Endoscopy Update

After a restless night's sleep and a very early 5:20 alarm, we got Devin off to a friend's house (a very good friend, who was willing to take D at 6:15 AM!) and made our way to the hospital down the street.

We checked into the surgery center, were taken back around 7:00 and got a chance to talk to the girls' nurses, doctor and anesthesiologist and ask and answer a lot of questions.

Todd accompanied Grace to the procedure room just before 8:00 (after an enormous number of kisses from me). Grace was chosen to go first because of her two heart conditions -- special consideration has to be made when using anesthesia. A few minutes later, Todd returned to the pre-op area where Faith and I were, and there we sat for what was only about 15 minutes. We were very surprised when Dr. Elizondo poked his head around the corner and said, "All done!" We know it would be quick, but that was really quick!

He showed us some photos of Grace's interior (YOWZA! I wasn't expecting that...) and told us that he didn't see anything abnormal -- nothing cancerous, no polyps and no sign of Celiac disease. He told us that he did biopsy both her esophagus and lower intestine, because those will give us a 100% diagnosis on a number of things.

After we asked questions and felt comfortable with the information he gave us, both Todd and I took Faith back, as Grace was still waking up in the post-op area.

I held Faith and laid her little bitty body on that big gurney. I gave her lots of kisses and whispered lots of, "I love yous," as they put the mask on her face. She fought for a second, but the gas did its job quickly and she was out like a light before we knew it. One more kiss and we left the room.

Dr. E lead us into the post-op room where Grace was awake. When Devin had tubes put in his ears, he woke up from his anesthesia and was a nightmare. He kicked, screamed, threw up, heaved, etc. It was awful and I was completely expecting the same, but was pleasantly surprised when I walked to Gracie's side and there she was, lying on her side, with her pacifier and favorite blankie, just staring at me. No cries, no disorientation, nothing. Even her nurse kept commenting, "She's so good!" We warned her that when Faith came in, it would be a different story.

I held and rocked Gracie and gave her some juice. She was just so happy to sit in my lap and look around. Not a peep from her.

Soon Dr. Elizondo popped his head through the curtain and said, "Faith did great too!" He had more pictures for us, from Faith's digestive tract, and a similar story: Everything looks good, but the two biopsies will tell the whole story.

We heard them wheel Faith into the bay next to Grace's, but they asked us to please stay behind the curtain until they told us to come around, as, "There are certain things parents just shouldn't see."

I agree -- I really don't want to see my baby unconscious and breathing through a tube (even though our days in the NICU were filled with that kind of stuff).

But it was hard to sit there and listen to Faith wake up, just on the other side of a thin piece of fabric, and not be able to look at her touch her or tell her I was there. It seemed like an eternity before they pulled back the curtain and told me that I could hold my daughter. By this time, Grace's IV had been taken out and she had asked for her Daddy, so I headed toward Faith and quickly took her from the nurse's arms. She told me to be careful, as Faith's head was still a little wobbly. Sure enough, it was like holding a newborn for the first few minutes!

But soon, like her sister, she started to come out of it and look around. And, like her sister, no crying. Just content to be held and wake up. I couldn't believe it. Not a peep from either girl!

After a couple of cups of juice and some discharge orders, we were let go! I was wheeled out, holding both babies and we were off to pick up Devin. We got home from this whole thing before 9:45!

All is well now. The girls are eating, Devin is playing and it's just another day in paradise! I suppose the girls will take a good nap, but from the looks of it, you'd think nothing had happened today. They're just as silly and spunky as ever!

I'm very happy that Dr. E did not find anything, although I wait with baited breath for the biopsy results. We have an appointment on February 28 to discuss the findings.

Of course, if the biopsies show nothing, then we're back to square one -- why are the girls so small and why don't they gain weight? Maybe the diagnosis is, "They're just small." That's what I'm hoping for at least.

Thank you for the well-wishes, support and prayers. An endoscopy is a very easy and simple procedure, but going under general anesthesia has inherent risks. Now that it's over, I can breathe again. For now... :)