Quinn's Hand Surgery

I am writing this post at the ungodly hour of 5am from the lumpy armchair next to Quinn's hospital bed. Our little trooper just underwent hand surgery to release the syndactyly (fused fingers) on his right hand. While it was a relatively routine procedure, his breathing and oxygen levels are often a cause for concern, so the doctors made a last-minute decision to keep him overnight and observe his progress. True to form, he's surprised us all and spent most of the night either smiling or sleeping. Since I've been here since 7am yesterday morning, I haven't done much of either.

newborn Quinn's adorable little fingers.

The story of Quinn's syndactyly is one of my favorites. Those of you who have been following this blog for a while likely remember the chaos surrounding Quinn's birth. The Mighty was very early and arrived quickly; so quickly, in fact, that Brian almost missed it. Due to his prenatal Down syndrome diagnosis and a number of other concerning findings during my closely-monitored pregnancy, an entire NICU team was on hand in the delivery room. When Quinn came screaming into this world, he was quickly passed to the head nurse for a look over. He was, after all, early, and babies with Down syndrome often have problems with their lungs, heart, or bowels that go unnoticed until birth. Brian and I were waiting patiently but nervously for the nurse to let us know how our little guy was doing. It seemed like ages before she turned to us with a very serious look on her face: "I want to tell you what I'm seeing," she said gravely. I swear the patients three floors below us could hear our sharp intake of breath. My mind was spinning in those seconds regarding all the things she could tell us: that he was in heart failure or barely breathing or that his lungs formed outside of his chest.

"His middle fingers are fused on his right hand."

"That's IT?!" we said together. We can do this. Hell, as die-hard Texas Longhorn fans, we were pleased to see he was born with his horns up! Those fingers became a symbol for me of all the things that could have been wrong, but weren't. Of all the things that doctors and professionals would warn me might happen. All the worst-case scenarios we'll face over the years. Because Quinn has Down syndrome, many people in this world will expect him to be a burden medically, physically, and intellectually. It was like Quinn was born with not one, but two middle fingers in the air, challenging anyone to stereotype him or his abilities.

recovering

Of course, despite my love for those fingers, the right course of action was to give him full mobility in his right hand. Five fingers are better for fine motor skills than four and, even though the surgery and 6-week recovery will be tough on all of us, it was the right thing to do. And with the help of Quinn's incredible Grandma Cathy, who is a physical therapist at Shriner's Hospital in Houston, we had one of the foremost hand specialists in the country perform the procedure. Our guy was in good hands (pun intended) and is recovering well.

Now if only they'd let us go home so Mama can get some sleep...