"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be." - Shel Silverstein

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Closure

Finally. Exactly four years to the day that Marissa's trach was placed, we will have closure.

Marissa will have surgery to close her trach stoma on Monday, May 9. Although we are disappointed it never closed on it's own and we are anxious and stressed about the surgery, we are also very excited! She will finally be allowed to have a Summer like so many other kids her age. She'll be able to get in the swimming pool, play in the dirt and sand, and splash in the bathtub. Finally, she won't have snot coming from her neck all the time. She won't have a permanent red, irritated area on her neck caused by the tape and gauze we use to cover her stoma. We won't be worried about her going outside without a covering on her neck, in case a strong wind comes by and blows dust and dirt at her.

We hate that our baby has to undergo one more surgery (this will be her 7th so far with possibly more to come) and deal with the pain and recovery, but we can't wait to see her splash in the water, carefree like she should have been this whole time. We'll finally close this chapter in our lives. And that, my friends, is an awesome feeling!

I will try to update the blog and Facebook when I can. As always, your prayers, good vibes, and thoughts are greatly appreciated.

See you on the flip side!

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm so excited for you guys! You'll fine feel what life's like post trach! We'll be praying for the surgery and here's to a sandy, splish splashy, snot free summer!!

Michelle and Sean said...

Definitely keeping you all in our prayers!! Hoping everything will go smoothly with a speedy recovery!

Michelle said...

prayers your way. Thanks for the blog post, I miss you. I'm glad we are friends on fb, though, makes it better. ;) She looks so cute in her picture. Will be thinking of you all day Monday. Keep us posted.

Anonymous said...

Exciting!!! Praise the Lord and this is the start of a new beginning for her AND you!!!

John and Jenna Gensic said...

I know it's unfortunate to have another surgery, but we went ahead with Mikan's revision anyway, even though we weren't having problems with the site. His ENT said that it wasn't healing perfectly and the excess scar tissue inside the airway couldn't help him out any. So when she sealed his airway, she removed some excess tissue so it would heal cleanly. I hope Rissa's surgery is relatively painless and you guys have a wonderful summer!

Jenna

Colleen said...

Awesome news. She totally deserves to play in the sand and water and enjoy being a little girl this summer!

Nana and PaPa said...

Yeah! Hard to believe that it will be 4 years from that day that she had the trach tube put in....wow! It is definately time for her to be completely free and healed! I know she'll do well through surgery & recovery because...for all the surgeries she's had....has she EVER really had any problems????? OF COURSE NOT!!! She's a trooper and will be this time too. Prayers for sucessful surgery and recovery and a big celebration for SUMMER ACTIVITIES!!! YEAH!!!!!
Love,
Nana & PaPa

Nana and PaPa said...

P.S. I LOVE her picture....I wonder where she got thos AWESOME cool glasses....hhhhmmmmmmm. Glad she's enjoying them so!
Love,
Nana & PaPa

DevonLeah said...

I got chills reading this thinking back to u and I with our trach babies now trach free!!??!! Praise God...
Camden's needs closing too, but we are putting it off due to some other issues, but water doesnt leak that bad into it.
Prayers!

Team Carter Jay said...

Tons of prayers being sent. What an exciting day!

Shauna Quintero said...

Super excited for Marissa and couldn't be more proud of you guys! Miss the PMV yet?

J Thax said...

What a good mothers day present!

The VW's said...

Love the picture!!! :)

Praying the surgery goes well on Monday! I bet this summer will be so fun for all of you with this new found freedom!

Happy Mother's Day! HUGS!!