Surgery

I am way behind on this blog as I started it late!

Evan had his expander placed underneath the “good” side of his forehead on Thursday. We had to be at the hospital at 6am for surgery at 7:30. During his pre-op, Dr. Bauer said it would take about 60-90 minutes which I knew would feel like a lifetime.

Ever since having Evan, our timeliness has been lacking, so we had to ensure we arrived a few minutes before 6am to avoid being late. We were there a few minutes before 6, and went to the ambulatory services division of the hospital and basically sat around with Evan. It was hard because he was soooo happy and I felt bad for what he was about to endure.

Right at 7:30, we headed to the pre-op area. It was madness…doctors and nurses everywhere, people running around, patients in beds all looking doped up, it was just crazy. Everyone stopped to comment on how cute Evan was and it helped take my mind off the fact that I felt like I wanted to vomit, scream, and cry all at once. Next thing I knew, the nurse took Evan and they headed back to the surgical unit. To this day, it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done (yes I’d take 12 hours of contractions over that feeling!). Evan looked back at us over the nurses’ shoulder and I just lost it and hysterically found my way to the surgical waiting room.

Jeff and I quickly got coffee and when we got back, the phone rang, and the receptionist said it was for us. My heart stopped, but luckily it was a nurse letting us know that surgery had started. We were sitting there, letting our family and friends know that he was in, and trying to find ways to keep occupied. We talked to a couple who lived in the area and were soooo nice. Their daughter was having minor surgery. They were telling us about Chicago and even offered to have us over for dinner, as well as a stay in their home in December when we plan to come back for surgery number two! We plan on contacting them this week to see what they can suggest for some sightseeing.

Evan’s surgery only lasted about 45 minutes. Dr. Bauer said everything went great and he was in recovery and that we could see him shortly. SUCH relief! We headed back and there he was, sleeping in a nurses arms, all bundled up with a big getup on his head. I immediately grabbed him and he would cry every now and again as he woke up. It took over an hour to see his beautiful eyes (eternity) and he was still very groggy as he woke up. I tried nursing him but he wouldn’t have it. I decided to pump as he can be lazier with a bottle and it worked. He guzzled down 3 ounces in no time! We finally got a room a few hours later and he still seemed quite uncomfortable. There were lots of snuggles, lots of nursing (he finally ate) and lots of hugs and kisses. That first day was soooo rough and I hope no one ever has to go through it. But if you do, just know that they DO start feeling better and you just have to be patient.

We were released from the hospital early Friday. We could have left Thursday but wanted Evan to be closely monitored as this was his first surgery and Jeff and I didn't know what to expect. He was up a good bit of the night crying, but would settle after nursing and/or pain meds. By Friday morning he was his good old chipper self and we were so happy. We hardly slept (Jeff and I shared a hospital bed and Evan had a hospital crib) but I’m glad we stayed. The nurses were all amazing and they truly seemed to care about Evan’s wellbeing.




Happy right before surgery.


Right after surgery.



Afternoon...