We arrived at the hospital and checked in at 9:25. Almost immediately, we went through the admissions process and were called back to pre-op. Vitals were taken, CJ changed into the gown and scrub bottoms. We met with the surgery nurse who went over some basics and re-asked questions we had answered several times already. (I understand the need for redundancy; it just gets to the point where it's funny.) We then met with someone from pain management to discuss what would be involved in managing pain after the surgery. The surgeon also came by and checked in, making sure we didn't have any final questions.
A young lady also came by whose job it is to just make sure the kids who are having surgery know what they are going to experience, answer any questions, show pictures of the OR & rooms, and tell about all the cool things the hospital offers for the patients here. It's a really cool job to have, and she did a great job; she made ME want to have surgery! LOL!
Everything had gone so smoothly & timely, that it looked like we would be right on time for surgery to start. The scheduled time came and went, then another half hour, then another half hour. Finally, about and hour-and-a-half after our scheduled start time, they finally came back for CJ. We gave him kisses and headed back to the waiting room.
It took about 25 minutes for anesthesia to get him hooked up, intubated, and sleeping. The actual surgery started at 12:45.
Once we had word that the surgery started, we went to grab some lunch. We hadn't been back to the waiting room for long when we saw the surgeon walking toward us telling us it was over! The surgery itself only lasted 45 minutes!
About 30 minutes later, we got to go back and see him. It was amazing to see the immediate result of the Nuss Procedure. CJ was obviously a little out of it, but he was able to respond to us.
We were in post-op for an hour or so, waiting for a room assignment. We got settled into the room, and we had a couple of visitors come by. He woke up for brief periods, but CJ slept most of the time.
Almost as soon as we got into the room, CJ was asking for banana pudding. Unfortunately, he was told he was on a clear liquid diet for the rest of the day. So, he was stuck with apple juice. Around dinner time, he requested some chicken broth. As soon as I opened it, he started complaining of nausea, so we put it away; I don't think the smell sat well with him.
He is on anti-nausea medicines, because the pain, pain meds, & anesthesia meds could all cause nausea. That is something we really want to avoid. Obviously, it's very painful, plus the act of throwing up could dislodge the bar. We were told that if he felt the slightest bit nauseous, to let them know, so they could give him additional anti-nausea medication.
The respiratory therapist came and gave CJ a device to help him do some breathing exercises. It's important for him to breath deeply in order expand his lungs & to prevent pneumonia.
A little before 8:30PM, CJ said he was feeling nauseous again, so the nurse went to call for the other anti-nausea med. Unfortunately, it didn't get here in time, and all 20 fl oz (I know because the bag has measurement lines on it) of apple juice he had had came back to see us. Blech.
Obviously, that didn't feel well, but CJ went right back to sleep. I eventually got to sleep around 11:30.
No comments:
Post a Comment