the surgery post

sorry this has taken so long to get on the blog.  first of all, let me thank you all for the thoughts and prayers.  we are fortunate to have so many people who love our little monkey.  miles has been an absolute trooper throughout the entire ordeal.  he's recovering faster than I thought, especially since we were granted an additional night in the hospital due to lack of hydration.  he's now drinking water and milk like it's nobody's business.  his appetite is not stellar...but he's eating nonetheless.

the morning of the surgery came early.  I'm sure that had nothing to do with the fact that I was up until after midnight - packing henry, packing miles, packing me - 4:45am came quickly!  kyle dropped us off at the hospital at 6:15am and then left to hand henry over to the safe arms of nana and papa.  miles charmed the ladies at the registration desk and then we headed to the first floor to wait in the waiting room with all of the other soon-to-be patients.

we were delighted to see an old high school friend, whose daughter was about to have the same operation, and my aunt, who stopped to say "hi" at the end of her shift (she works nights in the OR).  it was comforting to see some familiar faces. they called our name to go on back to prep for surgery and I glanced over to the elevator just in time to see the doors open and kyle emerge.  whew.  our nurse was very sweet and made all of the new experiences a little less scary.  hats off to the fantastic child life department at st. mary's hospital.  they sent a dvd to us to view before surgery that explained a lot of the surgery basics.  miles wanted to watch it three times and referenced it numerous times that morning.  the child life specialist hooked us up with a dolly to affix bandages and such to and to color on, as well as a little goody bag of "doctor stuff."  I think miles was most interested in the laminated photo of all of the doctors in the OR - he couldn't stop staring at it.  I couldn't help but get nervous that my baby was about to be brought into a very similar operating room.

sara had given us the head's up that the actual start time for all surgeries on monday morning was 8:15am, so we weren't too surprised when we had quite a bit of time to kill in the prep room.  miles took it in stride - singing songs, coloring, watching tv, and practicing his two lines that daddy taught him:

"Luke...I am your f-a-ther!"

and "I had surgery...beeya!"

daddy was so proud. they had been working on them for days and miles performed like a champ.  [I have a cute little video of it, but we are awaiting the arrival of the correct cable to download said video onto the new computer *sigh*]  after a good dose of the "happy juice," miles started to zone out.  I had fully expected to suit up and accompany my little monkey into the OR, but that was not the case.  they explained that, if possible, they like to carry the little ones back without mom or dad.  I was able to contain my initial instinct to say "whaddayamean I can't take him back and hold him and then try to hide under a table to make sure you take good care of my precious baby!?!?" the anesthesiologist could see the concern in my eyes and reassured me that, as a fellow mother, if he seemed at all scared or nervous, she would turn around to get me.  I trusted her.  kyle and I kissed him and handed him over.  he casually said "I want to hold mommy", but didn't fight it (thank you "happy juice").  it was all I could do to not start bawling.  we grabbed our bags and went out to get his patient ID so we could watch the screen for updates.  I didn't want to leave that screen, but we managed to go grab a little breakfast.

the surgery took 75 minutes and went great.  his tonsils were, in fact, enormous, the adenoids were "moderately large", he definitely had a lot of fluid in his ears - warranting tubes, and the lump on his neck will (hopefully) turn out to be an enlarged lymph node.  if not, the doctor didn't want to do another procedure that day...so we'll have to wait.  the umbilical hernia repair turned out to be very minor *phew* and basically a superficial/cosmetic repair.  we were ushered back to the recovery room where we watched as they tried to keep him calm and comfortable.  we were brought up to our room in the ICU within the hour.

the rest of the day and night were tough.  miles takes after his mommy and needs hours to wake up from anesthesia.  he spent most of the day sleeping and waking briefly to get tylenol.

he ate and drank absolutely nothing that first day. we were hopeful that once he woke up a little more he would take to water like an old pro. not the case. we eventually got him into the wagon and strolled around the unit.  getting up and out of the room did wonders for his spirit.

the 'round the clock tylenol and vitals checks did not make for a very restful night.  that, coupled with being my first night away from henry, meant that I was exhausted the next day.  a special thank you to my mom for coming and sara again stopped by after her shift was over and took the little man for a wagon ride at 6:30 in the morning.  he had been begging to get out of the room all night.  in fact, he had been begging for anything and everything that did not include doctors or nurses.  some of the gut-wrenching requests were: "I'm all done with the doctor", "I want to go home", "I want to go out there" (i.e., to the hallway...at 2am), "I don't want my medicine", "I want this tube out"(the IV).  poor little man. speaking of talking...we are all amazed at how much his voice has changed.  he wanted to call daddy in the morning and even over the phone it is noticeable.

by the end of the second afternoon, miles had only eaten 2/3 of a greseth muffin (a family recipe) and drank maybe 2 ounces...we knew we were in for another night.  he just wasn't drinking or eating enough for the doctors to comfortably dismiss us.  we were being moved "to the floor" which, in hospital speak, means out of ICU and to the regular floor.  uncle marc happened to be visiting, so he helped us make the big move...in a wagon, of course.  the rest of the time was spent playing games, watching videos, walking the halls, begging miles to drink or eat, and getting lots of time to cuddle.

daddy and cousin olivia took over on tuesday evening so that I could go to my mom and dad's for a shower and two (count 'em TWO) feedings with henry.  I've never been so happy to get my buggy in his pj's and snuggled into bed.  I missed him so much.  by the time the doctors came in on wednesday, miles had drank some milk and eaten some blueberries and french fries.  thank you mcdonalds.  we received our "get out of jail free" card at 2pm and we were home by 4pm (that might be a mayo clinic record!).

