Allyson had her surgery on Monday. it lasted about 3 hours. It was a hectic day. The surgeon briefed us afterward. He said that she was missing 80% of her diaphragm! The stomach, colon, intestine, spleen, and a little piece of the liver were in the chest cavity. He thinks there is enough room in her abdomen for everything, but is waiting for her to expel some of her excess fluids before he finishes up. Right now he has 'patched' her abdomen and hopefully by Friday will have everything put back in its place and close her back up. The biggest concern is where the esophagus passes through the diaphragm. Usually there is a small hole where the esophagus passes, but Allyson doesn't have that. This may cause her to have some serious reflux issues when she finally starts eating, and if she does, it will have to be fixed with more surgery. But that won't be an issue for several weeks. Her 'bad' lung is very small, only about the size of the circle you make when you place your index finger to your thumb, however, the necessary structure is there to support proper tissue growth, so there shouldn't be any long lasting effects. She is recovering well and is still posting really positive numbers across the board, but tomorrow afternoon will be the telling time. There is a 24 hour 'honeymoon' period where things will look good and then the baby will crash, although no one believes this to be the case, we are still nervous and anxious to get through the next few days. Again we appreciate all of the calls, thoughts, and prayers we have been receiving. Thank you all so much for being so caring. We would love to have visitors come by the house and see us, and to visit Allyson as well. However, we respectfully ask that no one except immediate family come to visit Allyson until she is closed back up from her surgery (which may be as early as Friday). We will let everyone know when she will be up to having visitors again.
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