Category: Syndactyly

On Monday May 6th we got a call in the afternoon from Scottish Rite letting us know that they had a cancellation for Friday morning and we jumped at the chance to have Amelie’s right hand worked on. I told Amelie about the upcoming surgery and the first thing she said was, “Dat’s cool.” I asked her how it made her feel that they were going to try and make her some new fingers. She said, “Dat makes me happy.” I told her she would have to wear a cast again and she said, “Dat’s okay mama. Maybe I can get a toy!”

Our friend Sarah came over early in the morning to pick up Nadia to keep her for the day and that was a big relief. Our pastor Darwin came up to the hospital to pray for Amelie right before they started to prep her for surgery which was also very sweet. We had the same day surgery nurse and were in the same spot for the prior 2 surgeries so everything was very familiar and we were ready to roll. Amelie just wanted to confirm “no pin” and “new fingers” and she was ready to go.

They gave her another Raggedy Ann doll to add to her collection. When they gave her the “goofy juice” to help her relax they also put the side bar up and she said, “Now I SAFE!”

This was after the surgeon and anesthesiologist had come by the confirm everything and she was starting to act really silly and saying all kinds of funny stuff from the “goofy juice” which she told us tastes disgusting.

This was shortly before they rolled her back and we headed to the Crayon Cafe to have breakfast.

Amelie loves elephants and while we were waiting we found this cute guy in the gift shop. We also talked to the surgeon and she showed us a few photos of Amelie’s hand before they put the cast on. I teared up a little seeing those 3 new fingers.

Once out of recovery she was awake just long enough to snuggle up to this guy and go back to sleep.

At this point she was doing a lot better and coming out of the haze. A little while later her pain meds and antibiotics were ready in the pharmacy and we packed up to head home. She fell asleep so we headed straight over to Sarah’s house to pick up Nadia. I had sent a little surprise package with her with 4 new costumes I had picked up on clearance so her and Sarah’s girls could play dress up. Amelie wanted to see them when we got home and asked so sweetly if she could be a ladybug. It’s a good thing it was so stretchy and went over the cast.

She was woozy from the meds and Nadia read her books until nap time. The rest of the evening was fine and she didn’t seem too uncomfortable. She took the cast in stride, but the pressure bandage on her skin graft site really bothered her and she kept picking at it over and over.

*On a side note, all the hand surgeons at Scottish Rite are amazing and they travel the world training people and doctors come to Texas to be trained by them. When you schedule a surgery you don’t know who you are going to get, but you can be sure they will be good. When they put my parent hospital band on and I saw Dr. Ezaki on there I started to cry a little because she is like a ROCK STAR in hand surgery circles. The only other time we have ever even seen her was when she did the release of Amelie’s left hand in April 2011. It was thrilled and after she showed us the photos she took I danced a jig in the middle of our waiting area.

So I have received several requests to do a “before” and “now” post showing Amelie’s hands. She was barely home 6 weeks before her surgery so it’s hard to remember what her left hand looked like before.

Here is how it looked from birth. All 4 fingers on her left hand fused together sort of like a mitten. Little crevices for food to get stuck in and so on. From the day we met her we were amazed at the great use she had of it.

Here she is playing with stickers a few days ago.

Look at the detail work here – the pinkie on her right hand is astoundingly strong.

“See! See! See!”

I took this last month. She has the pieces of a nesting sock monkey on her fingers. (thanks Tricia!) I think this is one of the best shots of her left hand and how far she can separate her fingers now. Her hands get stronger every day and she continues to amaze us. In truth when we are going about our daily life I hardly ever think of her hands. It takes seeing her drop something due to her fingers being short/not strong enough OR some stranger staring/commenting about her to make me think about it.