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this experience made kyle and I thankful for healthy children.  we walked around the halls and tried to imagine the pain and heartache that the parents of those precious little children were feeling.  it is unimaginable.  I am ever so grateful for the expertise of the nurses and doctors at saint mary's, but I am overjoyed to have both of my sweet baby boys back under one roof.

disclaimer: the quality of this video is terrible.  I'm working on it and will edit soon!

leftovers

I may be on my own here, but I actually look forward to leftovers.  I love that my meal consists of reheating something and I can't complain when dishes are done in less than a minute! it seems like we will be just a phone call from ordering chinese when we peek in the fridge and decide that there is more than enough to eat inside all of the glass containers. we pull everything out and start to make up some random hodge-podge plate.  a little of this, some of that.  it might be an odd combination...but it's all delicious!  the "leftovers" for this post are simply all of the pictures I've found from the month of july that I wanted to post but haven't yet.  it's a random smorgasbord, but that's the way I like it.  enjoy!

we ventured downtown last thursday night. miles loved dancing on the sidewalk while a jazzy band played some music on the nearby stage. he was practically bumping into all of the people walking by...but we didn't stop him. he was so excited and I think we all have a little two year old innocence within us.

last mother's day miles planted this day lily for me - it's called hush little baby

the following are from our birthday celebration for papa (my dad) and auntie beth (my sister).  they share the same birthday!  someday I'm going to put all thirty-something pictures of the two of them with their cake(s) together.  happy birthday you two!!

for those of you who may be unfamiliar with this song, it's titled down by the station and miles is somewhat obsessed with it lately!  I captured this version just before his big surgery.  note how stuffed up he sounds and how hard it is for him to breathe out of his mouth.  I'm working on getting a new and improved version to compare. but for now...enjoy!

prognosis... Excellent

Just posting quickly to let everyone know that Miles made it through the pre-op wonderfully and he arrived in the OR at 8:54. His tonsils are already removed and they're working on his ears, with his bellybutton procedure to follow.

***EDIT 9:50am*** tubes have been inserted in his ears and his bellybutton is being fixed up.

***EDIT 1:20pm*** miles is resting somewhat comfortably in his ICU room.  we're hoping to be able to leave tomorrow but it will depend on his willingness and ability to drink enough liquids.

***EDIT 7:56pm*** miles went for a wagon ride around the ICU floor and is starting to feel better.  he still hasn't had a single thing to eat or drink but has started to smile and seems to be coming around a bit after a pretty rough day.

***EDIT 8:15am 7/20*** the plan is still for miles to leave the hospital today but he's still refusing to try and food or drink so we don't know for sure yet when our discharge time would be.

***EDIT 1:30pm 7/20*** miles seemed to snap out of his funk this morning around 10am and had just a little to eat and drank a small amount of water.  he's on the right path but we'll have to wait for word from the doctors to see when he'll get to go home.

***EDIT 5:50pm 7/20*** we have officially been moved to "the floor" - which means that miles made it out of the ICU, but not out of the hospital.  he's continuing to only sip on liquids and that makes for unhappy doctors. he is sweetly begging to come home I wanna go home, I wanna leave, I'm all done at the doctor, it's breaking our hearts.  hopefully he will start chugging some water and we will get our "go home" ticket soon!

***EDIT 8:00am 7/21*** right after we saw the doctor last night we got miles back to his room and he devoured a bunch of food and drank milk like a champ.  he woke up this morning and is doing MUCH better.  it's just a matter of seeing the doctor now to see when he can get his IV out and head home.

***EDIT 1:00pm 7/21*** miles has the green light to go home. he should be out of the hospital in a few hours.

***EDIT 10:00pm 7/21*** here is one last update to show miles back to his normal self, and to let everyone hear his "new" voice.  it might be the cutest thing i've ever heard. sorry for the terrible cell phone video quality but you can see the camcorder was not available at that moment.

mondays

mondays have been given a bad rap.  I know that for most of the working world, they signal the start of what can seem like an endless week of work. and yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking...you teachers have it rough with the entire summer off.  bring it on. I can handle the sarcastic remarks and I can brush them off, because I know why I do what I do and why I choose to do it part-time.  exhibit A: lunch in the park on a monday.  I convinced my sister and nephew, as well as my mom (nana) and sister-in-law to join us for a play date at our neighborhood park.  I packed up our stroller and we set out for some fun in the sun.  we had a tailgate picnic in the parking lot with beth and josiah - mcdonald's style - and then strolled over to the park for some quality time in the sandbox and on the swing set.  

we blew bubbles and miles dragged his auntie jen all over the place.  she's such a good sport.

daddy stopped by during his run.  the picture didn't exactly turn out, but I couldn't resist including one of my three favorite boys.

I am full of joy watching my suddenly grown up two year old run through the park, swing freely in the swings, giggle as he is chased by his auntie, and stare in wonder at the mob of "big kids" who invaded the sandbox and then the big toy.  then I catch a glimpse of henry's bright blue eyes and soft spiky hair as he lays contently on a blanket in the shade and, dare I say, "my cup runneth over." as an added bonus to all this wonderfulness is how exhausted these two beans are when we load back up in the stroller and head home.  I see a nap coming on.