I have to start by saying that I do not know how parents of children with chronic illnesses do it. Buck and I know two families who are navigating the waters of seriously ill children. I have always been in awe of their emotional strength and their ability to demonstrate God's love and grace through the unimaginable. That said, since we had never faced the walls of a hospital with our children (save a brief ER visit for a nasty stomach bug when Fawn was a baby), I had never really contemplated the physical toll that doctors visits, hospitals, surgeries and logistics take on parents. Fawn's tonsillectomy was minor -- an outpatient procedure that lasted no more than forty-five minutes. The hospital was mere minutes from our house. By all standards, it was easy. But, by the day of surgery, Buck and I were exhausted from the build-up. Unending errands -- all of the groceries for recovery, filling prescriptions ahead of time, library for books and movies, book store and dollar store for workbooks and coloring books. Paperwork. Phone calls with doctor's office, intake nurses, and anesthesiologist. Major cleaning of the house to prevent any infection spread. I cannot even imagine the exhaustion of parents who do this on a regular basis.
By the morning of surgery, we both felt like "let's hurry up and get this over with." The local children's hospital schedules surgery in reverse age order -- with the babies going first so they have fasted for fewer hours. We didn't have to be at the hospital until 9 am. It was the longest morning ever! I feared that Fawn would ask for breakfast, but he didn't fuss at all about not being able to eat. It was our first trip to Children's South -- and we were impressed. Easy access, easy parking, courteous staff, and loving nurses. We were supposed to take Fawn's social security card, which was stored in Buck's wallet for the morning. My only sign that Buck was a bit nervous was that he forgot his wallet. He never does this -- he never forgets anything! (We didn't need it after all!)
Aunt A really did prepare Fawn well -- he was so brave during all of the prep work. And, Aunt A's friend and fellow child life specialist treated Fawn like royalty. She breezed into our hospital room with a big smile -- and fun toys! Fawn took to her right away. And just like Aunt A, she really was a calming influence on Buck and me as well.
We spoke to the anesthesiologist, surgeon, and nurses -- all gave us different estimates on how long surgery would take. That was a bit funny, but all were nice. Fawn was an angel, except for the hospital gown. He was not impressed and put it on begrudgingly. And he absolutely refused to take his pajama bottoms off. (We let him wear his pj's to the hospital so he was a happy and comfy camper.)
The hardest part of the day was when we had to leave him at the monkey door -- a door painted with monkeys. He was supposed to walk the rest of the way himself with his nurse by his side. His bottom lip started to quiver and the amazing child life specialist scooped him up and walked with him. We waved to him down the hall. I'm not going to lie -- it was tough! But, I held it together -- and was overcome with thanks for his general health and well being. Buck settled into work email, and I read some chick lit while we waited. The time passed rather quickly -- much quicker than I anticipated.
Before we knew it, we had a sleepy, snuggle bug back in our hospital room. It took some effort to wake him up so we could get him ready for home. For Fawn, the only part of surgery day that brought tears was the removal of the IV (they put it in while he was under so he only remembers the removal). He cried and fussed that the boo-boo it left behind hurt. It's always the visible wounds we point to, isn't it? He seemed oblivious to the internal wounds from the surgery -- but the pinprick in his arm caused much distress.
More to come on recovery -- and my tips if you face this same surgery with your kiddos. But, I'll leave you with some pictures from right before surgery.
All smiles (it really wasn't a bad experience at all -- a bit stressful, yes. But not bad.)
A little Kindle game time -- notice that Buck is much more into it than Fawn.
Thankful to have this guy by my side!
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