Post Eye Surgery

Micah had his eye surgery today.  Everything went well.  He was a trooper, and I think the whole process was more difficult for me than it was for him.  I went to bed last night feeling nauseous.  It took me absolutely too long to actually fall asleep.  Once I finally fell asleep, I woke up every single hour.  A couple of times, I woke up with my heart racing in my chest like I had just run a marathon with no training.  At around 3:45 am, Micah woke up, and had his last bottle of apple juice before his 4:00 am cut-off.  

Last bottle before 4:00am.

Micah came to bed with Mikey and I, and that was the end of sleep for any of  us.  He played for about an hour before it was time for us to get up and start getting ready.  We dressed, loaded up the truck, and headed for the hospital.  I love Children’s Hospital.  We got there at 6:30 am.  After a short wait, we got checked in.  The lady checking us in, left us for a while to go help another mother get all of her things into the back.  That mother's husband had left briefly, and wasn’t back before it was time to go into the back.  A part of me appreciated that if I had been there alone, I would have had help.  A part of me was irritated that she (the lady checking us in) had interrupted and prolonged our check in process, when there were others there who were willing (and did attempt) to help.  Check in went smoothly other than that, and we found out that we may qualify to have the portion of our bill not covered by our medical insurance paid by the hospital.   

Shortly after we were done with check in, Micah was called back where his weight, heart rate, temperature, and blood pressure were measured.  He is still weighing in at 22 pounds and some ounces.  We were then escorted to a room to wait for Micah’s turn in surgery.  There were toys there for Micah to play with.  He ended up playing with a soft Tonka truck.  That kept his attention for a while.  Eventually, he made his way to the door, where he sat and people watched for a while.  Mikey and I spoke to the nurse, anesthesiologist, and Micah’s doctor.  Micah also got to choose a toy to take home with him.  He ended up with a book.  The other options were either toys he already had, or not age appropriate.  Soon they were calling for Micah.

Only one of us was allowed to go into the operating room with Micah.  I went with him, and Mikey was escorted to our post-op room.  I carried Micah into the operating room, and laid him on the table.  The anesthesiologist placed the mask on his face.  Micah, of course, got upset.  This, however, sped up the process.  He didn’t realize that his fighting was causing him to take in more gas than he would if he was calm.  He took two deep breaths, and on the third, he gave a little sigh, and closed his eyes.  I gave him a kiss and headed to our post-op room. I got in the room at exactly 8:17 am.  It was right down the hall from the operating room.  

At 8:26 am, Micah’s doctor come in to assure us that everything had gone perfectly.  One minute later, Micah was being wheeled into the room. Ten minutes.  The doctor continued explaining Micah’s after care to Mikey and I, while the nurses checked his vitals.  Micah was awake ten minutes after he was returned to us.  We spent the next 15 to 20 minutes soothing and comforting him.  Once he had taken a little apple juice and formula with no problem, we were free to go.  The nurse went over Micah’s after care once more, and we signed a couple papers, and left.  Micah fussed a little in his car seat before he fell asleep.  Mikey stopped and picked up breakfast, and we headed home.  Once we were home, Micah rested in his pack & play for a short while before he wanted breakfast too.  He helped his daddy eat his pancakes.  Then he was down on the floor, and back to his usual antics.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.