Ding ding ding...Round 3!

Resting in the hotel room.

I can hardly believe it has been 9 days since Zac's surgery.  We spent the night in the hospital since Zac's surgery was so late in the day and were released the following day before noon...right before a flurry of snow hit.  Zac was definitely more vocal about his level of pain this time and it was the first time I alternated Tylenol with Codeine and Motrin...usually regular Tylenol and Motrin are good enough.  I also woke him in the middle of the night to keep his doses up to keep his level of pain in check.  It was the first time he didn't bounce back right away.  Zac had two expanders placed.  A 750cc expander in the upper chest and a 1000cc tissue expander placed on the left side/back.  He had the remainder of two leg satellites removed and had a skin-tag type thing removed from his right ear.   Friday we just spent in the hotel room watching Elmo on repeat.  I got a text from Bruce that said...uh oh...and had a picture of Zoie....missing her front bottom tooth!!  Ugh!  Can't believe I missed that!  Oh well, guess the tooth fairy is bound to come a bunch more in the future...

Loving the Elmo DVD in the van

I have to tell you the amazing story that happened the day we arrived in Chicago.  I got to the Alamo car rental area ready to pick up my full-size car.  I was a little nervous, wishing I would've not been so cheap and gotten a small SUV instead because I was very uneasy about driving in snow.  Ok, uneasy is an understatement...I was freaked out!  When we were in Chicago last January, I made Merilee and my husband drive everywhere so I did not consider myself experienced in driving in that fluffy,
slippery stuff.  Anyhoo, upon exiting the shuttle at Alamo, I was informed they did not have my car available and would I like a mini-van.  WHAT!!  Uh...YEAH...I would LOVE a mini-van!!!  Seriously friends, three years ago I never would've dreamed those words would come out of my mouth but the thought of the comfort of something familiar in this VERY different place totally took over.

Randy, my Alamo angel drove over a beautiful mini-van.  It had gorgeous black leather seats with white stitching, automatic doors...you get the picture.  I was SO happy!  I told Randy how much I appreciated it.  I told  him I wanted him to know that my son was here to have surgery...and on my birthday none-the-less and that he absolutely made my trip.  Randy replied, "It wasn't me ma'am...this was God's doing.  There's a DVD player back there for when your son gets out of the hospital."  I could hardly believe that I got so lucky!  And a DVD player too!  Wow!  Well, let me tell you.  Randy was 100% right - God must've planned this because there were several times that weekend that the only way Zac was happy was by driving in the car, watching Elmo.  One morning I even drove thru the Starbucks drive-thru and sat in the parking lot just to keep him calm.  Randy & Elmo - two more very special people this week.

We were so happy to be home on Monday evening after a plane ride that seemed to last forever.  Zac is still toting two drains that will come out tomorrow after we do our first fill.  It's going to be a little different filling two expanders this time since we have only ever done one.  I am hoping a slow melt Popsicle and entertainment from his sister will do the trick.  Please pray for us in our attempts tomorrow.

On Wednesday, the Arizona Republic featured a very special story on Zac and his rare skin disorder (Thanks Betty!).  I hope this raises awareness and helps to educate people on Zac's many spots and the reason we choose to pursue removal of his Giant Congenital Nevus.  And if you found our blog from the article...welcome to our journey.  I hope that you will read our past posts and follow our story as it unfolds.