ALL DONE!!!

Madelyn had her last surgery yesterday. I can't even explain the relief that I feel. I'm sure that relief is double for Maddie. For those who don't know what I'm talking about, Madelyn had her left ear reconstructed this last year. It is done in a series of 4 surgeries, 6 weeks apart. She started in March 2007. When she was done with that she had 2 more to give her a hearing aid. She has all the auditory nerves in her ear but her inner ear was too small to create an ear canal for her. So we opted for the BAHA (bone anchored hearing aid). She had 2 metal posts put in her skull just behind her ear 4 months ago. Yesterday they attached what is called an abutment to one of the posts. It will stick out from her head slightly & she can clip a little tiny hearing aid on & off the abutment whenever she wants. Technology is amazing. This BAHA has a volume control, ipod hookups, ect. It even has a switch she can flip on if she wants to drown out any background noise & focus on someone close to her. I wouldn't mind having that feature myself. All this on a tiny hearing aid that doesn't even measure a square inch. What is even more amazing is watching a little girl pull the strength together to go through these surgeries as many times as she has. This is her 10th surgery total, 9th in a 2 1/2 year period, 6th in one years time. You know a 7 year old has had too many surgeries when she knows how to (& does) take out her own IV:) Some of them were expected to be incredibly painful, yet she soars right through with hardly any pain, if any at all. So I wasn't surprised when she woke up at 6:30 this morning & said "Mom, I want to go to school". I hope it doesn't sound like I am bragging, I am just in awe of what little children are able to endure. I think she is unbelievable. I am holding back tears even now as I think about how wonderful it is going to be to not have to put her through this anymore. While we were at the hospital yesterday, Austin decided he wanted to get Madelyn a present to let her know how excited he was that it was her last surgery. He picked her out a "Junie B. Jones" book (he remembered that she loves reading those), some jewelry & some of her favorite snacks. He is so thoughtful & has such a soft spot for his big sis! He always wants to know if Maddie is OK as soon as possible after the surgeries. It is nice to know that even though there are fights sometimes between siblings that even at such a young age they are there for each other when it matters most! So I know it's too late to make a long story short, but I am soooooo glad she is ALL DONE!!!!!