Joe's Surgery Day

Today was the big day we've been waiting for...Joe's surgery to repair the hernia.

After the RSV they wanted to wait a month to give his lungs a chance to clear up

before putting him under anesthesia, so this day has been hanging over our heads for

awhile now.  I knew it was a pretty simple procedure, but it's never easy knowing your baby

is going in for surgery.  The surgeon told us about the risks and no matter how minute they

were I couldn't help but let my mind wander to the worst case scenarios.  Needless to say,

I was very thankful that the day was finally here and we could put this all behind us.

Not to mention, I had to do my best to keep him healthy for the past month so he didn't

catch anything else that might postpone the surgery even longer.  It is nearly impossible

to keep a 15 month old healthy in the winter.  It is even harder to keep a 15 month old

thumb sucker healthy.  Everywhere he goes he touches something and then his thumb goes

right in his mouth.  Aside from grocery shopping, errands, and healthy play dates (which are

few and far between) we've pretty much been stuck at home the past month.

I have definitely been counting down the days until we can resume our normal activities.

The surgery was scheduled at 11:15AM so we needed to be there at 9:45AM.  We dropped

Owen off to spend the day with Grandpa Joe and headed to Lurie Children's Hospital.

We got Joe checked in and they showed us back to his room.  We changed him into his

gown and waited for our visits from the anesthesiologist and surgeon to fill us in on

everything we needed to know about what they'd be doing once they took him back.  

  

I have to say that Lurie does such a great job of making us feel comfortable.  Not only did

they have Aladdin on their in-house movie network which made Ryan happy, but there was

a volunteer that popped in probably 4 or 5 times dropping off different toys she thought Joe

would like to play with.  Joe seemed to thoroughly appreciate all of her efforts.  

    

After talking with the anesthesiologist, we knew Joe might have a hard time leaving us when

they had to take him to surgery so they offered to give him a mild sedative to relax him while

he was still in his room.  We happily took them up on their offer figuring it would be best to

have him as calm as possible.  It definitely did the trick because when they came to wheel

him out he was talking up a storm, singing to himself and didn't seem to notice or care that

they were wheeling him away from us.  They also offered to give him a caudal block during

surgery, which is what I would equate to an epidural during childbirth.  They offer it to kids

with any surgeries below the belt.  It basically numbs that area for a few hours.  Not only

does it help with the pain, but the baby gets less anesthesia over all.  The risks are very

small and we wanted Joe to be as comfortable and pain free as possible,

so we gave the ok. 

 Then Dr. Yerkes came in to talk us through the procedure again.  She is such a great

person and makes us feel so comfortable.  She promised to take great care of him

and I had no doubt in my mind that she would do just that.

About an hour and a half after they took him to surgery, she came into the waiting room and

told us everything went really well.  She was surprised by how big the hernia was, but other

than that everything was very routine.  She gave us the run down of what to watch for and

how to take care of Joe over the next few days.  I was actually really impressed with how

the incision was closed. They use dissolving stitches below the skin to close the hernia, but

then they use these small white strips of tape called Steri-strips to close the incision.  On top

of that is what looks like a big square of clear tape.  This dressing is stuck to him and falls

off on its own after 2 weeks.  He can bathe with it on and everything.  Pretty amazing. 

After about another 30 minutes of allowing Joe to come out of anesthesia, we got to go back

and see him.  I remember Owen being really upset and out of sorts when we went back to

see him after his surgery so I was a little nervous walking back to see Joe.  As we approached the recovery room I heard him crying.  I walked up and handed him his lovey

while the two nurses finished what they were doing with him.  Then once they were done they handed him over to me.  As soon as he was in my arms he was silent.  He calmed

down immediately.  He actually did great coming out of anesthesia!  I think he even impressed the nurses with how well he did.  He was calm, drank a bunch of juice

right away and just relaxed in my arms. 

We spent about 10 minutes in PACU and then moved to our recovery room.  He was doing

so well that we didn't end up staying long at all.  Only long enough for Ryan to watch

Aladdin find the magic lamp in the Cave of Wonders.  ;)  We got Joe dressed, picked up

our prescriptions for pain meds, and were on our way.  We picked Owen up

from Grandpa's and headed back home.

I am thankful for so many things today.  I am thankful the surgery went so well.  I am

thankful Joe was such a great little patient and seemed to be in good spirits just hours after

surgery.  I am thankful we have such a great support system keeping us in their thoughts

and prayers today.  I am thankful for a supportive husband to help me through these tougher

moments in life.  I am thankful I won't have to see a hernia every time I change Joe's diaper because it always weighed on my mind that at any moment it could get stuck down and force us to go to the ER again.  I am thankful that we can finally move past this and not have to worry so much.  And I am thankful that Grandpa Joe was able to take Owen for the day because not only did it help us out but Owen was really looking forward to it.  

Seems to me like Grandpa Joe had a pretty good time too. 

 And Owen left with a very special momento from the day...

Grandpa gave him his very first police badge.  Thanks Grandpa!!  

What an awesome keepsake!!