In September, Heather broke her clavicle which required surgery to set the bones with hardware (it broke in a very difficult place). In February 2025 she had another surgery to remove the clavicle hardware that was starting to interfere with range of motion and growing into healthy bone (they knew the 2nd surgery was required). A month later, she had a hernia repair. This was probably due to weaker stomach muscles from her surgeries as an infant and, in December, a case of walking pneumonia that caused a lot of coughing.
So when this most recent surgery was necessary, you can clearly understand how anxious and frustrated Heather was. I guess I am sharing all of this now, because nobody ever knows the struggles that so many encounter. Heather doesn't live in the past, but the past keeps getting brought up every time she has to give her health history. It was very interesting that before they did the adhesion repair and they asked about previous abdominal surgeries, they weren't concerned about her two surgeries at one week and 15 months of age. Interestingly, after the surgery, the surgeon wanted details about her earlier surgeries. Before going in, he assumed if adhesions had been so bad, they would have surfaced much earlier. Well, apparently that wasn't the case. I wasn't able to give him many details except to say that she recovered beautifully from both of those surgeries.
It still blows my mind that the protocol for abdominal adhesions and obstructions hasn't changed in 42 years. If it isn't a complete obstruction which requires emergency surgery, they insert an NG tube for 5-7 days hoping the obstruction resolves on its own. If not, then surgery is required and that requires another week in the hospital, then home for a 4–6 week recovery.
I still shudder when I look back on her earlier surgeries. Because she was only 7 days old and had already lost a lot of her birth weight, she never received any pain medication. I still can't even fathom that. When the decision was made to do surgery, the hospital doctors told me she was too weak to survive the surgery, and the surgeon said if we don't do surgery now, she won't survive. That was a terrible decision to make. So, I agreed to the surgery, and they wheeled her away 30 minutes later (her Father had gone home for about 2 hours when all of this unfolded and since there weren't any cell phones, there was no way to reach him to discuss this - I tried the house phone but he was already in the car). During surgery, they paralyzed her for 24 hours and inserted a ventilator to help her breath. I didn't know enough then to question the need to keep her immobile, but I do know there was a real concern for giving anesthesia to a sick 5lb 10oz infant.
From what I read back in 1982 and what I see now on the good ol' internet “In the early 1980s it was a common belief among medical professionals that babies did not feel pain, and this led to surgeries and other procedures being performed without anesthesia or pain medication. This belief was based on the idea that infants lacked the neurological capacity to experience pain due to their underdeveloped nervous systems, particularly the lack of myelination" This was from a Harvard Medical Journal. This theory changed in the mid 1980s. Today, it's well-established that infants can feel pain, and there is a greater awareness of the importance of pain management during infancy. Thank GOD.
On July 4th, it will be three weeks since Heather's surgery. She is really doing quite well, but every few days, she has a painful setback. Pain management really is critical to a patients physical and mental health. Heather once again is proving how tough she is. I also must admit, it has been wonderful having her home with me for these last few weeks. I am finally catching up on my much-needed rest and Heather can just focus on herself and getting stronger.
I love you, Heather. I can't wait for the day that we can go on our own adventure and escape from Lisa's Assisted Living Facility. I must admit, it is a great place to recover, but a girls trip to the beach (or NYC) would be sooooo much fun.
xo
Lisa
The picture for this blog was taken on the 4th. Our neighborhood has a fabulous parade that goes past our house. This was Heather's first social outing in a month. I love you, Heather and the camera certainly loves your beautiful smile. It is wonderful to see those lovely dimples again.
