Surgery Day

Tuesday, May 24 finally came. Josh and I carried our sweet boy down a long corridor to a small pre-op cubicle. They had me take his jammies off and dress him in the tiniest hospital gown I've ever seen. 4 or 5 doctors, nurses and anesthesiologists came and asked me what seemed like the same questions over and over. No, he doesn't have any allergies. No, there are no blood disorders. Yes, this is his first surgery. Yes, his name is Luke. His birth date is 1-12-11.

We held him so tightly in our arms and took turns praying, our tears dripping all over him. I didn't care who walked in the room or who saw. We did what we do. He smiled at us, oblivious to what was about to happen. Questions played over in my mind... Will he be angry at me? Will he think that we are hurting him? Does he know that I love him?

Eduardo, the awesome pediatric anesthesiologist, was the last person to talk to us that morning. He gathered Luke in his arms and headed down the hall to the OR, having a very animated one-way conversation with our little guy as he went. We stood there watching... beside ourselves with anxiety. Then Eduardo stopped and turned around, took Luke's little hand and waved it in the air, "Bye bye Mommy and Daddy, see you soon!"

That darn Eduardo... so much for holding it together.

Almost exactly 90 minutes later the surgeon appeared in the waiting room with a smile on his face. Everything had gone according to plan and Luke was in recovery. The small slivers of fused bone were removed and "springs" put in place to allow things to shift and grow. There were many sighs of relief. One hurdle down.

 I really wasn't prepared for how Luke would look after surgery. I had read some stories that talked of extreme bruising and swelling, tubes and cords. Luke had several "attachments" to monitor his breathing and heart rate. He had an IV in his arm and another one in his foot just in case the one in his arm failed. There was an "ET" light on his big toe and his arms were in braces to keep him from touching or scratching at anything. His head was bandaged and his face looked greasy from the ointment they'd put on his eyes. He was extremely drowsy. When he did wake up it was usually momentarily and I'd rush over to try and get him to eat from a bottle. He whined a lot and it was a really pitiful groaning sound (caused by the breathing tube used during surgery). I would start to sing the song I sang to calm him when he was a newborn (Jesus Loves Me) and he would immediately calm down.

After the big bandages were taken off.

Finally drinking some juice for Daddy.

I kept track of everything he ate and all diapers changed as well as his pain meds. I found it comforting that I could watch for signs that he was in pain and keep his meds on schedule. This helped to head off any sudden crying outburts related to pain. He was on Morphine for the first few doses and then started Tylenol with Codeine by mouth the next day.

New helmet!

Dressed and ready to go home!

We were sent home late in the evening on Wednesday. I wasn't ready to leave because I wasn't sure if I was capable of taking care of him like he needed. He was so swollen. He wouldn't smile at me. That night I slept in the Living Room with him next to me in the bouncy seat. I brought his arm braces home so that we could be sure he wouldn't pull at his bandages.

Thursday he woke up swollen beyond recognition. He had little slits for eyes and his poor head and face looked big enough for a 3 year old. But he was smiling.

Standing in our laps and smiling again!

The swelling was rough for the first couple of days.

Friday, he started trying to "stand" in our laps. He's was very alert and the swelling was almost completely gone.

Luke will need to have another procedure to have the springs removed 4-6 months from the date of the original surgery. Until then he has wear a protective helmet any time there are children around or any time we're driving in the car. 

First Outing! Heading to see Dr. Thompson for surgery follow-up.

 We are so thankful for a great outcome from surgery. Luke will see the surgeon for check-ups monthly until his spring removal.