By Craig Pinley
CHICAGO, IL (December 25, 2002) – (Editor’s note: the following is based on last year’s real life experience of Michele Stanley and her daughter, Georgiana. It is an inspiring story of hope in the midst of difficult circumstances that is appropriate during this special season of the year.)
It wasn’t the kind of Christmas that Michele Stanley had anticipated.
An employee of North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago, Stanley hoped to enjoy a quiet holiday season with family and friends. Instead, she faced the prospect of her daughter undergoing reconstructive skull surgery.
Three years earlier, four-year-old Georgiana was diagnosed with sagittal craniosynostosis or closure of fibrous material (known as sutures) in the skullcap. Normally, fibrous skull material will remain open while the baby’s brain continues to grow. In Georgiana’s case, the fibrous material or sutures were fusing together before the brain had finished growing, causing the brain to grow unnaturally in her face and causing her skull to be misshapen.
Despite having craniosynostosis, Georgiana’s facial features seemed to be naturally taking shape and her mother said that her vibrant personality was intact as well. “Georgiana is beautiful in so many ways,” Michele said. “Her personality more than makes up for her small size. Her perpetual smile and enormous brown eyes could light a city and her constant laughter, joy and love ease the deepest pain. She is often very proud to wear her long brown hair ‘just like mommy’s and Auntie Robin’s.’ ” As good as things seemed, however, doctors were cautious. In June 2001, Georgiana’s pediatrician suggested that she be checked by a pediatric neurosurgeon, a suggestion that was difficult to accept at first.
Despite having craniosynostosis, Georgiana’s facial features seemed to be naturally taking shape and her mother said that her vibrant personality was intact as well. “Georgiana is beautiful in so many ways,” Michele said. “Her personality more than makes up for her small size. Her perpetual smile and enormous brown eyes could light a city and her constant laughter, joy and love ease the deepest pain. She is often very proud to wear her long brown hair ‘just like mommy’s and Auntie Robin’s.’ ” As good as things seemed, however, doctors were cautious. In June 2001, Georgiana’s pediatrician suggested that she be checked by a pediatric neurosurgeon, a suggestion that was difficult to accept at first.
“I was very uncomfortable with the doctor’s suggestion because when Georgiana was diagnosed I had been adamant that I would not put her through major reconstructive surgery of her skull strictly for cosmetic purposes,” Michele said. “I didn’t want to be pressured again by doctors who, not knowing my daughter, were certain they knew what was best for her.”
The neurosurgeon stated his concern about the shape of Georgiana’s skull – it was more narrow and long than normal, although it was difficult to detect because Georgiana’s long hair covered much of the area. The doctor expressed concern that Georgiana’s brain could be pulsing against her skull, which would build pressure and possibly cause brain damage.
Georgiana was given a CT scan to assess the damage, a test that Michele said was one of the most difficult things she’s ever seen. “Because Georgiana is active even in her sleep it was very disturbing to see her lying so very still and silent,” Michele said. “This is when my struggle became real. I realized I was so very scared of losing my daughter that I had allowed that fear to drive my decisions concerning her health over the previous three years.”
Although the tests were not totally conclusive, Michele took the advice of the surgeons and scheduled surgery for Georgiana on December 13, 2001, at Chicago’s Children’s Memorial Hospital.
The morning of the surgery was difficult and Michele felt anguished about putting her daughter through such a traumatic, albeit necessary surgery. “The one thing I vividly remember was very intentionally resisting the urge to pick Georgie up and run away with her,” Michele recalled. “Every motion was surreal and the burden of guilt was overwhelming.”
Michele and Georgiana had arrived late that morning only to find that they needed to get blood work completed before the scheduled 1 p.m. surgery. It didn’t help that the initial blood tests at the hospital included a few panic-stricken moments of screaming by the patient. “It was a struggle to get the blood draw done and took three tries,” Michele said. “I don’t think that I have ever seen so many eyes open so very wide then when we walked back out to that waiting room.”
Michele and Georgiana were comforted by the presence of Michele’s mother and three friends during the period before surgery, but waiting still was difficult. “I wanted so badly to be calm for Georgie, but I couldn’t stop shaking,” Michele said. “I remember repeating, “Oh God, please,” over and over again in my head. I had so much I wanted to ask God for in those moments that I was not able to say anything beyond those three words.
