Wednesday, May 31, 2006
His Eyes Are Straight! (02/21/06)
We left the house at 5:45 am on 02/20/06 for Charlotte Eye Ear Nose and Throat Associates. I didn't even wake him up, I picked him up, wrapped him in a blanket and off we went. Of course he woke up and was looking around with a confused expression on his face. We arrived at the Surgery Center right at 6:15 am.
We sat in the lobby for a good 30 minutes before they called me back to completed the paperwork. It felt like we were in the lobby FOREVER. DS was really good; especially for not eating since 5 pm the prior evening. At around 7:30 am they took us back to the pre-op exam rooms. Basically it is like a mini-triage with curtains separating the beds. They asked me a bunch of questions concerning DS's health (illnesses, allergies, etc), weighed and measured him, and gave us a gown to put on him. I wish that I had taken a picture of him with the gown on. He looked so cute!
We were in the pre-op area for another hour. Turns out that another surgery was scheduled first at the last minute so he was second for the day. That kinda sucked, but DS was still being good. The nurses were commenting on what a sweet boy he was. He got a little fussy off and on, but as long as I held him and walked around he was fine. At around 8 am they gave him some medicine (Tylenol, Versed, and Atropine). It made him a little loopy at first, he was laughing and being silly but then he got sleepy. He was being so sweet, being all cuddly and looking into my eyes as I was singing to him. For some reason, the only song I could think of at the time was Frosty the Snowman! But he didn't seem to mind. He kept looking at me and touching my face. I almost started crying (he rarely looks directly in my eyes~ he's much too busy for that !)
By 8:30 am he was asleep and they came to take him back. He never even knew that I wasn't with him. He was sound asleep when they took him to do the surgery. It was hard to say goodbye~ he looked so sweet and innocent. I gave him a kiss and we went out to the waiting room. We were told it would take about an hour before we could see him and that they would call us when they were finished with the first eye.
DH and I were both starving so I ran to McDonald's for some breakfast while he stayed at CEENT in case they called. We sat, ate, and waited. DH decided to take a walk and right after he left (@ 9 am) they called and said that he was doing great and they were starting on the second eye. By 9:30 am Dr. Saunders was out in the lobby talking to us. He said that DS did great and was starting to wake up. He gave us some post-op instructions (ointment in eyes the first day and then drops 3 times per day until next week) and said someone would be out to get us shortly.
I started to make him a bottle and no sooner did I get it done then they were coming for us. When we walked back there he was not a happy little boy! He had his eyes shut tight and was crying so I sat down and gave him his bottle. As soon as it was in his mouth his little hands grabbed a hold of it and it was gone in a matter of minutes! He was starving. We were anxiously awaiting for him to open his eyes so we could see. He was still hungry after the first bottle, so we tried to give him a jar of food, but he didn't really want it so DH made him another bottle. He drank ¾ of that one too! By the end of the second bottle he had his eyes open and was looking around. He looked so good! Much better than I anticipated.
I held him for a few minutes while they rechecked his vitals and gave us more post-op instructions. They removed the IV from his foot (he did NOT like that one bit) and then rechecked his vitals one more time. They we dressed him and we were on our way home. We got home around 10:45 am and by 11 am he was bouncing around in his jumperoo like nothing ever happened.
The rest of the day was a normal day. I fed him a jar of squash and put him to bed. He slept a little longer than normal, but that was to be expected. He ate dinner and played until bedtime. His eyes were starting to bother him around bedtime. They were watering and getting red so we put him to bed a little earlier. He slept all night until 4 am when he decided to play for an hour little booger. Other than the little bit of redness and the obviousness that his eyes are straighter now, you would never know that he had a surgery.
It's amazing how resilient children are. I just hope that it was a success and we won't need any more surgeries. Only time will tell though. We go back to see Dr. Saunders on Thursday for a follow-up appointment. Hopefully he gets a clean bill of health. Even though I was scared to death, I am so glad that we did it and that it is over. Even though Dr. Saunders said that his vision wasn't affected, I wonder if it didn't delay him in some ways. This may just be a coincidence, but I have noticed since yesterday that he is clasping his hands together more and using them at the same time a lot more than he was. He is grabbing at things like crazy and DH found him standing up in his crib today! It may not have anything to do with it, but it is funny that he will start to do everything at once now. Gotta love him!
