Caedmon's surgery went well. Per usual, he didn't get in until 2 hours after we were actually scheduled to begin. But Caedmon has been living up to the blessing of his name, the nurses were calling him a little warrior. He hardly fussed a bit, even though he hadn't eaten for nearly 8 hours by the time the anesthesiologist came to get him. The actual surgery took about 30 minutes, then he was taken to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) to recover and be monitored through the night. He received a few doses of morphine because of pain. Adam and I slept down the hall in a parent sleeping room. Yesterday morning, Caedmon was very groggy but he was showing all the signs of a good recovery so they moved him and us up to the recovery ward. He has a private room with a pullout couch for mom or dad. I spent last night with him, Adam gets the night shift tonight.
Dr. Marker, this wonderful Pediatrician who has dedicated almost 30 years to treating kids with spina bifida, was hoping to release Caedmon today. Yesterday he was showing all kinds of good signs, the swelling on his back had gone down significantly, he was eating well, he was active and alert. Then we woke up this morning with the swelling back up, irritability, a slight fever and green stool. The fever and stool is said to be the result of a virus that is going around the hospital but it's not great for little boys trying to recover from surgery. The increase in swelling is the big factor for him staying another night. The shunt they placed in his head has a dial on it so that flow can be increased or decreased by the simple placement of a special magnet on his scalp. So, Therese, a nurse from neurosurgery, came and dialed him to a new setting and now we wait to see what the morning will bring. Everyone is rooting for him, all the doctors and nurses, they all want to see him home on Christmas, so do we!
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