Surgery - Take Two...The Big Day

Let me start by saying that if I would have known this was not going to be your typical home-in-just-a-few-hours outpatient surgery, then I would have brought my laptop and written a play-by-play just like last time.  And I probably would have brought my Nikon for better pictures too.  But oh well!  Looks like a brief recap accompanied by iPhone candids will just have to do instead!

Monday, July 9, 2012

5:30 am - We arrived at the hospital bright and early, and instead of having to wait in a boring examination room for each of the doctors and nurses to stop by...we got to hang out in the super cool Day Surgery Waiting Room.  Hayes was the only crazy kiddo in there, and he had an absolute blast!  He climbed all over the fun furniture, played with almost every single toy, and made a big old mess.  Oh, and to top it all off - he said his very first two-word phrase!  While playing with one of the toy phones, he picked up the receiver...held it to his ear...and clear as day said, "Hi Dad!"  Awesome!!

7:00 am - Just before the waiting room was deemed a total disaster area, the anesthesiologist came by to prep Hayes for surgery.  Since his separation anxiety has been at an all time high lately, we decided it would be best for him to get some relaxing meds before he was taken away.  Ugh.  I did not like those.  After just a few minutes, his head was rolling all over the place.  He was giggling uncontrollably.  And he could not stop kissing me.  Cody thought it was hilarious, but I thought it was awful.  Oh, and he still cried when they took him out of my arms.  Off he went to surgery though, and off we went to the family resource room to wait.

10:00 am - The surgery went off without a hitch!  The ear tubes were inserted, his upper lip frenulum was cut and sutured, his right inguinal hernia was repaired through about an inch long incision on his groin, and his circumcision was perfectly perfected.  We spoke with both Dr. Tsao and Dr. Roy shortly after they finished up, and they were both super pleased!

10:30 am - This is where our perfect morning started having some hiccups.  Shortly after Hayes was extubated, his lungs began sounding very junky and his blood-oxygen levels were not exactly where they should be.  Now, we went in to this knowing that his lungs were still a little weak...but we were hoping that they would be strong enough to endure this surgery without any major complications.  And they were, but he needed just a little extra help to get him breathing comfortably all on his own again.  So, the nurses gave him a quick breathing treatment and some "blow by" oxygen.  (Basically, an oxygen mask was just kept near his face so the oxygen would blow near his mouth and nose.)

3:30 pm - Unfortunately, this breathing stuff put us all a little on edge, so his amazing team of doctors decided it would be best to go ahead and admit our sweet boy and keep him under observation for a little bit longer.  And honestly, I was relieved to hear this decision.  His pain was still pretty bad, and this gave us just a little bit longer to be pampered by the lovely staff at Hotel Hermann.

9:30 pm - After lots of snuggling and cartoon watching, Cody decided to head home while Hayes and I decided it was time for some sleep.  His night nurse came in to take one last set of vitals and give him one more dose of pain meds, and we drifted off to sleep.  Well...Hayes drifted while I did my usual sleep with one eye on the monitor thing.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

7:00 am - It is amazing the difference a semi-decent night's sleep makes!  I could tell Hayes felt a million times better this morning, and it warmed my heart to see his sweet smiles and silly antics yet again.  He even ate a big breakfast and got a special chocolate milk treat before heading down to the playroom to start his day.  You know, it truly is incredible how resilient these little ones are.  I mean...if you or I had endured a four procedure surgery less than twenty-four hours ago, we would probably be crying in bed and barely wanting to get up to use the restroom.  But not my little fighter.  He was walking around and ready to get into everything that he could.  (With strict limits and forced breaks from Mommy, of course!)

 (Oh, and while he was playing he even took a poop...check out that mid-grunt face I caught!)

10:30 am - Since Hayes was showing ideal blood-oxygen levels and was in such good spirits, the attending physician decided it was time for us to finally go home!  And it was just in time because Mommy needed a shower and a fresh pair of clothes!!