We got up very early today, at the unearthly hour of 3 AM. I should say that I got up at 3. Mr. B, unlike me, didn't need to get up that early and blow-dry his hair. We woke John up at 4:50, and he was sweet and cheerful as he always is in the morning. I wish I were that cheerful that early in the morning. We left for the hospital and at the end of the block I realized I was still wearing my house shoes. At least I realized that before we had gotten farther from home. We checked in at the hospital, and as usual, waited. I've come to realize that hospitals are like travel. You hurry up, then wait. We went to a pre-op room and got John's vital signs and told them what cough medicine he is taking. I got him changed into his tired tiger hospital jammies. He thought they were pretty cool but he was worried that his pants kept falling down.
John, being brave and cheerful as we wait:
Then he decided it would be better if he sat on Mommy's lap.
Maybe it would be a good idea to examine the room and figure out how to operate this funny bed.
A nice young woman from the Child Life department came and entertained him by blowing bubbles. If you read about our ER experience, you will understand why I was relieved that he was standing on the floor for the bubbles. While John popped bubbles and then took a turn blowing them, the anesthesiologist, ER nurse, neurosurgeon, and neurosurgery resident, all came in to talk to us. The neurosurgeon said she had thought it over and she should go ahead and take out the plumbing from the old shunt. The drainage tube in his tummy is stuck and has pulled the skin up as he grew. She felt that could continue to pull the old shunt and stress the vein that is stuck to it.
I went with John into the OR holding area. He said, "no pokes!" I told him they would wait until he smelled the bubble gum air before they did the pokes, and he was visibly relieved. He thought I looked silly in my cap and gown and he was moved into the OR. I stood by him while they got him to sleep. He didn't like being in the OR at all and definitely wanted mommy near him. When he was asleep we pried the bubble container out of his hand. I got back to the waiting room at about 7:30, and started working on my cross-stitching. We got a phone call from the neurosurgical resident at 9:00, telling us he was doing well and that they were almost done. I got another call at 9:45 saying they should be done in 10 minutes. About 20 minutes later the neurosurgeon came to talk to us. She said that the release of pressure when the new shunt was put in was like a jet. She said the shunt should make a huge difference in his balance and hopefully reduce the huge pockets of fluid in his spinal cord.
A little after 10 I went back to be with my little guy. When he saw me, he lost it and cried. He was so forlorn, waking up and not knowing where he was. He also said his head hurt. He got some pain meds and I petted his head and held his hand and he calmed down. He also got some juice which he enjoyed very much. We got moved to his room by about 11. He was really shut down and scared, and when he turned his head he would cry with pain. He really didn't want Mommy to leave and it was so hard to do. I waited until he and Papa were settled in, and they were bringing him juice and a popsicle. He was starting to cry when I said I was going to leave, but I suggested he could watch TV and that helped him calm down.
He looked so tiny in his hospital bed. I tucked some of his favorite stuffed animals in with him.
Here is how he looked right when I left, eagerly waiting for a popsicle, with Papa on duty next to him.
I will feed everyone lunch, try to catch a nap, work on the laundry, and hopefully get the lunches packed for the Dallas trip tomorrow. Bryan will be taking Therese for her next set of casts, which she is saying will be green this time. I will be at the hospital overnight and until he is released. That depends on the CT tomorrow to check the shunt, and how well he is doing after the drastic change in the pressure in his head. Life is so busy. Hopefully I will be able to get the kids ready for bed before I go back. I'm feeling a little woozy due to the combination of 3 hours of sleep and a dose of cold medicine. The kids have been coughing on me for weeks and have finally shared the fun.
