The New Man In Our Life...

What an emotional day we had yesterday.. We were told to be at Primary's at 9:00 to check in and by 10:30 we were walking Ryker down the hall to surgery. We were only allowed to carry him half way and then we stood where the carpet met the tile, gave him a few goodbye kisses and handed him over to the anesthesiologist. Scott and I just stood there long after they had passed through the double doors, not quite sure what to think or what to do but we knew that he was in the best hands. Ryker was in surgery for nearly 3 hours. Scott had gone with my mom and dad to get some food from the cafeteria when the nurse called to tell me that Ryker was out of surgery and would be going directly to his room. Scott's mom, dad, grandpa and I walked to the same spot where we had left him just a few hours before, but this time Ryker was being wheeled in a big crib towards us through a different set of double doors. I was so nervous to see him. I didn't really know what to expect, but as I finally caught a good look at his little face it was hard to keep back the emotion. All I really remember was rubbing his little head and saying..'oh my goodness, look at your little face'. He was absolutely beautiful. His little cleft had been erased. He looked perfect!! I can't believe the skill of the artists that worked on him.. his little lip is truly a masterpiece, perfectly shaped.. it is amazing. I was most nervous about his recovery, I was afraid he'd be in terrible pain and spend most of the afternoon crying. He didn't. He has such a high tolerance for pain, I can't even begin to imagine how his little mouth must of felt. They had him on morphine most of the afternoon but once he started eating they gave him liquid lortab. The nurses couldn't belive how good he was and how easy he was to take care of. They told me that most cleft repair babies spend a few days in the hospital because they don't want to eat but Ryker's hunger was stronger than his pain because it didn't take him long to finish the bottle they'd given him. I was so proud of him too when he slept most of the night.. (I camped out on the little pull out chair that was about as wide as my thigh). This morning the resident that works with the plastic surgeon Dr. Siddiqi came and evaluated Ryker. He was very pleased with how he was doing and told us we could go home. I was so glad to be home by lunch time today. Ryker is still getting pain medicine every 4 hours and antibiotics every 6 hours. He is such a good boy! He has little stints in his nostrils that help them from swelling shut and he has to wear these for a month. He has splints on his arms so that he can't touch his face and he'll wear these for two weeks! Doesn't he look like a new man? I am so grateful for all the prayers that were said for Ryker and for all the people that kept us in their thoughts. I know with out a doubt that is the reason we had such a fantastic experience and Ryker is doing so well. He is so tough.