Orthopedic Surgery and Beyond

We made it through the weekend and by early Monday morning I was feeling pretty good about things until I got the call from orthopedic saying that Isaiah needed to be at the hospital at 6am Tuesday morning and surgery was scheduled for 7:30am. Additionally, only one parent was allowed to accompany Isaiah. Even though I knew that would be the case, the reality of taking Isaiah by myself was a heavy burden. It was a catch 22. Jeremy could have taken him and they would both have been fine. But how does a Mama not take her child and be there when he wakes up from surgery. And so for the day I battled tears and anxiety. I told Isaiah that the doctors needed to make his bones straight and strong and they would give him medicine so that it wouldn't hurt. He was fine with it. 

And so on Tuesday morning Isaiah and I were in the car at 6:30am. I was barely holding it together and he showed no signs of worry. We registered and got settled in pre op and then were told that we would be waiting until 8:30...and then 9:20. Isaiah watched YouTube videos and played with the slinky and hot wheels car they gave him. He didn't complain. The longer we waited, the more nervous I got. Close to the end of the wait, Isaiah asked what was going to happen next. I told him that he would stay in the bed he was in and the nurse would take the bed to the room. He asked if I would be with him. I said no, I would wait for him here. He didn't react. Finally, the doctor came in (who I had not met until that moment) and explained what they would be doing. My eyes were full of tears. The nurse and anesthesiologist put the ipad on his bed and he laser focused on it as they wheeled him out. They told me that he never cried, got scared or asked for me. SO BRAVE!

Since I was the parent of a minor, I was allowed to wait in the same day surgery waiting room. Those waiting for adults had to leave the building. I curled up in a chair and sobbed. There is nothing ok about a parent waiting alone for their child during surgery. Thankfully I had a tribe of people texting me and willing to talk to me while I waited. Once I could talk and not just cry I did talk on the phone. It was just about 2 hours until the surgeon came out and sat down beside me. 

Dr. Huber showed me the post op x-ray and explained that Isaiah has small incisions at his wrist and elbow and a 3cm incision on his forearm where they cleared the muscle from between the bones and straightened the bone. He told me that Isaiah has a half cast right now--plaster on top, stabilized on the bottom and wrapped in ace bandage. In 2 weeks he will get a hard cast below his elbow which he will have about 4 weeks. And then he will have a removable brace. In 3-4 months the rods will be removed at a surgery center in a short, easy procedure. And then I waited for Isaiah to wake up enough for him to come back to me.

It seemed like a long time until recovery called me. They had to give him pain medicine and decided that he should go up to the pediatric floor for a few hours to recover and make sure his pain was under control. I was given a room number and headed up there. When I walked into the pediatric floor I was greeted and introduced to the nurses. The secretary ordered lunch for me and snacks for Isaiah. The nurse took me to the room and made sure I had everything I needed. I have never been so happy or relieved to be in a hospital room. We had privacy. I had a more comfortable chair to sit on. I could use the bathroom without making sure a nurse was with Isaiah. And then they brought Isaiah. When he recognized my voice was the only time his chin quivered. The pediatric floor did not seem very busy and his nurse was accessible and attentive. She relieved my anxiety with her expertise and obvious experience. The discharge process was started when Isaiah went downhill and was nauseous. At this point I was so very very tired. We had been in the hospital for 10 hours. I was physically and emotionally exhausted. So when the nurse asked me if I wanted to give him zofran  and stay longer or wait out the nausea, I could not make the decision. She suggested that we wait about 25 minutes and then decide how to proceed. After 20 minutes Isaiah handed me the bowl and said he felt better. Once Isaiah was told that he could go home he REALLY perked up. The last hurdle was that Isaiah had to stay with the wheelchair transport guy while I went to the parking garage and got the van. Once again Isaiah rose to the occasion. He didn't worry at all. He and the young guy pushing the wheelchair talked about Minecraft while I was gone.

As I was walking to the car, Isaiah's surgeon passed me on the sidewalk. I didn't recognize him, but he recognized me and took a moment to ask me how Isaiah was doing and if he was going home. We had a couple rough nights and a couple days of sitting on the couch and watching videos most of the day. Isaiah did feel good enough the next day to walk around outside for a bit and give me a thumbs up for a picture. The sling is his best friend. He keeps it on all the time even at night.

The morning after surgery was so early that I told Isaiah he had to take a nap. He slept very soundly and woke up miserable as I expected.

A get well soon balloon made him very happy.

As I'm writing this we are 6 days past surgery. Isaiah is back to his normal self. He is running, jumping, kicking soccer balls, wrestling with his brother and only wearing his sling when I tell him he has to. Through it all this little boy has been much braver than his Mama.