Becca has Surgery

Becca received cochlear implant surgery on Tuesday. Here is the update from her dad Dave... We are pleased to report the surgery on Becca's left ear went well, and our daughter returned home yesterday around noon. She did need to stay in the hospital overnight due to regular IV doses of precautionary antibiotics.

In the days leading up to the operation, there had been some concern that Dr. Bojrab wouldn't be able to insert the implant all the way into the cochlea, as necessary. Apparently, meningitis can cause a hardening of the inner ear--bone growth, basically--that can ultimately make an implant impossible. In Becca's case, only a small amount of surgical drilling was necessary, and the doctor was able to implant the device fully. Unfortunately, however, the doctor did discover that Becca's right ear had contracted some nature of infection, owing in part to the tubes that had been there so long. For this she has been given ear drops.

Providence Hospital of Southfield, where the operation was performed, is considerably smaller than Royal Oak Beaumont (where Becca had been previously). Still, our experience with the facility and the staff was quite favorable. We arrived around 6:00 a.m. on Monday morning, and Becca was very soon admitted to the pre-opt room. There she had a choice between a "floor-length" gown or one that just covered her bottom. Several nurses, doctors and aides stopped by as the three of us waited, looking over pictures from our trip to Disney. Becca was rolled into surgery right at 8:00, and we did not see her again until she was awakening from the anesthetic in the recovery room at about 11:30. As you can imagine, Becca was in obvious discomfort, and Amy and I tried our best to keep her mind off her condition with a reading of Curious George Goes to the Hospital. In retrospect, perhaps this wasn't the best choice of books. Shortly, we were taken up to her room on the fifth floor, where she spent most of the day in and out of sleep, unable to eat due to nausea. Amy stayed in the hospital with Becca overnight, while I went to Amy's folk's house to care for Andrew, now 11 months old and largely weened.

We understand that many of our friends and family are forwarding these messages on to others. In light of this, there may be a fair number of people receiving these updates that may not even know what Rebecca looks like. After 13 e-mails, finally I have attached a picture of her. This photo was taken by Amy at our house back in February.

God bless,

Dave