“When she got to her bed (before surgery), almost immediately we had a doctor, a nurse and the nurse anesthetist ready to work on her,” Michele continued. “The doctor in particular was very patient and observant. My mother later told me that he had been watching me for readiness. They took her history and checked her out, all the usual prep stuff. They informed me that they would give her a liquid sedative (that would cause her to not remember anything after taking it) before moving her to the operating room.”
The doctor handed Michele release of liability forms and she cried, shaking so much that she could hardly sign her name. “I was consumed with the thought that I was literally signing her life away,” she said. “I thought I might never see her alive again and it would be my fault for giving the okay (to order surgery).”
Even in the awkward moments, however, there was something to laugh about – Georgiana’s groggy responses after taking a sedative. “Georgie asked me to hold her hand as we made our way and I never let go but she looked away,” Michele said. “When she looked back she was so out of it that she asked me, ‘Are you the doctor?’ I replied no, I’m your mother, to which I got a very confused look.”
At around 1 p.m., Michele left the operating room for the waiting room, telling God, “She’s in your hands, please don’t take her.” Michele returned to her mother and friends and “sat down, found a place in God’s lap and just cried.”
Michele and company ate lunch and waited until 3 p.m. before getting news that Georgiana’s skull had been opened to check for damage. The next few hours of surgery, while Georgiana’s brain was exposed to all kinds of possible infections, was the most crucial as the little girl’s skull was reconstructed.
About 5 p.m. Michele’s son, Jacob, arrived at the waiting room with another friend of Michele’s. She worried about her son and worried about how they would respond to seeing a disfigured Georgiana after surgery. But Michele’s worries lessened when the surgeon appeared and said Georgiana’s surgery had been successful and that the girl had needed a minimal amount of blood.
Michele said she was encouraged by the visit of a hospital chaplain she recognized from school. “I had no idea that my friend who graduated from North Park Theological Seminary just last May was working as a chaplain at Children’s Memorial Hospital.” Minutes later, however, Michele had her best surprise of the day. She was allowed to visit her daughter in a recovery room and the girl looked like the same tyke she walked in with before surgery. Both mother and daughter cried tears of relief.
“She was perfect! She was not swollen or bruised at all,” Michele said. “Her head was all wrapped up in gauze, but she looked amazingly well for what she had just endured. I’m sure that she was in pain . . . and it was evident that she was still bleeding pretty heavily. This made me nervous, but the recovery nurses had a good watch over her and were very pleased with her condition.
“She was perfect! She was not swollen or bruised at all,” Michele said. “Her head was all wrapped up in gauze, but she looked amazingly well for what she had just endured. I’m sure that she was in pain . . . and it was evident that she was still bleeding pretty heavily. This made me nervous, but the recovery nurses had a good watch over her and were very pleased with her condition.
“Jacob wanted to see his sister and know how she was doing, but when he had the opportunity he got scared and wouldn’t look at first,” Michele continued. “When we got her settled in her room they finally had an opportunity to look at each other. Upon seeing her big brother, Georgie needed only to utter Jacob’s name with all of the enthusiasm she could muster to remove his fear. Jacob looked at me and said, ‘she can see me!’ He then turned back to look at his sister and hold her hand.”
Georgiana and Michele had their share of harrowing moments during the days and weeks after surgery. Georgiana was moved to the constant care unit from recovery shortly after her surgery and during the weekend she was in pain from the constant intrusive medical tests. Michele she said she was more exhausted than she had ever been.
But the family found some solace in each other – they celebrated Michele’s mother’s birthday and were privy to an in-hospital Christmas concert by renowned musicians Amy Grant and Vince Gill – and solace in the rapid progress of Georgiana following surgery. Michele is still amazed by that miracle-filled period in her daughter’s life. And every look at her daughter’s expressive brown eyes and every touch of her daughter’s long brown hair are reminders that God was evident in each detail during that traumatic period. Christmas 2002 couldn’t be happier.
“Georgiana could not be happier, healthier or nuttier than she is now,” says Michele as she reflects on her daughter’s progress a year later. “All of the plates and screws they used to put her skull back together are completely dissolved as if nothing ever happened. The neurosurgeon and plastic surgeon are pleased with the results and other than some residual emotional processing of the events, it is all finally behind us. As I recount the experience it seems like a lifetime ago and it amazes me how every need was met, every fear consoled, every joy affirmed, every moment and detail sealed with such perfection that despite all of the turmoil and trauma, the one thing we carry away is the tangible evidence of God’s love through the support and prayers of his people.”
Copyright © 2011 The Evangelical Covenant Church.