Wow. Just wow.

We have made it through my 8th surgery, and to say it went well is an understatement.  This entire round, from beginning through recovery, has been unexpectedly extraordinary.  We all know the expansion was completed without complication, and that we brought Dr. Bauer a lot of really beautiful new skin to work with.  But to actually see what he did with it continues to amaze us.  Dr. Bauer is an artist.  A miracle worker.  Our hero.  

I am doing exceptionally well.  The surgery took about 3 hours -- twice as long as Dr. Bauer predicted.  That made my parents very nervous, but this is not an uncomplicated process, and they are acutely aware of that fact.  When my parents found me in recovery, I had already been awakened from the anesthesia and given some morphine through my IV, which helped me fall back to sleep.  They watched me sleep for about an hour, until the nurses had to wake me to make sure I was ok.  We then went to a room, where I slept a bit more, had a few snacks, and asked to go home.  And, sure enough, we did!  We left the hospital a little less than 12 hours from the time the nurses took me back to surgery.

Once back at the hotel, I ate a full meal and even walked on my own!  No one could believe how well I was doing.  And all this was done on simple over-the-counter pain medications.  The next morning I was completely walking on my own, and pretty much back to my joyful personality.  I admit that, to this day, I cannot bend my body, sit, or pick anything up.  But other than that, I am - and have been for days - me again!  Oh, and I ditched the pain meds 4 days after surgery!

So, before I reveal the results from this surgery, let me take you through a quick pictoral tour of where we've been...

May, 2010... just after I was born

April, 2012... after 6 surgeries and 3 expansions

September, 2012...
just before surgery #8 with three full expanders                                             

October 5, 2012... after surgery #8!

                                       

And I am done with surgery for 2012!!! We know that 2013 will bring us some surprises in the way of surgery; I will actually undergo as many as 4 surgeries next year.  And we are praying that next year will be my year -- that I will become nevus free.  This has been a long haul, and to know there are still so many surgeries left is a little difficult to grasp.  But there is a method to all this madness.  And this process, after all of it's travels, troubles, and victories, deserves a happy ending. So we shall seek it.  Next year.