Well we survived probably the most difficult part of the whole cochlear implant process... the surgery. Nothing could have prepared us for the long wait we endured at the hospital on the 10th of July. We were told it was going to be a long day but as the day passed, we couldn't help but worry as our little Sienna was in the hands of our ENT surgeon. Without doubt, we knew she was in the best hands possible, the Stollery Children's Hospital, and in the trust of our surgeon.We arrived at the hospital at 6:00am, I gave her a kiss goodbye as her eyes slowly closed at 7:45am and then the waiting began. If it wasn't for my parents who hung out with us for most of the day, we probably would have not made it. They are the most understanding, caring and the most unselfish people I know... they are always there no matter what. We
love you enormously for that. We finally seen our little sunshine at 6:30pm, 11 hours later. She was lying there, still groggy from the sedation, but alert enough to wave hi to my mom and dad. Rylee did very well with the entire surgery thing. When it was time to go, she kissed her older sister and sang her "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." Sienna woke up at 2:00am, she had pulled out her IV and thankfully the nurses decided that as long as we gave her enough liquids, they would not put the IV back. Thank goodness! For the rest of the night, she slept off and on in my arms.
The next morning, the ENT intern took the bandages off. I closed my eyes as he took the bandages off and to my surprise they didn't look bad at all. The incisions look amazing, I can't believe what great work they did. We would have been discharged Saturday morning but she had an awful cough. Because she had a runny nose before the surgery, she ended up developing a cough and she became congested after the surgery. We ended up staying one more night. 
We bought maracas on this special day because in about 4 weeks, she will be hooked up and able to hear them!
A HUGE thank-you goes out to
the Stollery Children's Hospital
Sienna's ENT surgeon and her crew
the many emails, phonecalls, visits, thoughts and prayers from friends and family
but most of all...
thank-you
to the angels from up above watching over our little girl!
