Yesterday, we arrived at The Ronald McDonald House at 9:30 a.m. to pick up Ostin and Karla. Everyone was familiar with the pre-op routine…no food or drink, and keep Ostin as distracted as possible so he wouldn’t obsess about it. He was admitted to Lenox Hill Hospital and we were sent to the pediatric floor where he was assigned a room and given the freedom to play. Later, the crew from Inside Edition arrived to take some pictures and videos. Ostin was shy at first but then took command of the situation…he hid behind his iPad and filmed all the crew, while greeting each one with “hola!” He thoroughly entertained all of us.

We headed to the pre-op room for consents, questionnaires, and monitoring. The whole process went much more smoothly than last time. Once again, Karla walked Ostin into the O.R., and returned in tears…this is the hardest moment for her. She called her husband in Honduras and was able to update him about the operation. He would then share the news with his family and then their church, where they have been lighting candles and constantly praying.

The operation took about 5 1/2 hours, and the doctors explained it was called “a face lift incision” (a surgical line starting from above his ear to bellow his chin). They were able to successfully remove the lymphatic debris. Preserving the facial nerve was especially difficult due to the lymphatic matter being “cemented” around the nerve. Both surgeons were pleased with the results and explained he will return home with a drainage tube (which will remain for up to 4 weeks), his stitches will be removed in 10 days and he will have another procedure in 4 weeks. Ostin and Karla were settled in for the night.

This morning when we arrived Ostin was in a significant amount of pain but just as defiant in taking any medication. He had already ripped out his IV so they were no longer able to administer it that way. One brilliant nurse injected his medicine into a juice box, and with tremendous amounts of coaxing (and bribing), we were able to get the medicine in. This operation was more extensive, covering a larger area and we expect the recuperation to take longer.

Thank you all for your continued support.