photo{s} a day, twenty three: Jeremiah's surgery story.
Oh, sweet ninja baby. I knew it was going to be a rough night. I could tell at bed-time.
Since Jeremiah's surgery was scheduled first thing this morning, he was not allowed anything to eat or drink after midnight last night. The scheduling center schedules babies first because of the no food/no drink rule. #thankyouKaiser
The plan was to feed him a decent dinner so he was good and full, and then put him down just a bit later and nurse him beforehand. Mind you, it's rare he wakes up at night anymore. Of course, he woke up at 12:10 a.m. wanting to nurse. Go figure. He would. I settled him back to sleep. He woke up two more times, the last time, inconsolable. So, at 3:15 a.m. he and I got up to play. There was no other option. I had planned on getting up just about that early anyway, but had hoped he would sleep until the latest possible moment. #epicfail
Turns out, I ended up leaving my house thirty minutes earlier than I needed too, knowing he would fall asleep in the car. After playing for a bit and the two of us getting ready, he was exhausted, hungry and totally not understanding why I wouldn't feed him. I can understand why. Poor babe. It's the worst not being able to explain something to them that they simply cannot understand.
So, I pulled into the parking lot of Kaiser at 5:30 a.m. and waited for the doors to open at 6:00 a.m. His surgery still wasn't schedule until 7:30 a.m. but they still needed me there anyway to check-in, pay, go to pre-OP - you know the drill.
And I - I was totally fine. I have done this before, there was no reason to get myself all worked up, and I know everything is in God's hands anyway. I was calm, cool, collected and ya know - super mommy. Then, the anesthesiologist told me that I could either hand him off to the nurses or put on scrubs and walk him back to the operating room. IF they had given him Versed, which is a drug that relaxes and makes you drowsy, I probably would have just let them take him. For some reason, they didn't {which I was totally expecting, since this was the case with both Silas and Eli when they had surgery}. There was no way I wanted him scared, walking off with two nurses in full scrubs, into a giant, sterile operating room, scared out of his mind. NO WAY. Can you imagine how freaked out he would have been? So, there was no choice. I got all geared up and walked him back to the big, scary, white room. I laid him on a giant operating table and watched as the anesthesiologist put a mask over his sweet face, saw the tiny tears streaming down his cheeks and listened to the muffled cry that was barely audible because of the mask. Luckily they had warned me that he may not look asleep and would possibly be shaking or thrashing a bit. It was ALL I could do to stand there and witness this. The momma bear in me wanted to grab my baby and RUN far, far away. Pure torture, I tell you.
I walked back to the recovery room, sat down for five minutes and heard the nurse on the phone say, "Jeremiah? Yes, recovery 9." He was all done. Good job, buddy. Now, I know this is probably the simplest procedure imaginable and it's no biggie. But, there's nothing simple or easy about giving your child anesthesia and walking away. About 10 minutes later {once he had woken up}{they had warned me waking up completely would take about 8 minutes}, they wheeled him back to me. No doubt, he was scared out of his mind. I just keep wondering, what on earth was going on in his sweet little mind? How does he process this? So, so sad.
So as you know, Jeremiah has had 10 ear infections in the past 6 months. Last week, when I took him for his pre-OP appointment to clear him for surgery, the doctor told me his ears were the best they had ever looked. Good, right? Not so much. The surgeon said both eardrums were retracted and there was a ton of fluid back there. No question, it was a wise decision. The poor baby had to be in constant pain due to this. Whether he had an infection or not, the constant fluid and pressure would always be painful. No lie, the child's hands are constantly pulling on his ears. Hopefully, now he'll feel "normal". And, I imagine, a lot happier.
So, that's his sad little story. I am happy it's over and looking forward to no more ear infections.
Be gone, you pesky little infections! You are not welcome here.
