On Monday morning Caleb had his 'little boy' surgery done at Scott & White hospital where Bryan is a resident. We scheduled the surgery in July and planned it for a time when Bryan would be able to take time off before, during and after surgery. We arrived at the hospital around 7am and they got Caleb ready for surgery. The anesthesiologist explained everything to us and we chose to give Caleb some medicine that would make him more relaxed before he went back to the operating room. We thought it would be best for him to be a bit out of it so the separation from Mommy & Daddy wouldn't be too traumatic. Too bad they didn't have some of that medicine to give me because I was a nervous wreck!
We led Caleb's wagon to the end of a very long hallway right at 7:30am, and from that point a nurse and child life specialist took him the rest of the way down to the OR. Caleb rode along happily in the wagon with Dog Dog, a toy car and some other toys from the hospital. He looked so little as he went down that hallway. Bryan and I stood and watched him until we couldn't see him anymore. It was so, so, so hard to send him off to something scary like that. I just felt like I should be with him the whole time. Luckily Bryan is very accustomed to being in a medical environment, and while he was concerned for Caleb he was also incredibly calm and knowledgeable. I am so thankful for Bryan's medical knowledge in a time like this! Most of all I am thankful for what a great husband and father he is - I'd hate to go through anything like this without him!
We waited in the family waiting area with my parents. They estimated the procedure would last approximately 1 hour, and there were flat screen tv's on the wall that constantly updated the progress of each patient using a 4-digit code. We were able to tell when the operation started, how much time was left, when they were finishing surgery and when Caleb was being taken to recovery. In addition, the nurses called us twice from the OR to update us and the surgeon came to talk to us after everything was over. He even led us back up to the recovery room where we could see our little guy.
Caleb really did not enjoy coming out of anesthesia. While everything about his response was normal, it was definitely not an easy experience for Bryan and me! Caleb was restless, irritable, and crying quite a bit. After about 30 minutes the nurses determined all his vitals looked good and we were able to take him home.
Once we got home Caleb didn't really want to eat or drink anything, and he didn't want to fall asleep. He cuddled with Bryan on the couch watching Sesame Street for over an hour, and then we finally managed to get him to eat a little bit of food and drink some milk. By late morning all of the local anesthetic wore off and Caleb was clearly more uncomfortable. We had already given him as much Tylenol as we safely could, so it was really difficult to see him hurting and so sad. I finally got him to calm down and fall asleep by whispering to him about what the trash truck does when it comes down our street! That 'story' about the trash truck is something that calms him down on a regular basis and I was glad it worked this time!
After his nap Caleb woke up a different boy - he seemed like he felt so much better. He wanted to eat, play outside in his Cozy coupe and enjoy all of his toys inside too. Caleb also wanted to do his new favorite activity - standing in the driver seat of Granny & Daddy Bob's parked SUV so he can "drive".
Waiting with Mommy in his wagon, which he called a "car"
Being silly with Daddy - he'd definitely had the loopy medicine at this point!
Driving his wagon with Granny & Daddy Bob
We led Caleb's wagon to the end of a very long hallway right at 7:30am, and from that point a nurse and child life specialist took him the rest of the way down to the OR. Caleb rode along happily in the wagon with Dog Dog, a toy car and some other toys from the hospital. He looked so little as he went down that hallway. Bryan and I stood and watched him until we couldn't see him anymore. It was so, so, so hard to send him off to something scary like that. I just felt like I should be with him the whole time. Luckily Bryan is very accustomed to being in a medical environment, and while he was concerned for Caleb he was also incredibly calm and knowledgeable. I am so thankful for Bryan's medical knowledge in a time like this! Most of all I am thankful for what a great husband and father he is - I'd hate to go through anything like this without him!
We waited in the family waiting area with my parents. They estimated the procedure would last approximately 1 hour, and there were flat screen tv's on the wall that constantly updated the progress of each patient using a 4-digit code. We were able to tell when the operation started, how much time was left, when they were finishing surgery and when Caleb was being taken to recovery. In addition, the nurses called us twice from the OR to update us and the surgeon came to talk to us after everything was over. He even led us back up to the recovery room where we could see our little guy.
Mommy holding the oxygen mask for Caleb in recovery
Caleb really did not enjoy coming out of anesthesia. While everything about his response was normal, it was definitely not an easy experience for Bryan and me! Caleb was restless, irritable, and crying quite a bit. After about 30 minutes the nurses determined all his vitals looked good and we were able to take him home. Once we got home Caleb didn't really want to eat or drink anything, and he didn't want to fall asleep. He cuddled with Bryan on the couch watching Sesame Street for over an hour, and then we finally managed to get him to eat a little bit of food and drink some milk. By late morning all of the local anesthetic wore off and Caleb was clearly more uncomfortable. We had already given him as much Tylenol as we safely could, so it was really difficult to see him hurting and so sad. I finally got him to calm down and fall asleep by whispering to him about what the trash truck does when it comes down our street! That 'story' about the trash truck is something that calms him down on a regular basis and I was glad it worked this time!
Recovering at home with Daddy
After his nap Caleb woke up a different boy - he seemed like he felt so much better. He wanted to eat, play outside in his Cozy coupe and enjoy all of his toys inside too. Caleb also wanted to do his new favorite activity - standing in the driver seat of Granny & Daddy Bob's parked SUV so he can "drive". 18 months going on 16 years old...
Wild man behind the wheel - dancing to country music!
Caleb is still making steady progress and we expect him to be feeling 100% within the next week. Bryan took his bandages off yesterday morning (I almost passed out!) and Caleb was able to take a regular bath again tonight. We are thankful that his surgery went well and that our precious little guy is making a speedy recovery. Kids are so resilient!
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4 comments:
Yeah Caleb and yeah mommy and daddy! It is amazing how quickly they recover from things like this.
Caleb,
We're so glad that you are getting back to your old self. We look forward to seeing you soon. We love you.
Gran Jan and Grandpa
I'm so glad all went well! I hope to see you guys Tuesday at playgroup :)
WOW -- I'm so glad it went so well. I just had to laugh at his speedy recovery to "driving" -- this is Ellie's new favorite thing to do as well. Aren't they fun???
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