In Surgery Today!

Sydney finally has her day on the table and she is thrilled!

A little video that cheers on Sydney. She got a real kick out of this in the pre-op room.

But she was a little embarrassed by it!

Who would have thought someone could be excited about surgery? Especially this kind. It's a five hour ordeal with months of recovery. Once you're out of it, the surgeon cuts into your top and bottom jaw, brings them forward and rotates your top jaw. Then it all gets screwed back together. Sounds pretty invasive and painful.

So...for Sydney to be thrilled about this day is just more evidence of how poorly she's felt. She is willing to go through this unpleasant procedure because she has had enough. She is done feeling exhausted and drained. She is finished with people seeing how she compensates and thinking, "Oh she's fine..."

She has been looking forward to this day for over a year, actually more than that.

The care team on Syd's procedure is very experienced. They are well practiced in how to mitigate pain and discomfort. They are expected to do an amazing job opening her airway. Their success rate is phenomenal. But today she was still a little nervous.

Because of COVID, only one family member could accompany her into the hospital. Mom and Morgan stayed outside after drop off. It was doctor Dad who was able to stay by her side. Sydney was comfortable with that but missed all the distractions that family members bring.

For a week, everyone kept Syd distracted so she wouldn't focus on the actual surgery.

This was a plan hatched by Sydney...keep busy and just roll right into the OR. When she started to get antsy the family would do fun stuff. Last night they had an amazing last meal - vegan tacos. She laughed and cried with her mom, dad, and sister Morgan. Her sister, Sam, stayed back in NY with Dawkins and Mike (the dogs) but FaceTimed with the pups to wish her well. Sam shared humorous first-day-on-the-new-job stories and the dogs were a big hit.

FaceTime chatting with family and friends the evening before surgery.

Other calls came from extended family and friends. Her grandfather, Dr. Ron Avis, was super encouraging and very funny. He is super sharp and knows how to say just the right thing to get Sydney laughing.

This morning Sydney was raring to go. She fell asleep right away but had a night full of bizarre dreams. She needed to be up at 4 am but by 3:30 her engine was started. As usual, she was exhausted but ready to move.

As we write this, Sydney is still in surgery. We wait to hear that she is out and breathing fully for the first time in her life. Go Syd!

Sydney in pre-op ready to go...