Taylor's surgery

Taylor was born with a large birthmark in her pubic area. We joked about it from the very beginning saying that when she got older no boys better ever find out where her birthmark is. Our family doctor just told us to keep an eye on it and to let him know if it ever changed any. When we went in for her 18 month check-up this summer, he said that he wanted to go ahead and send her to a dermatologist just so they could look at it and start following it to make sure everything was okay. So, in August, we went to see the dermatologist, who barely even looked at the birthmark. She took one glance and saw where it was located and said that we needed to go ahead and have it removed. She said because of its location when Taylor hits puberty it would have a greater chance of becoming problematic. She said it was best to go ahead and have the surgery now while Taylor is young and won't remember it, and she referred us to a plastic surgeon.

At first, we were a little hesitant. I mean, she's just too young to have to have surgery no matter how minor, right?? We went to see the plastic surgeon shortly after that, and he told us the same thing. He also said that it was better to do it while she is young because her skin is more flexible and would hopefully be easier to repair and heal better. We made an appointment to have the surery at the beginning of the year, and I really just tried to push it to the back of my mind until it got closer to time for the surgery.

A few days before the surgery, I started to get really, really nervous. Being a nurse, I knew that the surgery was just something minor, and there was really nothing to worry about, but being Taylor's mom, I couldn't help but feel a slight bit of panic inside. I just hated the thought of having my baby put to sleep, cut on, having to have stitches and everything.

Her surgery was on January 5th, and we had to be at Women's & Children's hospital at 5:30am! My mom and Jared's mom both came with us and were a huge support to us. They took Jared, Taylor, and I back to a pre-op room, and she was pretty fussy at first. We had to wake her up way tooo early and then she couldn't have any juice before the surgery, so she was not happy. She also didn't enjoy having to keep the hospital ID band on her ankle. Then, a lady (not sure what her job title is but I think she goes around to all the kids in the hospital trying to provide them entertainment, cheer them up, make them comfortable, etc) came in and gave her lots of stickers and crayons to play with. She also brought a little gas mask for Taylor to play with so she could kind of get used to it and wouldn't be so scared when the time came for the surgery.

(I have to say that my baby looks dang cute in anything--- even a hospital gown!!)

We were told that when they came to get them for surgery they would take them out in a wagon or let them drive a little power wheels car which we thought was cool, but when the OR nurse came to get her, she asked if we thought she should carry her or let her walk- neither of which sounded like good options to us but told her to carry her. So, she picked Taylor up and walked out of the room without a single scream or tear from Taylor. Jared said he thought I was a little upset that Taylor didn't start crying. I said no, I was just very, very surprised (and relieved!). We went back out to the waiting room, and shortly afterward, they called out to the waiting room to let us know that they were starting the surgery and that Taylor had done great; they said she gave a little whimper when they first put the gas mask on her but that was all. It sure made things a lot easier knowing that she wasn't crying and distressed.

After the surgery, the surgeon came out and talked to us about how the surgery went. He said that it was a bit of a challenge because of the location of the birthmark, and of course, you want it removed without causing any deformities. He said that he didn't have to do a skin graft (thank goodness!), and he sewed the site up in an "X" shape. He gave us instructions on how to keep it clean and said that the stitches were dissolvable.

We were warned before the surgery about how Taylor may act afterwards. We were told not to get upset if she was crying and hysterical because a lot of kids reacted that way because the anesthesia made them feel so horrible. Only one of us could go back to the recovery area, so the nurse came and got me, and as we were walking back there, she told me how cute Taylor was and how great she was doing. She said that she wasn't crying at all; she was just watching the little girl next to her who was screaming and crying. Sure enough, when I saw her, she was sitting calmly on the bed just looking at the other little girl, but when she saw me, she immediately crawled into my arms and started crying. She was not happy about the IV in her arm, and I just held her and rocked her for a little while. They monitored her for just a little while longer and then took us back to the area we went to before the surgery where Jared, Grandma, and Granny were able to see her, too. We didn't have to stick around long after that. Aunt Mimi also showed up with lots of treats! As we were leaving, they let us pick out a little stuffed animal. I ended up just grabbing a little Beanie Baby bear like the one she already had that she loves so much. This one was black, and on the left side of the chest it says "The End" which I thought was kind of appropriate to get at the end of her surgery!

I'm not exactly sure what time we left the hospital, but we stopped to get some bandaids, peroxide, and her antibiotic prescription and were home by 11:30 although it sure seemed like it was a lot later in the day. Taylor never really acted like she was in any pain or discomfort. She was bouncing off the walls like normal, but she HATED having her diaper changed. In fact, Jared and I usually had to tag team her and hold her down just to get it done. We had to clean it with peroxide and put antibiotic ointment on it. She's such a tough little girl though and always made sure to tell us that she was "o-tay" after we were done :-)

We had a follow up appointment with the plastic surgeon's nurse a week after the surgery. The day before that, Taylor scratched at her surgical site and made it bleed. I was afraid at first that she had really messed it up but then figured it probably just bled a little. The nurse said everything looked fine and scheduled us for an appointment with the surgeon the following week to talk about scar treatment. Over that next week, things started getting worse. Apparently, Taylor had pulled out some stitches when she scratched herself, and it gradually started opening up right in the middle of the "X." It wasn't deep or anything, and I figured there probably wasn't much they could do about it at this point, so I decided to just keep an eye on it. Let me tell you, that next week was quite a challenge. There comes a point where a wound like that just really needs to air out and dry, but it was pretty much impossible due to the location, and I was also concerned about it getting infected. The day before her doctor's appointment, I thought it just looked horrible, and I was really afraid that it was infected because to me it looked like it was having a little bit of drainage. Jared came home from work that afternoon, and I was just bawling because I was just so afraid that I should have done something more or taken her back to the doctor sooner.

The next day, we went to the doctor, and he said he didn't think it was infected. He was very nonchalant about it and acted like it wasn't a big deal which made me feel a lot better. He said he was sorry that it opened up like that and that it was going to look worse before it got better. He gave us a prescription for some Silvadene cream like they use on burns, and that stuff has done wonders!! Her surgical site looks sooooo much better now! Of course, we'll have to wait and see how it scars and everything, but for now, I am just so grateful that it is healing so well. Our biggest challenge right now is trying to keep her from putting her hands down her pants and pulling off the bandaid or scratching at it. Now, we joke that instead of having a birthmark there, she has an "X" marks the spot--- and no boys still better find out about it!!!

We go back in about a week and a half to have another follow up with the doctor. I have to say that I don't think the surgery could have possibly gone any better, which I am so very grateful for, and although the recovery has been challenging at times, I'm glad that she is healing up well and has had little or no discomfort throughout it all.