Blessed

Having Marissa's trach stoma closed has brought us so much freedom. We are, once again, finding out how much we are blessed.

We are finding so much joy in the small things that we could never do before Rissa got her trach out, such as splashing in the bath, tubing down the Colorado River this Summer as part of my little brother's Wedding Extravaganza Week, and her newest backyard toy... the inflatable water slide!!

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Can't you just feel her joy?

Surgery Done and We're Home

Rissa had her surgery yesterday and came through it just fine. Everything looked great this morning so the doctor discharged us and we made it home by 11:00 am.

She is in a little pain, but more than that, she is pissed. She won't let us even change her diaper without throwing a major fit. She doesn't want to be touched for any reason. For an entire hour before we left the hospital she was making mean faces, clenching her fists on her hips, and saying "Stop! Don't ever again!!", even though we were giving her space. I totally understand where she's coming from. If I were her, I would be mad at us too! I just hope she'll come around and forgive us quickly.

Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers. Keep sending them for the coming days. As always, thanks for checking in!

Happier Days...

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!