Early mornings and I don’t agree, my brain is in a fog and my body just doesn’t want to move. The clock alarms at five-thirty am, but I just went to sleep, but I better get my butt out of bed. Today we have to go to the Janeway for Lauren’s eye surgery.
We take Lauren out of the bed; body, bones and pajamas. Wrap her in a blanket and settle her into her car seat. Uncle Dale comes up to stay with Logan, I’m sure they’ll have a day of adventures. And then its off we go for the adventure of our day. It’s like we’re on auto pilot, we just do it. Not like this is the first time but if we stop to think about what we are doing; we might fall apart. Before long we arrive at the hospital and head for the surgical floor, where Lauren is prepped for surgery and dressed in a royal hospital gown. Now we’re in the waiting area, dreading our next move and passing her over to the team of medical professionals. This makes us feel like such horrible parents, but we know we have to do what’s best for Lauren.So now we wait and wait some more…
A nurse arrives to take Lauren to the OR, Lauren screams in fear. The saying, ‘ignorance is bliss’ doesn’t work for Lauren; she knows exactly what’s going on, she’s been down this road many times before. And she knows that she will not return the way that she went in but she knows that at least she won’t have a body cast. That was one of her concerns prior to arriving at the hospital.
After approximately an hour, her surgeon comes out to us with the good news that the surgery went fine. Relief floods your body like water in a pool. The next few days will be very uncomfortable for Lauren, but that’s to be expected. She is so resilient, strong and courageous; a fighter like none other. I have learned so much from her, she is my inspiration.
Wish I could say, that’s it for surgeries and visits to the Janeway but I believe we have only begun. The doctor that diagnosed Lauren, four years ago, knew what he was talking about when he said, ‘she has a long, hard road ahead of her.’ Little did we know just how long that road would be. Just for an example; while we were sitting in the waiting room today, the phone rang and it was the orthopedic department with an appointment for Lauren’s third hip surgery; on September 12th, just two weeks away and she’ll be in a body cast again! Her eyes will not be fully healed and she’ll embark upon yet another surgery. With no end in sight, maybe just a curve in the road.