Maya’s having her operation tomorrow...

My little girl is having her first (and hopefully last although in the grand scheme of things that's unlikely)general anasthetic She had a cut on her foot that has healed badly and there are some shell/sand fragments in it that she is having removed and then they will put it in plaster for 10 days so it can heal without her 'getting' at it.

So wish us luck! And anyone who has experience with a toddler in plaster any suggestions would be appreciated! I am thinking I will buy her an oversized gumboot to wear on it to daycare in the sand, water etc. but would love any ideas for bathing, pain relief etc.

Thanks Maria, I feel like a dork too coz I keep thinking about when we had our cat put down, and I know that's what I'll be thinking about when they give her the GA. I'm a total headcase
But I also think that if I coped with having to holdher while they put in a nasogastric tube (twice) then I can cope with this...

Unforunately she's not getting it done at Starship tho, because it's an ACC job the specialist she has can only operate at a private clinic in Remuera. But hopefully they will be good there, and her specialist specialises in paediatric cases so he should have a few clues too...

Sending you my best wishes Emma and Maya... I hope you guys are ok and doing well!!

Thinking of you!

Good luck, Emma and Maya! Hope it all goes well!

When Kiya had her arm set last December after she broke it, they put the mask on and got her to count. She didn't like the mask, but they were really good with her, and one of the nurses was "reading" her a story about a little girl called Kiya (imagine that! ) and didn't stop until she was asleep.

Kiya was in plaster for about 7 weeks all up. We had only just started to night TT her, so we put her back in nappies at night so that the cast didn't get wet. When bathing her, I tucked a flannel into the top of the cast, wrapped the whole thing up in a handtowel, then put a plastic bag over the top. The best thing I've seen was a teenager who put a black rubbish sack over their leg so they could go to the beach! Given that it will be her leg, maybe giving Maya sponge baths will be the easiest thing to do.

As for pain relief, we were given lots of Pamol and some Ibrufen(sp?) which we gave her regularly. The ibrufen we were able to phase out, and after a couple of weeks we were only giving Kiya Pamol at night to help her sleep.

Even though it feels like forever, 10 days isn't too long really, and Maya will be bouncing back faster than you realise!

I hope everything went OK for Maya.
Thinking of you guys

All the best guys!!!

Thanks everyone for all your wishes and support. Everything actually went surprisingly smoothly, we were at the hospital at 7am, she went into theatre at 8.10am, was out by 8.30am and we were home by 11.

It was so hard when they put her to sleep, they used a gas mask and all I could think about was when we put our cat down a few years ago... She wasn't frightened or upset tho, and eventually her eyes rolled back in her head and she went to sleep. I kept it together until I walked out of the theatre and then I burst into tears ! What a head case.

Anyways, about 1/2 an hour later she was in recovery, sitting up demanding an iceblock, not a care in the world. They put a local anasthetic in under the cast to help with the pain relief and she is on 4 hourly Panadol and Brufen. The lump they removed was about the size of a 50c piece and has been sent off to be examined so they can find out what was actually in it.

Then she spent the rest of the day at home eating 2 minute noodles and fairy bread, and watching the Care Bears movie over and over. Talk about indulgence - she normally isn't even allowed the TV on!

Anyways, here are some pics (and yes, Daddy was the first one to sign the cast)..

In her gown to go to theatre...


The lump in her foot pre-surgery...


Lady Muck recovering at home (and yes my couch is a little the worse for wear!)

Glad to hear everything went well, Emma!

Maya looks so cute on the couch! Well done for getting through it Emma! I was bad enough when Joey had blood taken he he he he

Angie had to have her heel prick done twice. I held her the first time but they didn't take enough blood so they came and took her away to do it the second time which was worse as I could hear her crying but couldn't do anything about it.