Just a Few Hours then Lunch

It's January 13th, week 33, and I'm headed to get a 3D ultrasound in a different city because on my 28 week ultrasound they noticed my baby girl's kidneys were slightly enlarged. The doctor told me it was probably nothing, that he had never seen it be anything, but that they just wanted to get a more detailed one done to make sure. My boyfriend is driving and we planned on going to eat at a nice restaurant so we didn't eat much breakfast. We got to the doctor's office and got in pretty quick. I was ultrasounded by a tech then they called in a doctor and said something about obstruction. Me and the bf had thought maybe the pathway to the bladder was blocked, which happens sometimes. They say they want to check everything on her so I get a vaginal ultrasound to check her head and then another doctor comes in and does another abdominal one. They tell me my baby has a rather large tumor in her stomach that is making her sick. They want to transport me to the nearest, best hospital and do an emergency c-section. They told me they didn't even know if she would make it out of the operating room. I had wanted a natural birth because surgery is very scary and can make things complicated plus she was going to be about 7 weeks early. I was terrified but I knew I would agree with the doctor. So three hours later I'm sitting on a metal bench in an operating room, shaking like crazy from fear and the cold, while they give me an epidural. I lay dow and start feeling sick. Dry heaving barely with what muscles I had. My bf comes in and holds my hand and there are about 20 other people in the little room. They gave me something for my stomach and I felt better almost instantly. I could feel them working on me behind the screen. I could feel them keep pulling hard on my stomach. She had gotten stuck because her stomach was so big. They had to put in a drain to get her out. I couldn't see her or hear her and that was all I wanted. I was so scared. My bf's eyes were really big when they got her out and I told him I wanted to see her and he got close to me and said that I didn't right now. I could hear them working on her on the table behind him and all the other people. He confirmed she was a girl and that she had his hair and my big head. After awhile they wheeled Atheya out. They let him stay for awhile while they put everything back where it belonged but they had him leave when they started stitching me up. I lay there in a daze and started to fall asleep but the anesthesiologist, the surgeon and the other doctors kept me talking. They wheeled me back to a recovery room and said I could have ice and sprite soon. I was starving and my stomach felt extra empty know without her there but I kept feeling sick and didn't have anything other than that all night. I was worried about Atheya and just wanted to see her. They kept telling us another hour, another hour. They kept calling upstairs for me. They eventually took me to my room with no luck at seeing her. My mom stayed the night with me. At 3:30 in the morning they finally ok'd for me to see her but between the medicine, surgery and time, I was passed out. I got to see her in the morning and she was there and she was alive and I couldn't believe she was so beautiful. Over the next several days they said she would need surgery next Tuesday to remove the tumor and it was going to be really serious. Even though she was doing good and was stable, they couldn't tell if it had engulfed anything or not on the ultrasounds and MRI and we wouldn't learn anything else until after the surgery. So Tuesday came and me and her dad spent a lot of time with her the night before and that morning. They eventually called for her and I started breaking down. We went down to the surgery floor with her and told her good bye. They took us to the waiting room. The first time they called an hour later she was doing good, just had a central line put in her chest and they had just started working on her stomach. We sat waiting and I got up with the bf to get something to eat. When we were almost back we got the second call. They had removed all of the tumor and had about 45 minutes worth of stuff left to do and then the surgeon would come talk to us. I was so happy hearing that. The surgeon came out and explained that it hadn't surrounded any organs but was attached to several and had to be removed. The pressure from it had started killing a few inches of lower intestine and they had to remove it and put a temporary colostomy bag on so she could heal. They also removed the very end of her tail bone where they believe this type of tumor forms from. The results from pathology will be back Thursday or Friday but everything is looking good now. She certainly is a Fighter. A lot of her nurses are getting attached to her and they expect her to be in the NICU for another month. In a month they will take off the colostomy bag let her heal, then let her come home. She will have check ups every three months for the first few years of life. As for now, I'm staying right here next to her where I can see her everyday. Walking is getting easier and I'm doing plenty of it. Overall, my c-section wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, then again it was for my baby girl. They will let me in whenever I want to see her. She makes me smile and I have never been so happy. She has a lot of people praying for her and she has some of the nicest people watching over her. So for now everything's alright =)