April 15 - Surgery

Levi's surgery went amazing!! It was a long day, but we made it through!

Our arrival time was 7:30 am at the hospital. Levi woke up at 6:30 at David's House. Jay and I got up and dressed and Levi got a clean diaper. He wore his PJs over to the hospital.

Good Morning!!! 

We were able to do meds so that kept his routine, but he wasn't allowed anything to eat or drink. We got to the desk about 7:20 and checked in. Levi was a very good boy, only asking for a cup a few times.

Heading to the hospital!

We waited our turn in the waiting room. Levi was antsy and fidgety. We met a lady in the waiting room who was dealing with her husband and daughter having a rare disease so we talked to her for a little bit about having a rare disease and what it means. It was neat to talk to someone else. Finally our name was called.

We headed out back to room 50 in the pediatric section. It was very nice. We had our own little room with a crib for Levi, and we would have that space all day, well until we were able to leave. We did the initial checks with the nurse and got Levi changed into a hospital gown. Then we had some time to kill until Surgeon Dr. C would come around to talk to us, so Levi was allowed and encouraged to go play in the play room. The play room was VERY busy. But Levi found a few things to play with and had fun.

Hammering is fun!

Playing

Surgeon Dr. C came in and we talked to him for a few minutes. Then the anesthesiologist came in and we discussed with him. We talked about how awful the wake up was the last two times, but other wise he had no issues, and he had been sick. Then we talked about how since he doesn't have an IV he will be put to sleep using a mask, and then they will put an IV in. Will be a little different process, but I will still get to hold him until he is asleep and then lay him on the Operating room table before I leave, so that made me happy. Child Life came in to the room and brought some books for Levi to pass the time. Then it was time to head down to the OR. Levi said good bye to daddy, and then I lugged him down.

Hugs for daddy!

We walked down to the OR. We got into the room and they were setting everything up. The anesthesiologist that would be staying in the room was there and ready, but we had to wait for the head anesthesiologist who has to be present for the beginning part as he was busy with an emergency. Levi, me, and the nurse discussed the pictures on the wall, and the very faded pooh stickers. Finally it was time. Levi set in my lap under several warm blankets. They put the mask on his face and wanted him to talk and take deep breaths. He squirmed some but not as bad as they told me he would. He looked up at me and said "I love you Mommy" at one point. It seemed like forever, but was probably only about 30 seconds and he was asleep. They helped me lay him on the bed as I was sitting in the chair. I gave him a kiss, and then was whisked out of the OR so that they could begin their work. I was escorted back to room 50 where Jay was waiting for me.

Jay and I headed to the cafe to get some breakfast, as we didn't know when we would be eating next, and we knew we had some time to kill.

Breakfast Time!

After about 40 minutes we headed back upstairs. Another 20 minutes later our pager went off. We went to the desk and the receptionist told us that his status had changed from "surgery started" to "out of surgery" and that Surgeon Dr. C would be up shortly to talk to us. We had known about the surgery status change as we were closely watching the monitors (each patient is given a number and you can follow along with the status of their surgery).

A few minutes later Surgeon Dr. C came out to talk to us. We went in the consult room to discuss. He said that he had gotten in and had not been able to easily find a reason why his port wasn't working. There was no obvious build up or issue. He replaced the whole port as the port does not have a detachable catheter as its a low profile port because he is so small/young. He made the catheter shorter this time so that should help. We talked about the recovery and he said it should be the same as before. He can shower on Saturday and bath/fully immerse on Sunday. There wasn't much more to discuss, so we headed back out to the waiting room for our pager to go off again saying he was "ready for company" ie. he was starting to wake up.

We waited. And waited. And waited. I kept a very close eye on the monitor. In January, he was waking up at the same time that Surgeon Dr. C was coming out to see us, so we were wondering why it was taking so long. The monitor said about 55 minutes of being out of OR before our pager went off that we could go see him.

Jay and I headed out back, both excited to see Levi but also slightly dreading the wake up. It was hell the last two times, and we just weren't looking forward to that. We got to room 50 and he was just starting to stir. But then he asked for Mommy and set up. He was happy!!

First Wake up picture, sitting in Mommy's lap!

After only a few minutes in my lap, he was asking for a drink and a Popsicle. There was NO crying! Not a peep out of him! Except happy sounds and giggles! It was amazing! 

Popsicle Number 1

He was doing so well that they were able to take his IV out right away, so that he could move around. It came out of his foot no problem, but did bleed more then normal. We were taking a look at his feet and realized that even when he was asleep they had a hard time getting the IV in. There are at least 3 IV attempts in his feet! We found out from the nurses that he was given a different medicine this time that takes them longer to wake up (hence the longer time in the waiting room) but that usually makes them wake up happier, and boy was she right!

Levi finished his first popsicle. He handed me the stick and said "Mommy get some more!" So we are on to popsicle number 2!

Popsicle Number 2

Even with him doing so well we knew that we were going to be there for awhile as he has to stay at least an hour after wake up. The nurses were amazing. One of the nurses brought him 2 sticker sheets, a page of Mickey and Minnie stickers and a page of Sesame Street stickers. Levi was very excited and immediately started peeling them off the sheets. After he got the first sticker off he realized that he didn't have a shirt on, it slowed him down for a second, but didn't stop him. He just stuck them to his belly!

Peeling Stickers off. 

All the stickers on his belly!

He finished his second popsicle, and looked up at Jay and I and said, "more please" and "get some more", so we were off to three popsicles. 

Popsicle number 3

He ate about half of the third popsicle and was done. As it was getting close to our hour and he was doing great we started to get him dressed. He was also drinking apple juice at this point. 

All dressed and ready to go!

The nurses gave Levi a dose of Tylenol (the only pain meds he needs) and we were free. We carried Levi out to the car, and the surgery was over! 

All done! Very tired little boy!

Let's hope that this port works much better then the last one! We figured it out that it was 3 months to the day from the first surgery to the second (January 15 to April 15), we are hoping for 3 years or more before the next one. (Ports can last for 10 years in the human body, however in growing children they generally only last 3-4 before the catheter is too short and has to be replaced, meaning the entire port has to be replaced).