It has finally arrived: Surgery Day.

It has been a week since Ella's surgery and I have found the time to post this. Her surgery was scheduled at 8:30 in the morning and we were to be there at 7:30. Well since we had to go down below (LA) and there is a lot of traffic, we didn't make it til almost 8am. They were very nice and understanding since a lot of their coworkers were late as well due to the traffic. We got to the back and immediately got changed into the hospital gown and doctors, nurses and anesthesiologists showed up to fill us in on what was going to go on and had us sign a bunch of papers. Then it was time to wait for our turn. For not being able to eat that morning she was extremely happy. When it was time we both hugged and kissed her and they took her into the surgery room. They said it would be about 3-4 hours long so since we left at 6am and hadn't eaten since the night before we decided to walk to Jerry's Deli which was a block away from UCLA. We ate and then came back to and waited about an hour for her to come out. She was still sleeping when we came in to see her. As soon as I touched her she woke up and started crying. She sat up and wanted me to hold her and so I did. I thought she would handle the anesthesia well, but she didn't want threw up on me twice. I had to ask them for some scrub pants. She was eventually cleared to go home later that day at about 4:30. Dakota stayed the night at Nathan's parent's house and Shaun was over there when we got home. We picked up Shaun but left Dakota there so that Ella could have some peace that night. For the rest of the day she snuggled with me on the couch. She didn't eat much that day and I am sure it was from the anesthesia making her tummy upset. She got sick on me one more time that night.
The next morning she was definitely feeling better. She kept down some toast and juice/water for breakfast and had some cheerios for lunch. The "helmet" as Dr. Ishiyama called it was starting to bother her and she made several attempt to take it off. She finally got the hint that I didn't want her messing with it. Again the whole day she cuddled with me on the couch. By the third day she was back to her smiley self and wanted to get down off the couch and play. The helmet on her head was so heavy that is made her wobbly when she walked so we sectioned off a part of the living room so that she didn't get to the tile in the kitchen. I didn't want to her slip on it and hit her head. She didn't like that her playing area was so small.

On Saturday we got to take the helmet off of her head. She was glad to get it off. Her hair was stuck to her head and sweaty. My MIL took a wet cloth and unmatted the hair from her head and it made Ella feel better. Her head itched for the rest of the day and she would rub the back of her head on the couch to scratch it. On Tuesday we went back to see Dr. Ishiyama to check her incision and make sure everything was healing okay. He said that on Thursday we could give her a bath and wash her hair and that the steri-strips that were on the incisions would come off by themselves. Thank goodness she hasn't messed with the incisions. I was nervous that she would try to take the strips off, but she hasn't bothered with them. Our next date is November 16th which is the activation day. It's the day that they turn on her CIs and she will hear. My parents are flying in the week before to be here for the appointment. I cannot wait. I am nervous yet excited for that day. I know it will be a day that I will never forget. We are almost there.

Sorry these are all cell pics. I (again) forgot to charge my  camera battery even after talking to my Mom about it. lol

Almost here.

We are less than 2 weeks away from Ella's surgery. I am starting to get a little anxious and nervous. I know she will be alright. A lot has happened in our family in the last month so that is why I haven't been on here. Ella has been doing great. She has learned more signs and I am so proud of her. I am taking an ASL class at the local college here and had to go to a Deaf Pizza Night last night. There were so many Deaf/HOH/Hearing people signing. It was truly amazing. Some of my classmates and I jumped right in and starting "talking" with people. They were very nice and understanding that we were students and just learning. They went slow for us so that we could understand. There were some people from church there and I got to know them better. I can't wait to go to church and talk to them again. I will leave you with a video of Ella and her new signs.