Natasha at Home - A Post-Adoption Journal
12-Mar-2001Natasha had been a klingon baby for most of the evening. I am so glad she is finally asleep. I had to lay down with her so that she could go to sleep.
Sunday night I kept Natash up a little late so that she would sleep in. She was scheduled to start eye surgery to fix her crossed eyes at 0930 this morning and could not eat or drink. We were supposed to get to the hospital by 0830.
So last night I took Natasha out to hear a traveling Russian choir singing some sacred music. The voices on some of these people were heavenly and she enjoyed herself quite a bit. She did get a little fidgety (sit down, stand up, sit down, stand up) toward the end of the 1 hour-long program. And I did get some dirty looks because of Tasha's restlessness. It was kind of borderline taking a 3 year old to a concert. But darn it, she loves music and we sat in the back next to the exit.
As I was walking out the door, an usher stopped me and complimented me on how well behaved Natasha was. She listened to the music and clapped at the right places. He then told me that I was doing an excellent job with my daughter. He was such a nice man to say something to me. I did appreciate it.
Natasha and I woke up this morning at 810AM. Oops, overslept a little bit. We only have 20 minutes to get dress and to the hospital. I walked around the house calmly if N was watching. IF she was not watching I ran around the house trying to get stuff done. In my head at this point: I must stay calm for N's sake. OK, I must stay calm for my sake. My baby was going under the knife. What if something bad happens? Never mind just get dressed.
So it was 840AM when we checked it. The nurse didn't seem to mind.
Around 915AM a nurse popped in the room and told me that the surgery was going to be early. There had been a cancellation. I informed her that Natasha was scheduled for 930AM. What did she mean the surgery would be early? I figured out this actually meant N's surgery would start on time.The nurse comes for Natasha and I am allowed to walk her up to the 6th floor. (OK we took the elevator; I did not really have to walk all the way to the next floor.) Natasha is given 'happy' medicine before we leave our room on the 5th floor. Elvis, the singing bear, goes on the stretcher with N. For some reason, we get parked on the 6th floor to wait.
In the meantime N's 'happy' medicine has kicked in and she is drunk. She tried to stand and falls over. She tries to talk and she mumbles.
Then two nurses show up and take my baby away. Ugh! I go back to the 5th floor to wait.
In my head at this point: What have I done? I just handed my baby to total strangers. This is scary.
I accidentally went into the employee lounge and got some coffee while I was waiting for the surgery to be complete. I got a cup of coffee before I was discovered. A nurse helped me find the 'public' lounge that I had walked by several times and was full of people and also had coffee. My brain was so mushy. But I did learn that the nurses had Irish Cream coffee and the public lounge did not.
I then went back to the room to wait and poured the coffee into the bathroom sink. I don't drink coffee. Man, my brain was mushy.
The doctor went into both of N's eyes and moved the inner muscle attachment. She is in surgery for one hour and I got called into recovery. I was allowed to hold Natasha while she was waking up. The nurses give her 2 shots of morphine via an IV to help with the pain. She was saying, 'eye hurts'. She was also given cold washcloths to hold over her eyes. And she was given apple juice to drink.
She came out of surgery with 2 bruises under her eyes and her eyelids were swollen. But it was amazing. She was using her eyes and seeing. The eye heals so quickly.
We were moved back to the room on the 5th floor and I could place my quilt on her. A nurse shows up and asks N if she wants to sleep or go home. Natasha very clearly says, 'Mama go home'. So we go home. We arrived at 840AM and we leave at 1200PM.
On the drive home I get a scare. I look in the rearview mirror and see Natasha throwing up. I pull the car off the road and call the hospital. I get a very nice nurse who informed me it was normal for young children to throw up... surgery + moving car = throwing up.
Oh! OK!
Once we arrive home, Natasha wants to sleep. I have a baby's cradle that I am storing for Sharon. Natasha wants to sleep in it so I let her. Then she wakes up one hour later and wants to sleep on her futon (her bed is on back order). Then she wakes up and wants to sleep in Mama's bed.
Then she wants my company and sits on the floor while I type on the computer. She has a piece of paper in her hand that she keeps looking at. She turns in over and over again. I believe she is surprise by her new depth perception that the surgery provided. If she didn't have the surgery she would have eventually lost sight in one of her eyes. Her brain would ignore all signals from one of the eyes.
Natasha goes to sleep on the carpet but not before suggesting that babushka (Grandma) would love to have pizza with us. So I call and arrange to have dinner with my mom and some pizza.
Natasha continues to go in and out of sleep for the rest of the afternoon and early evening. She amused me with her attempts to hold items. She tried to pick up a bottle of water and completely missed. She tried to touch a band-aid on her hand and cannot touch it. I can actually see what a difference the depth perception makes. She seems very surprised by most objects and turns them over. And she is unsteady on her feet (not because of the drugs in her system).
At 6PM we head over to babushka's house. Natasha can now pick up items and walk without a problem. She adjusted so quickly. She plays a game where she throws bean bags at a target and she hits the target. SHE IS AMAZING.
Angie and Natasha
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