to keep going off. Thankfully when they dropped they would go back up in a few seconds. So they wasn’t to worried as it just means when she’s sleeping she goes into a proper deep sleep with shallow breathing. Takes after me for that! 

The other people on the ward thankfully weren’t very noisy. It’s not like it matters anyway but it was handy for me. 

Spoke to the lovely women next to me who’s daughter also has CMV from birth! It was lovely to actually speak to someone who know what I was talking about and could tell me there story. 

Anyway Daisy is now asleep at 9:30pm after having her antibiotics and paracetamol. Might as well watch a film and just relax now.

Daisy Woke back up at 12:55am, I had to try and settle her back off as I couldn’t move her because she was hooked up the wires and I couldn’t leave her to go get a bottle as she’d scream the ward down. Thankfully after 35 minutes she went back off to sleep. Which meant for me while she is sleeping I best get a bottle ready for when she wakes up again. thankfully she stayed asleep so I better get some more rest while I can.

Daisy finally woke up at 5:30 for a bottle, she soon fell asleep on that bottle.