I have a lot of updating to do regarding Reed’s surgery and it turns out the events are pretty much in five categories, so, I’m linking up again for Five on Friday!
1. The Before
We called ACH first thing Tuesday morning, and around noon the nurse called back. We relayed the information about the infected cyst and that we thought it had abscessed again. She said the doctor would have to make the call about whether or not we could come. At that point we hadn’t heard from the surgery center yet. They called about 12:45 and as they were going through the questions they have to ask, I had to explain the situation to them. She said she would also have to tell the anesthesiologist because she might decide she wasn’t comfortable. The lady informed me that if the anesthesiologist wasn’t comfortable, she would call me back, and if our doctor didn’t want to proceed, then to call her back. If surgery happened, it was scheduled for 8:30 and we had to be there at 7:00.
Around 2:30, the nurse called me back and said that the doctor had been busy with appointments and left immediately for a meeting, so they had to talk to a resident. The resident said it was impossible to make a decision without seeing it, so we needed to come, with the understanding that while in pre-op, the doctor could decide not to do the surgery. This wouldn’t be a big deal if we’d lived right there, but being three hours away, this possibility was kind of crappy, but it’s what we had to do.
So we headed down Tuesday evening after work. We stayed with my dear friend Chenin and her husband. They are wonderful to always offer us a place to stay if we need to be in the LR area.
Sweet boy on our way to LR
2. The Surgery
We arrived at the hospital and checked in right at 7:00. We waited for a while and then were called in to the admissions desk. We proceeded to answer the same questions as the day before, and it wasn’t the last time we’d answer them. Ha!
Reed watched a little Mickey Mouse while we waited and he was so happy. It hurt my heart wondering when we’d see that smile again.
When we got called back, we had to answer questions again, and we told the nurse again about the situation and that we had to wait for the doctor’s decision. She brought in the anesthesiologist who said she would proceed as if the surgery would happen and that from her standpoint, there were no issues, but warned of the risk that it might not. She asked to see the cyst and kind of made a face and said she’d be surprised if the doctor did it.
Our doctor came in and he took a look at it and said “We’re getting that out today.” He said it wasn’t inflamed enough to postpone, and after the second infection, we just needed to get it out, which we completely agreed with. We signed papers, they gave him his first round of anesthesia which made him very calm, and then we walked with him to the OR doors and had to leave him.
We sat down in the waiting room and the receptionist called our name at 8:57 to tell us they had just started.
3. Post-Op and Recovery
We’d been told surgery would last an hour to an hour and a half. We sat and the time passed pretty quickly. A little after 10:00 a nursing resident came out and told us they were finished and that everything had gone well. They then called us and told us to wait in a consultation room, which honestly, scared the death out of me. We’d seen numerous doctors come out to the waiting room and talk to waiting family members, so the fact that they put us in a room worried me.
The doctor came in and said he’d done really well. They removed the cyst, which he said looked like a classic thyroglossal duct cyst, as well as tissue and the piece of bone. He said there was a drain in there that would be removed the next day and explained about the stitches. He said they’d call us shortly to go back to post-op to see him.
We had been sitting down for approximately a minute when they called our name to head back to him. When we got to him, the nurse had him sitting up trying to get him to come to. She said that he had been asking for us. He really wasn’t with it though and finally wanted Zach to hold him.
He kept coming in and out and didn’t want anything to drink or a popsicle. We stayed in post-op until about 11:15 when they moved us up to our room.
Reed was pretty miserable most of the day. He would fall asleep and then wake up crying. He’d be restless for a bit and then would fall back asleep. He slept especially well after his first dose of Motrin. For some reason, he didn’t want me. He really only wanted Zach. I held him for about a two hour stretch of sleep but other than that, it was mostly Zach.
He finally woke up and seemed coherent around 6:00 p.m. He was awake for an hour, and then crashed again. We tried off and on all day for him to drink and he just wouldn’t. He woke up around 10:00 and sat with me for a bit while we watched Toy Story.
He slept fairly well despite the wake ups for vitals, medicines, etc.
The doctors came in around 6:30 to remove his drain. He did really well when they did that, and they said they’d write up discharge papers!
4. Coming Home
Our day shift nurse came in and said that we could go home as soon as Reed drank 4 oz. His breakfast had arrived shortly before that and he actually ate a sausage patty, which made him thirsty. He was about halfway done, but was turning away water. So, we ordered him another sausage patty. ha!! That did the trick!
He drank his water and we were heading down to our car by 9:30 a.m. They sent a wagon for him, and he wouldn’t let the volunteer pull it, but wanted me to. I love this picture and how unsure he looks in his eyes.
We waited a couple extra hours for his last dose of Motrin so he could have it right before our drive home and he went to sleep almost immediately.
He was excited to be home and got many of his toys out. He had moments where he felt really good and moments where he felt really bad. We had to change his wrappings and he screamed through all of that – I think his incision hurts. He’s also still taking his antibiotics which he HATES. We were SO tired when we got home b/c sleeping in the hospital wasn’t comfortable for mom and dad!
5. What Now?
We have to keep him calm, or as calm as we possibly can, for the next week or so. He does have stitches as I mentioned and they will dissolve. We have to return to ACH on September 10 for our follow up appointment. When we visited with the doctor pre-op, he informed us that due to the continuous infections, Reed’s risk of the cyst coming back in increased. He said that if it comes back, it is typically in the 6-9 month time frame. If we make it to one year, he should be set and it won’t come back.
It’s been an exhausting, emotionally and physically draining week and I’m so thankful that we have this behind us. We thank everyone who has prayed for us and are so appreciative of everyone who has prayed for us during these days. Thank you for loving and caring for us and our son!!
Praise Jesus for letting us get this taken care of this week and for watching over us and Reed throughout this all!
