As expected, neither Chuck or I slept well last night. The little patient however, slept like a little prince. In fact, when I decided to wake him up at 11pm last night to top him off with 10 oz of milk, the kid literally slept through it. It was like his little dream-feed.
We were all up and out of the house by 6:45am. I really thought that we would have a rough time with Christian not being able to eat or drink, but he did fantastic. I actually complained more about being hungry and needing coffee. He just chilled in the car.
We got to Hopkins around 8:15 for our 10:15 schedule surgery. We ended up having to wait until almost 12pm for his surgery due to a back-up in the OR. Hopkins has a great set-up for all the pediatric patients in their pre-op area. Christian loved playing in the little playhouse. We met with all the doctors and anesthesiologists. We were fine. Until, our surgeon presented me with a box. It was Christian's implant. I had to sign a paper confirming it was the right brand. That's when I lost it. It was one of those "movie" moments, when I saw the past 14 months flash before my eyes in an instant. I replayed his birth, nursing him, seeing him smile for the first time, his myriad of tests, family vacation, his 1st Christmas, his birthday, his 1st steps. I felt this loud crash in my heart when the last curve of my name left the paper. That's when I lost it.
Only one of us was allowed to take Christian back into the OR, so Chuck carried Christian back with the surgeon and anesthesiologist. Throughout all of our testing with Christian, Chuck has always been the one to be with him when he is put under. It's just something that I don't do well.
The next 2.5 hours were the longest of my life. I tried not to worry, and just read the gossip magazines that my friend Kim brought me last night, but I ultimately ended up pacing the halls (although I did read what Kevin Federline has been up to). Chuck and I just held hands. I said the rosary. I waited.
When we finally were called back to see our sweet boy waking up from surgery, I couldn't get in there fast enough. At first glance, my eyes welled up with tears. He had all these cords and IVs, and the dressing on his head were so big and bulky. I couldn't wait to hold him and cradle my baby. He sucked down 10 ounces of apple juice faster than I've ever seen. We waited about 1.5 hours in the post-op, filled prescriptions, and just held our angel. He was groggy. His throat hurt. My heart hurt.
Once we got home, Christian ate like a champ, and while he was a bit fussy, was just good as gold. He's sleeping now, and is even keeping his dressing on. We're going to be checking in on him all night tonight. I'm going to be laying on the couch, drinking my wine, and thanking God for an easy surgery. We're in for an interesting week. He can't have a bath, and has lots of drugs to take. I've cleared our schedule, and we're anxiously awaiting my Mom and Dad's arrival.
We appreciate everyone's love and prayers. Keep praying for a speedy recovery for our angel.
12 comments:
God bless Christian! We're praying right there with you...
Love,
Jenny, Steve, and Caroline
Tina, I am so glad to hear this day is behind you. It sounds like he came through like a champ - as I knew he would.
Now the fun begins. ;)
I am sitting here having a glass of wine with you - take care of that sweet boy and take care of you!
Wendy
Congratulations! The worst is behind you. The fun is just beginning!!! I'm so excited for Christian to be embarking on this wonderful journey. One day we'll have to have all these CI kiddos meet somewhere.
Awwwh, the little guy looks like he ready for a nap! I was thinking about him on and off today and I am so glad that you held up so well. Today is over and he came through with flying colors. When can you take the bandage off? tomorrow?
Welcome home!
Aaaahhhh....Love the picture (mainly because I have three that are very similar :) Emily was looking at your blog with me, and said "I have the same thing for my head! He's so cute....I think I looked just like that". She (and the rest of the family) are hoping Christian rebounds as quickly as our kids did.
Keep us posted (as I know you will), and our thoughts are with you! It really is such an overwhelming day. I ran the gamut of emotions with our first implant (Emily). But, she is such a little spitfire, and has never looked back. She, in fact, was so eager for implant #2, it really just solidified that we had made a great choice for her.
Hang in there, the best is yet to come-
Melissa
Tina and Chuck and sweet Christian,
My prayers are with you all. Sounds like Christian did well :) Happy, happy days ahead. Just imagine - the whole world is opening up to him again. For the first time he will be hearing your voices, your songs, your laughter, birds chirping, water running, bells and buzzers on his toys, clapping hands, cars, bicycles, dogs barking, ... just imagine! What a wonderful world it will be :)
Take care and rest easy.
Lois
Yeah! Congratulations on having this part behind you! Christian is a trooper.
Now you need to add a "Countdown to Activation Day" to your blog. It will be so exciting.
It sounds like he did great! The hard part is behind you now. I hope the time to activation goes by very quickly. *hugs!*
I'm so glad the worst is over! Does he have an activation date set yet?
He looks adorable in his little turban...I'm sorry he felt kinda puny but I'm sure he feels even better today. The hard part will be keeping him down and trying to get him to rest...those little ones have such boundless energy!
(((hugs)))
I'm so happy everything went so well. Now comes the fun part of trying to get him to take it easy for a few days - he'll probably wake up this morning ready to play. Do you have an activation date yet? Can't wait to hear how that goes.
Praying for a speedy recovery!
Jen
Thanks gals for all the love, prayers, and WINE!
I think we all need to coordinate a camping trip or something for all these kiddos. Maybe we should have it in Grossetto...Jodi, up for some visitors? :)
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