So we got to the city at about five pm or so today. The drive in was quick – almost no traffic. We bought a portable DVD player to make the car ride home easier (and also for while she’s in the hospital. We got Japanese food at a little hole in the wall on 3rd avenue, but the food was delicious. That will be her last solid meal for a while so I’m glad she liked it. We also learned that she loves the teriyaki soup broth, so we’ll seek that out when we get home.

After we ate we took a nice walk around the neighborhood and stopped in a cute accessory store. We bought Ana a little surprise here but I can’t say what it is because I know she’s reading the blog (hi Ana!)

We’re putting Emily to bed now. I’ll update again after she’s been taken iinto the OR tomorrow.

Well, we’re down to the last two days before surgery and everyone is really anxious. Ana is writing out a card for Emily right now (she’ll be staying with her grandmother and aunt while Emily is in the hospital). I downloaded a wordpress app for my phone and will try to keep the blog updated with Emily’s status while we’re away.

Emily woke up this morning at 7:30 a.m., came downstairs and had a “someone’s mad at me” expression on her face. She normally wakes up very happy, skippy and silly, so I asked her what was the matter. She said, “four more days, mommy.” She’s referring to the surgery.

BIG SIGH.

I tried to think of something to say to make her feel better, but for once I was completely out of ideas. So I just hugged her and told her I loved her and then I said, “hey, do you want to meet a little girl named Sophie?” Sophie’s mother, Sarah, commented on Emily’s blog a few days ago, and that’s how I found Sarah’s blog. Sophie had her bone graft surgery a few days ago and Sarah posted some pictures of Sophie from the day of surgery – I showed these pictures and read the post to Emily. Then I went through a few other blogs so Emily could see some more pictures of kids with clefts, including Rachel, who had her bone graft last year.

Then Emily wanted to look at pictures from HER blog, so that’s what we did next. She then announced that all the videos of her singing were “too old” so I’m in the process of converting and uploading a new video of Emily singing a Demi Lovato song which her singing teacher is working with her on.

So, thank you Sarah (Sophie’s mom) and Darcy (Rachel’s mom) and all the other parents out there who are sharing your kids’ stories. It really helped Emily (and me!) to know she’s not alone on this journey. We now have some great ideas for the day of surgery too, and have a bit more info on what to expect.

With all the visits that we’re making to NYU lately (weekly, at this point), it was inevitable that we’d get caught in really bad weather. This past Thursday there was some kind of monsoon-ish front that drowned out the NY State Thruway. At one point, we actually had to pull over because the rain was coming down so hard there was absolutely no visibility. When we got back on the road, it was a surreal scene.

This is a picture of the north bound Thruway somewhere near Nyack. Water was literally pouring out of the street (there’s a river somewhere over there so I’m guessing it had overflowed its banks or something). We were driving in a few inches of running water, but the water on the other side of the road was high enough to reach the doors of your average sedan.

Here’s another shot of the flooded road. Traffic was backed up for a mile or so on the north bound side and we also hit some traffic and ended up being 40 minutes late to Emily’s appointment.

NYU got us in fairly quickly though and Emily did great as usual. They took an impression of her upper teeth for the surgical splint (she’ll be fitted for the splint next Thursday). They also had to patch her retainer which has started to crack (she bites it). We met with the surgical nurse who talked to us about what to expect the morning of surgery and right after surgery. Emily even had some of her own questions – she wanted to know which hip they would take bone marrow from and how long it would hurt. She seemed so grown up! The nurse said that Emily could tell the surgeon which hip she preferred they use.

Here’s a shot of Emily in NYU’s indoor garden – we stopped there while we waited to speak with the surgical nurse. The garden is a nice tranquil space which has lots of beautiful plants and even some animals (parrots, bunnies, turtles and fish).