4-21-10 Praise the Lord!

Minutes after my last update, I received a call saying that Dr. Ahn was finished cutting the scull and was handing things over to Dr. Simmons for the reconstruction and closing. Ben and I headed back to the waiting room and figured we would have a few hours to wait for Dean to be finished. Instead when we arrived, we were told that everything went well and he was being prepared to be moved to the PICU. It was over! Dr. Ahn told us that things went very quickly because after they got all of the lines for anesthesia in place everything else went perfectly. There wasn't a single problem removing the scull- not a scratch! Dr. Simmons told us that the reconstruction went perfectly too. His scull was thin which made it easier to manipulate. They were both very pleased with how he was doing. They may not know that God was guiding their hands, but I do! We just spent the last few hours with him. They have already taken his breathing tube out and he is conscious but has kept his eyes closed. He is not very swollen at all, which is a relief to me. They said he might be a little more swollen by morning due to laying down, but he still looks like my baby and that is comforting. He has a line draining fluid from the incision site, and his head is wrapped up in a little cloth helmet, but he is aware of our presence and moving his arms and legs. It feels so good to be finished with the surgery. We know Dean was in God's loving and perfect care all day. I am so grateful for all of the answered prayer! Since I am not able to feed or hold him tonight, I will be sleeping at the Children's House. I trust that I will sleep well tonight, and I need to because I will be sleeping bedside tomorrow night. Thank you to everyone who contacted us today. The calls of encouragement started at 6am, and emails, calls, and even a surprise visit (from my aunt and cousin) continued throughout the day. We can not tell everyone how much this means to us. I am especially thankful for the strength and support from Ben today. We look forward to tomorrow, and pray for Dean to recover quickly and completely. I am confident that God will bring Dean home strong and safe!