Happy New (Y)Ear!

Matilda had the first part of her rib cartilage reconstructive surgery and she stayed in the hospital for 5 days after. The surgery went well after a good 12 hours and her surgeons were very happy with the result. Here are some pictures that the surgeons took of the ribs they took from her to build her a new ear.

You can tell what an amazing work the surgeons did and some skills! In the last two pictures you can see the 2 tubes that are below her ear that helped her drain the fluid. It was not comfortable at all and she did not like it when she noticed them.

Matilda woke up pretty happy and it was not until hours later when she realized she had all these tubes coming from her ear and her rib wound that she shut down and was feeling extremely sad.

She had a tough time when we were at the hospital once she saw all the tubing and how restricted she was with mobility. She refused to look at herself in the mirror and pretty much refused to talk or even eat. When the nurses asked her about her pain level she was always nodding that she is fine (I think it was just easy to do so than saying anything else). The doctor gave her goals and one of them was to make sure she moves her neck around especially the side she had surgery because kids tend to avoid it which then causes stiffness. Matilda did just that. She was afraid to move her new ear side. I had to constantly remind her of our goal which is to go home after 5 days and we do not want to stay longer, so after 2 days she finally got better of moving around but still with lots of prompting. Her mood was still very down and I was definitely feeling frustrated. I asked for a physical therapist to work with her and the doctor instructed the nurse to give her higher dose of pain medication versus the low dose she has been getting. Matilda was also very sleep deprived since every 2-3 hours a nurse would come in and check her vital and administer her medication (and when the medication is done it delivers a loud beeping sound that does not stop until a nurse comes back in). No one was getting any good sleep. On the third night, I requested that she needs at least 6 straight hours of no interruption and we worked it out so that she had her medicine as late as we could so she can sleep better.

Matilda had received gifts before the surgery so that she could open them while she was there but Matilda refused to open any of them nor did she want anyone to visit. She wanted to do everything when she gets home.

It was a long and tough 5 days but she did it. I think it was hard because it is completely not what she had expected. But she did it and she was so brave and she can’t wait for Christmas. Our second part surgery is in 4 months and she will not have to stay in the hospital and just rest for 2 weeks at home.

Happy New (Y)ear!

A perfect custom gift for kids.

 

I love all things unique and creative for myself and my kids. When I learned about Alexis of MayLo Studio, I was so excited and knew I had to reach out to her for a project for Matilda. If you go and see her instagram pics, you would want to get on ordering one.

I approached her because her work stood out to me among a lot of the custom dolls I have seen. I wanted a custom dolls for Matilda because I want it to be unique and special like her and I also want to incorporate her personality and her hearing aid. When I reached out and asked Alexis, she was super excited and told me so many ideas she could do for mini doll size Matilda with her hearing aid. I knew that she is the one! She asked questions about Matilda to get a sense of her personality and what she likes and I sent her pictures of Matilda’s hearing aid. 

When the doll came, it was amazing, better than what I expected. Matilda was thrilled and she loved how the doll’s hearing aid was exactly like hers. Alexis even took the time to make the doll different soft bands for the hearing aid and the details of her work is just so beautiful! I was so amazed by it that I took the doll out when Matilda was in school to show it off!

To this day, Matilda still plays with it and it has a very special place in her room. I am even debating having one make for the boys! If you guys ever want a very special presents or just something that you want to be like I can’t believe I didn’t know about this earlier, go to Alexis. She rocks. No regrets.

*this is not a sponsor post fyi.*