February 10 - High Five

Late last summer, Naomi developed a tiny brown spot on her left hand. No big deal, the whole family is spotted. However, over several months I watched it change color and multiply in size. During a regular check-up, her doctor said it was nothing to worry about, but I insisted on further follow up. Two months later the office called to tell us an appointment was arranged with a dermatologist, in two more months. We changed pediatricians.

Anyway, in January, we saw the smart and kind Dr. Cerullo. She scraped the suspicious mole off and sent it out for testing. Two weeks later, her office called with the results: atypical nevus. Which really means "something's off, but it's probably benign". She promptly made an appointment with a hand specialist. A week later, Dr. Sylvan Clarke scheduled Naomi for surgery.

So that's what we did today. Check-in at 5:30am. (Yawn.) I see post-surgical patients all the time. I like hospitals. I love Grey's Anatomy and House. I do NOT love taking my baby girl in for surgery. Even if she is adorable in her little hospital outfit.

I think they got a late start, for whatever reason, which means she was more than half an hour later in surgery than they predicted. I'm not a nervous momma, but when I had no news by 10:15am, I felt my shoulders starting to ratchet up. When she finally came back to the post-recovery room, I noticed about 5 poke marks on her right arm where the IV was hanging. Hunh. Or that could have slowed them down.

She was peaked and greenish for a few hours, but after a chocolate doughnut and a princess movie, Naomi is back to her sassy self. Now the trick is to keep the bandage clean and in place for 10 days. Wish a momma luck!