Surgery Info for Tomorrow!! HERE WE GO!!!

As I'm finally finding the time to sit down and write...all I'm thinking about is that at this time tomorrow, all of these thoughts that I'm having will be in the past.  I can't believe that surgery day is actually here.  We have gone through so much.  Thinking back, I remember my fears of him getting his first tooth and being worried about him "chomping on his tube"...but all of those fears quickly went away as each "fear" became a reality...and all was ok..  I have to remind myself of that, as tomorrow quickly approaches.  All will just be fine.....I still can't believe that I won't be traveling with a bag of meds, formula, tubes and syringes by tomorrow!!  It's seems so surreal to me....My work as a Mother to get him healthy and strong enough to the point of surgery is complete.  Tomorrow is up to him and his Doctors- and I have complete faith in both!

I'm so proud of Lentil.  I can't believe all he has accomplished in just 4 short months.  He will always amaze me.  I know that he is a strong boy, and that is important going into our "adventure" tomorrow.

The plan for surgery is that we will arrive at the hospital at 7:30am.  The drs believe the procedure will take about 3 hrs.  Dental x-rays will be done first and if they feel it's necessary, he will then have a CT scan...it's all depending on what the x-rays show.  His surgical team will consist of Dr John Lewis, Dr Alex Reiter and Dr Jesse Taylor (from CHOP)!!  I couldn't have asked for a better team.  Also in the room will be Dr Fulton (Lentil's primary vet) and Dr. Shana.  Dr Fulton will oversee him through his recovery- which makes me happy because Lentil will be waking up to face that he has always known/loved.

Our focus for tomorrow is repairing the hard/soft palate.  Although we now know he has a hiatal  hernia....we are going to "pretend" it isn't there.  He isn't showing any clinical signs of it, and the drs have already taken every precaution with lessening the risk of regurgitation, so we will worry about the hernia if/when it causes an issue.  To fix the hard palate, they will create a flap of skin taken from one side of the roof of his mouth and suture it onto the other side (to seal that ridge), then they take skin and somehow create a soft palate.  It amazes me with what they are capable of doing.  They are confident they will fix everything in one try...but depending on how he heals, he may need further surgeries.

From the outside, our little Lentil will look exactly the same.  I've opted to not do any cosmetic procedures, as I feel it's important for all of us to remember that it's OK to be different!!!  It's ironic that so many people love him for the way that he looks, yet will still ridicule/judge a human for having the same difference!!  This is one of the barriers that all of us need to break down together!  We should celebrate each day loving each other for exactly who we are!!

I promise to keep everyone in the loop.  As soon as I get info- I will pass it along to all of you!  Think good thoughts for Lentil....and go out and do a good deed tomorrow in honor of him....it will help his good energy :)  We are all in this together, and I won't forget that!

Some people have said that it seems as though our Facebook posts aren't showing up in their newsfeed...if you feel that way- from a desktop, go to Bean's page and put your cursor over the "like"button....be sure it says "show in newsfeed" on the screen that pops up.  xoxo

Full speed ahead to tomorrow!  I am going there with full confidence and many hopes for a speedy recovery!  Thank you for all of the love and support.  It's gotten us this far...and after our surgery tomorrow...our life together will truly begin!  Lentil will be able to begin to accomplish what he was placed here to do!  I'm excited for the future....and as for tomorrow....we will make it the Best Day Ever- because that's what we do!!!  

Love you guys!!!

Surgery Day is Approaching...

Just when you think that everything is running smoothly, there's always that bump to throw things a bit off.  We are starting to prepare for surgery, so last Wednesday we went to Bethel Mill for blood work and x-rays.  Dr Lewis had also asked for a blood type, as they are taking every precaution.

Lentil's CBC/Chem came back with elevated liver values and his ammonia level is extremely high (311)...so now we know poor lentil may also have a liver shunt, making the risk of anesthesia even higher.  We went to UPenn on Thursday to do a bile acid test, which tests the function of the liver.  That test was also elevated, so they are pretty positive now that a shunt is present.  I feel as though walls are just caving in on me. 

Currently, we are working on a new game plan...although we are still sticking to the May 28th surgery day...however, if they are able to find the shunt on ultrasound, Bean may have surgery to correct that on the 28th rather than the palate.  

I refuse to let this get me down....and I hope all of you will continue to stay strong for him- he needs it- now more than ever!  Love goes a long way, and Lentil is a trooper.  He is full of life (as you know) and he is showing no clinical signs, which is wonderful news!   

I'm sorry that I didn't get to making this announcement sooner, but I needed a bit of time to collect my thoughts and take all of this in.  So now, the countdown to surgery day begins!  We will continue to celebrate each day we have, and we look forward to a speedy recovery for our boy.....we have lots of people to meet when he gets better!!!  

Thank you, again, to all of you for all of the love and support.  It breaks my heart that I physically can't keep up with all of the messages I have on facebook (I'm about 1500 messages behind) and the "thank-you's" that I would like to personally send.  Please know that I am so grateful...xoxoxo  I love you guys!

Today is the best day EVER!

What an amazing way to start off Mother's Day!  I couldn't be happier.  I feel like I was just granted my only wish I could ever have in this world....my little Lentil.  I am so thankful to FBRN for making this possible- and so appreciative of the amount of love and support we are getting from everyone seeing the post!  It makes me feel so good to know that I am trusted to care for him- forever.  It's been a long, hard road for us, and I would never change a second of it.  Now I can be 100% sure that he can and will complete his mission in life.  As his Mother, I will see him through every step of the way.  I don't feel as though he is "my" dog, he is the world's dog...and under my care, it will stay that way.  Now our life is really going to begin!

I have been so scared about his surgery day coming up.  I am petrified of him going under anesthesia and having an even higher risk of aspiration.  It was such a heavy load on my heart thinking that he would undergo surgery without ever having an official "Mom", but now he doesn't have to!  Even though I would be by his side regardless, I can now be there- as his true Mother....and that's all I've ever wanted for him.

This is just the beginning.

Lentil Fest was a huge success!  I can't even begin to properly thank everyone for the hard work that was put into the planning, and also the incredible amount of support throughout the weekend.  It was so great to see so many people pull together to create something so successful for 3 very deserving nonprofits!  A huge thank you to Kate Connor for putting together a raffle night that raised $2234!!  Many, Many thanks goes out to the venues- North Bowl, the Blockley, The Fire and the Bands who donated all of their time/talents to help our cause.  Derek Dorsey, for organizing the shows, which brought in another $610 at the doors!  Dan Murphy from www.mandurphy.com,, who photographed our raffle night...thank you for always being there for us (pics coming soon).  To all of the artists who donated to our raffle and auction night- thank you- you made it happen!  Our online auction through Lentil's page raised $3670....so thank you to all who kept that bidding going!!!  All of the above funds that are listed, along with the money from the Lentil shirts that were donated by FBRN, each organization will be receiving a check of a minimum $2523!!!  The table we had for CCAkids at our market day, brought in an additional $433 for the children- selling baked goods donated by my Mom and Lentil "Support Ribbons" created/donated by Daniel Pfeiffer.  We had countless volunteers from STAR and FBRN running these tables and making the weekend happen...we couldn't have done it without all of you!  This is so exciting!!  PLUS- at the end of the month- we will have more checks going out from our online donation link!!  I will keep everyone posted...and smiling ear to ear all along!  Everyone who helped and supported this cause should give themselves a huge pat on the back!  This happened because of all of us!  I feel like I could write a novel just saying "THANK YOU"!  We are in this together- and we made it happen!  I love you guys!