Thank you, and you, and you, and you

First of all, the surgery went well.  On behalf of Reina, Savvy and myself, I would like to thank the Alive Not Dead community for the huge show of support.  It was very touching to receive your encouragement and prayers for little Reina's facial surgery, speedy recovery and for her parent's state of mind (breath and stay calm).  May you never encounter such problems with your children.  However, judging from the response from parents, you most likely will at some point.  Let's face it, kids get hurt.  They also bounce.  Seriously, my friend Rob Lok says you can bounce kids.  Then again, he is a circus clown.

If you are a regular here, you know I don't write much about my family life.  Originally, I had no intent of showing or saying much about Reina's life as I prefer to keep this page about my art.  There are a few artist friends of ours, however, that are such huge fans of Reina's that it became clear keeping her from AnD was not an option.  So the other night, as I reflected on Reina's surgery and the emotions wrapped up with it, Savvy and I decided it was okay to share this experience with the AnD family.

For me, the worst part of this whole procedure was actually that blood test on Friday.  It surprised me because I'm usually the one who takes Reina for all her shots and I'm accustomed to being that voice of reassurance for her.  Having gone through loads of allergy related injections as a kid, I received more shots by the time I was 12 then most people will get in 4 lifetimes.  Yet there was something about the tests on Friday that caught me off guard.  

Reina's surgery lasted under an hour.  The procedure was actually fairly simple in that the surgeon made a small incision, cut out the cyst and uses a few sutures under the skin to close the wound.  My largest concern about the surgery was the anesthesiologist.  Thankfully, Dr. Ye (the surgeon) brought along the chief anesthesiologist from Beijing Hospital and it was clear we could put Reina's little life in her capable hands.  Afterwards, Dr. Ye told me when she made the initial cut, a small stone popped out and took the whole O.R. team by surprise.  A deposit in the cyst had become calcified and rock hard.  Dr. Ye showed it to us and even offered to let me photograph it.  So, if you are curious, there is a photo below.

Thanks again to all the staff, artists, friends, fans and even complete strangers who supported us.  You guys rock!  Special props to Rob for having the fortitude to throw pies at us, even in our time of distress.  It takes a special clown to have the courage to make people laugh, no matter what the circumstances.  But next time, I’d prefer chocolate to the banana cream.  Finally, huge thanks to the Dr. Ye and the team at Beijing Family United. 

A note about the photos.  I did not intend to document the day; I had the Ixus with me, so I went ahead and snapped a few.  Had it not been my child and wife, there is much more I would have done.  Still, I hope you find these interesting.  A rather painful "day-in-the-life of Reina" series. Even in the morning, Reina knew the day was unusual.  Because of the surgery, she couldn't eat breakfast, but she never even asked for anything. She was not too keen on wearing the bracelet, but after we put one on Savvy, she decided it was okay. Pre-op, just before the sleepy-time drugs were administered.  We had already been at the hospital for an hour. The nurses did a good job getting the I.V. line in her foot.  Ouch.  Looks more painful than getting one in the wrist. Post-op, the nurse told me Reina did not cry after she told her that she was taking Reina to her parents. We stayed in the hospital for four hours after the surgery, two of which one of the nurses stayed in the room with us to keep Reina under close supervision.  Teddy Bear came along for moral support, even though the sight of blood makes him pass out.

The problem: the cyst (top) and the calcified deposit (bottom).  No, those are not my jeans.  I guess they use surgical grade denim in the O.R.  it does give you a sense of scale if you think about it.  Yes, I failed to place something in the photo to give you a better sense of scale.  The calcified deposit was hard as a rock.

After sitting/lying still for two hours, Reina began to perk up and demand entertainment.  She had the most fun playing with her heart monitor which was attached to her big toe.  She also started demanding macaroni and cheese, which the nurse would not let her eat.  She settled for poridge, which if you know the story "Goodnight Moon", we call mush.

The only time she didn't cry when a nurse touched her foot (or any other part of her body) was when she came to gentelly remove the I.V. line.

Finally, after some macarroni and cheese for dinner and a glass of milk to wash it down, Reina was ready to call it a day.

Then she decided to wake up at 10PM and play for a couple of hours.  Thanks everybody.