BEFORE (January 2006) & AFTER (February 20, 2006 @ 11 am)
See the difference?
We sat in the lobby for a good 30 minutes before they called me back to completed the paperwork. It felt like we were in the lobby FOREVER. DS was really good; especially for not eating since 5 pm the prior evening. At around 7:30 am they took us back to the pre-op exam rooms. Basically it is like a mini-triage with curtains separating the beds. They asked me a bunch of questions concerning DS's health (illnesses, allergies, etc), weighed and measured him, and gave us a gown to put on him. I wish that I had taken a picture of him with the gown on. He looked so cute!
We were in the pre-op area for another hour. Turns out that another surgery was scheduled first at the last minute so he was second for the day. That kinda sucked, but DS was still being good. The nurses were commenting on what a sweet boy he was. He got a little fussy off and on, but as long as I held him and walked around he was fine. At around 8 am they gave him some medicine (Tylenol, Versed, and Atropine). It made him a little loopy at first, he was laughing and being silly but then he got sleepy. He was being so sweet, being all cuddly and looking into my eyes as I was singing to him. For some reason, the only song I could think of at the time was Frosty the Snowman! But he didn't seem to mind. He kept looking at me and touching my face. I almost started crying (he rarely looks directly in my eyes~ he's much too busy for that !)
By 8:30 am he was asleep and they came to take him back. He never even knew that I wasn't with him. He was sound asleep when they took him to do the surgery. It was hard to say goodbye~ he looked so sweet and innocent. I gave him a kiss and we went out to the waiting room. We were told it would take about an hour before we could see him and that they would call us when they were finished with the first eye.
DH and I were both starving so I ran to McDonald's for some breakfast while he stayed at CEENT in case they called. We sat, ate, and waited. DH decided to take a walk and right after he left (@ 9 am) they called and said that he was doing great and they were starting on the second eye. By 9:30 am Dr. Saunders was out in the lobby talking to us. He said that DS did great and was starting to wake up. He gave us some post-op instructions (ointment in eyes the first day and then drops 3 times per day until next week) and said someone would be out to get us shortly.
I started to make him a bottle and no sooner did I get it done then they were coming for us. When we walked back there he was not a happy little boy! He had his eyes shut tight and was crying so I sat down and gave him his bottle. As soon as it was in his mouth his little hands grabbed a hold of it and it was gone in a matter of minutes! He was starving. We were anxiously awaiting for him to open his eyes so we could see. He was still hungry after the first bottle, so we tried to give him a jar of food, but he didn't really want it so DH made him another bottle. He drank ¾ of that one too! By the end of the second bottle he had his eyes open and was looking around. He looked so good! Much better than I anticipated.
I held him for a few minutes while they rechecked his vitals and gave us more post-op instructions. They removed the IV from his foot (he did NOT like that one bit) and then rechecked his vitals one more time. They we dressed him and we were on our way home. We got home around 10:45 am and by 11 am he was bouncing around in his jumperoo like nothing ever happened.
The rest of the day was a normal day. I fed him a jar of squash and put him to bed. He slept a little longer than normal, but that was to be expected. He ate dinner and played until bedtime. His eyes were starting to bother him around bedtime. They were watering and getting red so we put him to bed a little earlier. He slept all night until 4 am when he decided to play for an hour little booger. Other than the little bit of redness and the obviousness that his eyes are straighter now, you would never know that he had a surgery.
It's amazing how resilient children are. I just hope that it was a success and we won't need any more surgeries. Only time will tell though. We go back to see Dr. Saunders on Thursday for a follow-up appointment. Hopefully he gets a clean bill of health. Even though I was scared to death, I am so glad that we did it and that it is over. Even though Dr. Saunders said that his vision wasn't affected, I wonder if it didn't delay him in some ways. This may just be a coincidence, but I have noticed since yesterday that he is clasping his hands together more and using them at the same time a lot more than he was. He is grabbing at things like crazy and DH found him standing up in his crib today! It may not have anything to do with it, but it is funny that he will start to do everything at once now. Gotta love him!
BEFORE (January 2006) & AFTER (February 20, 2006 @ 11 am)
See the difference?
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