4th Surgery...Done!

Dr. Hopper...Head Surgeon and the apple of Tatum's eye

We arrived early this morning at Children's Hospital for Tatum's 4th and final surgery. The procedure went well and Tatum woke from the anesthesia feeling very comfortable. This surgery, unlike the first three required the doctors use black sutures in addition to the dissolvable ones beneath the surface of her skin. This is to ensure her incision does not stretch. We go in one week from today to have the sutures (all 25 of them!) removed. Following this appointment we will be taping and applying silicone to her scar for six weeks, again to minimize stretching and create a neat and clean scar.

Once settled at home, I showed Tatum her incision in the mirror and asked her what she thought. She immediately replied, "Great"! However, this evening she said, "I'm all done wearing my stitches". Even though she has relatively no pain, I'm hoping the next week goes by fast.

We are very grateful for the fantastic care we received at Children's. Also, many thanks to our family and friends for their prayers and get well wishes! We are all thrilled to have these surgeries behind us!

2 hours post-op













7 hours post-op...almost back to her typical self