Maddie Joy, the Bravest Girl in the World!!!

You should've see her from the back with her little chubby buns hangin out! She is the only patient in the world that makes a hospital gown look dang cute!

Right after she was placed back in our arms after surgery. I just couldn't let go! My arms have never ached to hold her as much as they did at this moment!

Its almost the close of an incredibly emotional and tiring day. In the room down the hall my daughter sleeps peacefully (probably drug induced) as she ever has. Today started off at 5:00am. We were taken into Children's surgical unit at 7 and walked through everything that Maddies surgery would entail. What doctors!!! We were all so blown away by the amount of information that we were given, and the time and comfort that each staff member we came into contact with paid us.
At 7:30 Maddie was given and dose of a sedative that made her the happiest little drunk this side of the Mississippi! She was laughing so hard she was crying, and I think it comforted all of us that she was in such a good place mentally. They took her back to the operating room shortly after and then the waiting began.................
An hour and a half later we were paged and brought back to the recovery room where she would be brought to us once awake. That was when our Dr. came in and walked us through every step that we had missed out on.
The necrotic lymph node was found to be much bigger and more infected than originally thought. They had to remove a lot of tissue and nodes that had also become infected, and accidentally nicked a blood vessel in the process that required stiches. Some of the infected matter inside the node leaked out into the open wound so they then had to irrigate and cauterize. Because of all of this he said that Maddie is now more likely to get an infection, or to have issues with lymph leakage, two things we are going to be praying wont happen or we will have to go in for further surgeries. Please pray with us for that!
There is going to be a lot of testing and biopsy done on the extracted tissues, and hopefully we will be getting to the bottom of this within the next few days.
The best part of all of this day was when Madelyn was in our arms again! I felt like my heart had been put back into my chest and my lungs could expand once again! She had to be the most pitiful little thing youve ever seen. She had been intebated, during surgery so when she saw us she was just barely able to mumble something in the most dry little raspy voice...so sad! She took all afternoon to find herself again, and wont really be able to walk for the next few days. She is handling all of this so much better than could ever have been expected and is just the bravest little person! We couldnt be more ecstatic or joyful that our little baby home and healthy, and we give our God all the glory! He was next to her in that operating room when we couldnt be, gave us peace when we couldnt find it in anywhere else, and is going to bring this full circle with no infection or leakage!
Thank your for your prayers and support. We are so blessed with the friends and family that we have. We felt you with us in spirit, and thank God for your presence in our lives.

Madelyn Joy's Surgery Update

For those of you that know about what's been going on with our family, it wont surprise you to learn that Maddie's surgery ha been scheduled for Thursday, January 29th, at 8am. For those of you that dont, this is mini rundown of what's been going on with us for the past almost 3 weeks.

We returned from a lovely time in Colorado, celebrated my birthday the 10th of January, and on the following Monday morning, found a marble sized lump in Madelyn's leg/groin area. It was really hard and slightly reddish. We took her to our Pediatrician who then sent us to childrens hospital emergency room. We were there for about 7 hours with lots of testing, blood draw, and an iv. It was horrible, and makes me sick just thinking about the whole ordeal. It was believed to be a swollen lymph node that wasnt going down on its own, and so an antibiotic was prescribed and we were sent home. Shortly after that Maddies temp spiked to about 103 for the next 3 days. On the following Thursday Josh and I took her back to the pediatrician and she seemed unconcerned and sent us home once again (FRUSTRATING!!!) That night Josh and I both woke up to the most violent flu we've ever experienced and spent the next 24 hours unable to keep anything down. God sent us Gigi though to take care of Maddie and luckily she missed it...I cant say the same for Gigi, poor thing. Frustrated since the lump was still there, I took Maddie in again, saw a different doc, and she aggressively got to bottom of things for us, scheduled an appointment with a pediatric surgeon at Children's for us, and reviewed all of Maddie's files, making sure to pass along ALL information. We met with the surgeon last Wednesday (a week ago) and he wanted to remove it, but since it wasn't causing any pain, decided to give it a little time, and we prayed it would heal on its own. Jump forward to today and the lump has actually grown a little in size and is showing a reddish/purple color. We just got word that they can get us in tomorrow morning so they can remove it. 

Of course Im just sick with anxiety and worry and we are so blessed to have family and friends praying for our family. Maddie will be put completely under and the surgery is supposed to last a few hours. She doesnt have to stay the night, but will be in recovery for 3 hours post surgery. 

STUPID, STUPID LITTLE LYMPH NODE, CAUSING US ALL THIS TROUBLE FOR A STUPID LITTLE NODE!!!

Ok, got that off my chest. I am just so blessed by the doctors and surgeons that we have had the opportunity to speak with and learn from. They are so reassuring and wonderful and in a scary situation like this, we couldn't ask for anything more. Just your prayers is what we need now.Pray for a steady hand for the surgeons, a peaceful awakening for Maddie when she comes out of anesthesia, and for a speedy recovery. Oh, and pray for a LOT of PEACE for her parents. We are total wooses and blubbering messes. She is so much braver than we are. We have a lot to learn from our baby girl!

A Sunny Day Out

Colorado Family Togetherness...