Update on Tori's Surgery

We arrived at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Nashville around 11:45 on Thursday. We didn't wait too long until Tori was called back to the prep area.

She put on PJs and let the nurses do the routine pre-op tasks without any fuss. Around 2:20 p.m. the anesthetist (a term I would not have known before working at Union) came in to take her to the operating room. He asked Tori if she wanted to ride the bed or have him carry her back. Tori threw up her arms and said "You carry me." Nancy told Tori to give hugs and kisses, meaning us, but Tori threw her arms around his neck and planted a smacker on his cheek. She genuinely caught him off-guard, and later he told us Tori charmed everyone in the operating room. I have to wonder how long they listened to Tori chat before deciding they really needed to get underway.

The operation took around 3 hours and we were able to go back to the recovery room a little after 6 p.m. Tori gradually came out of the anesthesia and while groggy and hoarse her personality came shining through those big brown eyes. She took a few drinks of apple juice and drifted in and out. Sometime around 7:30 p.m. we moved out of recovery and up to her room.



Tori, Nancy and Grandma Porter settled into one of what the nurse dubbed "the princess room" for the night. The room, with its cabinetry and furniture, was designed for an extended stay. After talking briefly with one father who was a self-described veteran of the floor I had to wonder if any level of design could make being there more bearable. The next morning I brought Madison along with Grandma and Grandpa Lyerla to visit Tori. She was being stubborn, not eating or drinking enough to satisfy the doctors and send her home. Beyond stubborn, she was beginning to realize the value of her situation. For instance, she was allowed to have popsicles as a way of getting fluids. At one point, when Nancy offered Madison a popsicle Tori, thinking out loud, mumbled "I'm the one who's not feeling very well."

Later in the day Tori began eating and drinking enough to convince the doctors she was able to go home. Around 6:00 p.m. on Friday we loaded up the vehicles and said good-bye to the nurses.

I want to thank everyone for their prayers during the last few weeks leading up to the surgery and during our hospital stay. Nancy says the good sleep Tori got through the night after the surgery had to be because of the prayers. To Dr. Cofer, who did the surgery, the nurses in the recovery room and the seventh floor and everyone else we met during our stay we say thank you.