Since Jeremiah's surgery was scheduled first thing this morning, he was not allowed anything to eat or drink after midnight last night. The scheduling center schedules babies first because of the no food/no drink rule. #thankyouKaiser
The plan was to feed him a decent dinner so he was good and full, and then put him down just a bit later and nurse him beforehand. Mind you, it's rare he wakes up at night anymore. Of course, he woke up at 12:10 a.m. wanting to nurse. Go figure. He would. I settled him back to sleep. He woke up two more times, the last time, inconsolable. So, at 3:15 a.m. he and I got up to play. There was no other option. I had planned on getting up just about that early anyway, but had hoped he would sleep until the latest possible moment. #epicfail
Turns out, I ended up leaving my house thirty minutes earlier than I needed too, knowing he would fall asleep in the car. After playing for a bit and the two of us getting ready, he was exhausted, hungry and totally not understanding why I wouldn't feed him. I can understand why. Poor babe. It's the worst not being able to explain something to them that they simply cannot understand.
So, I pulled into the parking lot of Kaiser at 5:30 a.m. and waited for the doors to open at 6:00 a.m. His surgery still wasn't schedule until 7:30 a.m. but they still needed me there anyway to check-in, pay, go to pre-OP - you know the drill.
And I - I was totally fine. I have done this before, there was no reason to get myself all worked up, and I know everything is in God's hands anyway. I was calm, cool, collected and ya know - super mommy. Then, the anesthesiologist told me that I could either hand him off to the nurses or put on scrubs and walk him back to the operating room. IF they had given him Versed, which is a drug that relaxes and makes you drowsy, I probably would have just let them take him. For some reason, they didn't {which I was totally expecting, since this was the case with both Silas and Eli when they had surgery}. There was no way I wanted him scared, walking off with two nurses in full scrubs, into a giant, sterile operating room, scared out of his mind. NO WAY. Can you imagine how freaked out he would have been? So, there was no choice. I got all geared up and walked him back to the big, scary, white room. I laid him on a giant operating table and watched as the anesthesiologist put a mask over his sweet face, saw the tiny tears streaming down his cheeks and listened to the muffled cry that was barely audible because of the mask. Luckily they had warned me that he may not look asleep and would possibly be shaking or thrashing a bit. It was ALL I could do to stand there and witness this. The momma bear in me wanted to grab my baby and RUN far, far away. Pure torture, I tell you.
I walked back to the recovery room, sat down for five minutes and heard the nurse on the phone say, "Jeremiah? Yes, recovery 9." He was all done. Good job, buddy. Now, I know this is probably the simplest procedure imaginable and it's no biggie. But, there's nothing simple or easy about giving your child anesthesia and walking away. About 10 minutes later {once he had woken up}{they had warned me waking up completely would take about 8 minutes}, they wheeled him back to me. No doubt, he was scared out of his mind. I just keep wondering, what on earth was going on in his sweet little mind? How does he process this? So, so sad.
So as you know, Jeremiah has had 10 ear infections in the past 6 months. Last week, when I took him for his pre-OP appointment to clear him for surgery, the doctor told me his ears were the best they had ever looked. Good, right? Not so much. The surgeon said both eardrums were retracted and there was a ton of fluid back there. No question, it was a wise decision. The poor baby had to be in constant pain due to this. Whether he had an infection or not, the constant fluid and pressure would always be painful. No lie, the child's hands are constantly pulling on his ears. Hopefully, now he'll feel "normal". And, I imagine, a lot happier.
So, that's his sad little story. I am happy it's over and looking forward to no more ear infections.
Be gone, you pesky little infections! You are not welcome here.
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| 3:15 a.m. - Momma, why won't you feed me?? |
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| Of course, I still worked out. Are you kidding me? Notice Jeremiah playing in the background. |
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| 5:30 a..m. in the car, taking his pre-surgery nap. |
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| cuteness, in his gown and curious about what's up. |
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| This was in the elevator going up, and in the waiting room. He was happy as pie. |
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| Watching a little Barney before surgery. |
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| Right after I left him - waiting. |
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| On the elevator out. Mommy is happy to have her boy, and he is happy to leave! |
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| We took a two hour nap when we got home. |
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| Annnd, another nap, later in the day. Baby boy is exhausted. |
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| My little angel baby. I am so thankful for a happy and healthy boy. Little moments like this make you realize there are parents that have to go through very traumatic ordeals much worse than this. I'm SO thankful this was just a small procedure and that it's over. Perspective. |
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