Our little patient

Andy's surgery was this past Tuesday (3/20) and we had to wake him just after 5am to get him in the car and all of us down to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite Surgical Center by 6am. We checked in at 5:50 am and after filling out a few forms basically waited around for about 45 minutes until we were called back to another area. Andy had his blood pressure and temperature taken - both fine - and we were taken to a pre-op room to change him into a gown and...wait more. At 7:10 he was given some Tylenol and right at 7:30 he and Jamie went with a nurse to the OR. Jamie held him for a couple minutes then put him on the operating table while they gave him the anesthesia, then Jamie went to the post-op room where I met him and we waited for Andy to arrive. At 8:20ish the surgeon (Andy's urologist) came to tell us how everything went (well), gave us a few care instructions and told us Andy was in the recovery room and would be along soon. Around 8:40/45, Andy was wheeled in and was not very happy. A nurse had told us he'd either be awake and very cranky or would fall asleep after coming back to the room with us. Luckily, he calmed down once Jamie held him and fell asleep shortly thereafter. He slept for about 30-40 minutes, then the nurse came in to check some things and wake him so he could have some juice. He drank 3 cups of diluted juice - thirsty!! He hadn't had anything to eat or drink since 7 the night before, so I don't blame him.

When he got home he had a little something to eat - some Cheerios and a Nutra Grain bar, I think - and I sat with him on the couch while Jamie went to fill his prescription (Tylenol with codeine). The sitting still did not last long, as Andy is a boy on the go, but during the surgery he had been given a caudal block which the doctor and nurse had told us to think of as a baby epidural - he was numbed from the waist down, and the effects would last 4-6 hours. As he had been waking at the hospital, he seemed confused as to why he couldn't effectively use his legs (Jamie was holding him and Andy would move a leg, then get a weird look and fuss/cry). It was probably around 11am when he wanted to get down and walk, but he just couldn't. He would take a wobbly, stumbling step or two then fall down (I would catch him - they had told us to expect this and not to let him fall). He was VERY frustrated not being able to get around on his own. After trying to help him walk for a couple minutes and trying to sit with him on the couch again, I ended up having to put him back in his high chair because he did not want to be still. When it finally did wear off, he was (with much supervision) crawling and walking around again, but still more stumbly than usual.

After his afternoon nap, he was much more fussy than usual, so he got to watch a lot of TV that afternoon - one of the only things that helped keep him still for any extended period of time. We gave him Tylenol every 4 hours and the Rx Tylenol with codeine before bedtime. So happy we have such good sleepers; Andy was in bed around 7:30pm and didn't wake up until after 6am. Even after that, he just made a few little noises and went back to sleep until we got him at 7:30. He had Tylenol every 4 hours again on Wed, and the Rx at bedtime again, repeated again on Thursday. Friday he only had one dose of Tylenol during the day and the Rx at bedtime and today (Saturday) he just had one dose of Tylenol late morning.

After the surgery on Tuesday, I really hadn't expected him to be acting so normal or being so active so soon, but really on Wed he was back to being his happy little self and walking all over the place. Of course we were being more cautious with activities (no climbing stairs for a few days, no straddling/riding toys for a week, no letting big sister knock him over if we could help it, etc...), but overall you never would have known he had just had surgery!

He still has a bandage covering his stitches. The doctor said it would fall off on its own, so we're still waiting to see what his incision site looks like. We're able to bathe him again (as of Thursday night), and the tape holding the bandage on seems to do its job very well - I don't think any water got in at all! His stitches should dissolve on their own, but if not, the doctor will remove them when we take Andy in for his post-op visit in a few weeks.

Praise God that his surgery went well and he's recovering so easily, and thanks to everyone who prayed about this!