2nd Post Op

Last night when I layed my head down to rest, I glanced over at my son who was sleeping so peacefully and it reminded me of a comment he made a couple of weeks before our trip. Griffin was asking me why we were going to California. As if he really knew it was on the other side of the country. I explained to him we were going for Graci and that this was Graci's trip. He looked at me with his big blue gorgeous eyes with his curly eyelashes and said, "Is it her ear?" Why isn't my ear like Graci's; I want an ear like hers". Well, it reminded me last night that this journey has been just as much Griffin's as it has Graci's. He has been there for his big sister and wants her to be like other children. This is just as important to him as it is for her. Sibling love was really shining throughout this trip. Graci and Griffn have a strong emotional bond that will never be broken and it embraces my heart when I see them together.

Today we woke up really early, because we knew this was our last day. Before getting out of bed this morning, I closed my eyes and prayed that God would be with us today as he was all week and I prayed that what was behind that bandage (that we have called a head band) was going to make Graci smile and be an amazing sight that we were so delighted to see. 3:00 was going to be like forever. We headed out around 9:00 and headed to the Golden Gate Bridge (big red bridge, according to Griffin). It was truly a beautiful sight. We were standing behind the second largest bridge in the United States and the Pacific Ocean was right beside us. To our family it was a once in a lifetime moment. We decided to travel downtown to the city to the Golden Gate Park which is over 1000 acres. It was a total urban chaos. People were riding bikes, homeless people were begging, and the market was open to the public for all kinds of tasty fruits and vegetables. It was so congested with traffic and people that were thought we were in a movie. It really made us appreciate the Carolina's.

It was time for our post op so we traveled to the beautiful city of Woodside, California. Graci didn't seem quite as excited as I did about seeing the start of her ear but she hoped in the chair with a beautiful smile. She was adorable as ever, in her pink and white seersucker smoked outfit and jewels wrapped around her bandage. The nurse took off the bandage and there sat Graci with an outer ear that was craved out of her very own flesh. Goose bumps came over me and I felt my eyes begin to water. I looked and saw the beginning of this fabulous journey and knew that God had answered my prayers. Graci was alittle upset from the removal of the tape and had stated that she didn't want to see her ear in the mirror. That surprised me but once we were in the car both her and Griffin wanted to see. I showed them both and almost at the same time they both said, "Pretty". I then knew she was happy.

Our journey doesn't end here, we return on October 5th for 2nd stage. During this time they will do transposition of the ear lope and she goes home the same day. However, it will only be a 3 day trip for us; but it will still be on our journey to Graci's New Ear.