Two days before Christmas, Jason had carpal tunnel surgery on his right wrist. We made it through Christmas with his one-handedness, even hosting out-of-town guests and holding a Christmas morning brunch for the extended family. We had a LOT of help from Uncle Phil, Aunt Twila, Jonathan and Andrew!
As our company pulled out of the drive, I wiped Owen's tears, then said to Jason, "I'm ready for you to get over this surgery, already."
"I can tell you are," he replied.
"Oh really? I didn't know I was so transparent."
"The first day, you were so nice. You kept bringing me drinks and ice and asking if there was anything else I needed....and then it stopped."
Well.....ahem.
Yesterday afternoon, a poopy diaper on Jack interrupted my busyness. I dropped the overflowing, slimy, yellow mess into the trashcan because I didn't have time to origami-fold it into the smallest, tightest wad I could. I ran back to the kitchen to work on my time-sensitive soft pretzel dough for another get-together. As I was throwing the Kosher salt on my pretzels, Jason appeared with Jack. He had been investigating the foul smell, and when he found it, asked me why in the world I left such a smelly diaper and didn't finish the take-out.
I didn't handle the question very well. I shoved my irritation for about five minutes while he dumped the diaper in the garage bin, then unloaded as politely as I could. I might have mentioned some things about the kid wrangling, the cooking and the house cleaning I had been doing, without much of his help.
After we got to our destination, and had mingled a bit, he came back with a sheepish smirk. "Well, I guess I got paid back for my comment," he announced. It turns out he noticed something on his shoe, and when he couldn't tell what it was, he wiped his finger in it and smelled it--Jack poo!
Showing posts with label surgery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label surgery. Show all posts
Monday, December 29, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Surgery Pictures
Here is Children's Hospital in Birmingham, in the UAB medical district.
Owen played in the one-day surgery waiting room before we were called back. He was so excited.
The poor thing didn't have a clue how bad his "throat ouchie" was going to be.
The interning anesthetist went over Owen's medical history and made friends with Owen. He appeared to have a heart for kids.
Owen got to drive a car while we were waiting for the call from the operating room. His new Paw Paw bear got a ride too. Paw Paw W. gave him the bear before we left Atmore.
Still waiting...and listening to Daddy's iPod. Bless us all, Owen got a dose of Versed before he had to go to surgery. After that took effect, he couldn't have cared less about being carried away from Mom and Dad by a total stranger.
This was the morning after his surgery, in the Special Care Unit, right before we got moved to his room on the 5th floor. Jason had spent the night in that chair, getting zero sleep. I had spent the night at the hotel room with Jack and got nearly 5 hours.
We had a nice visit from Lisa, who was up in Birmingham for her job as a legmaker!
Owen still wasn't too excited about life.
Not totally excited about drinking, either, but wanted to take a little walk down the hall. Fortunately for us all, Owen doesn't care about the color of his cup---yet.
He felt a little better after a sponge bath and real pajamas, and was ready to cuddle with Jack.
And then he found the bed controls.
The next day, our nurse Ms. Beth saline locked his IV, and we got to take a wagon ride over to the Children's Harbor, which is an absolutely awesome building across the street with all sorts of games and activities for parents and children. It even had a basketball court and an exercise room, and nap rooms, showers and laundry facilities for parents.
Owen tired out quickly, and wanted to come back and play Clifford and Elmo on Daddy's computer.
Jack got lots and lots of Grandma time.
Owen's fire jammies were an absolute hit with the hospital staff. They spread the word amongst themselves about "that cute little boy with the fire pajamas." One CA stuck her head in to check Owen, and then laughingly told me she wanted me to make her husband a pair of fire jammies.
Our nurse Ms. Quinita, who worked the 3-11 shift, was outstanding. She even went so far as to bring Owen his very own stethoscope, because he kept asking her to "hear my heart."
One last Owen-requested heart check by his nurse Ms. Beth on the day of discharge. We loved Beth--she had a little 3-year-old boy named Evan and a 9-month-old girl named Emma.
All loaded up and ready to go home. Guess who slept 90% of the way back to Atmore?
Owen played in the one-day surgery waiting room before we were called back. He was so excited.
The poor thing didn't have a clue how bad his "throat ouchie" was going to be.
The interning anesthetist went over Owen's medical history and made friends with Owen. He appeared to have a heart for kids.
Owen got to drive a car while we were waiting for the call from the operating room. His new Paw Paw bear got a ride too. Paw Paw W. gave him the bear before we left Atmore.
Still waiting...and listening to Daddy's iPod. Bless us all, Owen got a dose of Versed before he had to go to surgery. After that took effect, he couldn't have cared less about being carried away from Mom and Dad by a total stranger.
This was the morning after his surgery, in the Special Care Unit, right before we got moved to his room on the 5th floor. Jason had spent the night in that chair, getting zero sleep. I had spent the night at the hotel room with Jack and got nearly 5 hours.
We had a nice visit from Lisa, who was up in Birmingham for her job as a legmaker!Owen still wasn't too excited about life.
Not totally excited about drinking, either, but wanted to take a little walk down the hall. Fortunately for us all, Owen doesn't care about the color of his cup---yet.
He felt a little better after a sponge bath and real pajamas, and was ready to cuddle with Jack.
And then he found the bed controls.
The next day, our nurse Ms. Beth saline locked his IV, and we got to take a wagon ride over to the Children's Harbor, which is an absolutely awesome building across the street with all sorts of games and activities for parents and children. It even had a basketball court and an exercise room, and nap rooms, showers and laundry facilities for parents.
Owen tired out quickly, and wanted to come back and play Clifford and Elmo on Daddy's computer.
Jack got lots and lots of Grandma time.
Owen's fire jammies were an absolute hit with the hospital staff. They spread the word amongst themselves about "that cute little boy with the fire pajamas." One CA stuck her head in to check Owen, and then laughingly told me she wanted me to make her husband a pair of fire jammies.
Our nurse Ms. Quinita, who worked the 3-11 shift, was outstanding. She even went so far as to bring Owen his very own stethoscope, because he kept asking her to "hear my heart."
One last Owen-requested heart check by his nurse Ms. Beth on the day of discharge. We loved Beth--she had a little 3-year-old boy named Evan and a 9-month-old girl named Emma.
All loaded up and ready to go home. Guess who slept 90% of the way back to Atmore?
Friday, July 25, 2008
The five senses
If your five senses were present in room 541 at Children's Hospital,
You would SEE a normal-looking boy with a very bothersome IV in his left hand.
You would TASTE some pretty bland, soft food--Jell-O, mashed potatoes, yogurt, ice cream--doctor's orders. I'm not sure why the ham and cheese sandwich, French fries, over-cooked chicken, mushy broccoli and oatmeal cookies were on his tray, other than for the highly prized quality of sogginess that most hospital food achieves after being under a lid for a while!
You would HEAR loud snoring from a small boy. The doctor says that will tone down as his swelling decreases.
You would SMELL--well, in short, post-anesthesia gas. If only we could put a scratch-n-sniff feature on this post....
You would TOUCH some very sweet, soft, freshly sponge-bathed and lotioned little boy skin.
Owen ate a little lunch under Mommy's direction, then got very tired of swallowing, so he got some more Lortab. He then quickly fell asleep with the help of a back rub and a story from Grandma B.
We are forcing fluids down his throat and hoping to have his IV removed this afternoon. Probable discharge tomorrow morning. We are feeling the need to get home to our little girl and life as normal.
You would SEE a normal-looking boy with a very bothersome IV in his left hand.
You would TASTE some pretty bland, soft food--Jell-O, mashed potatoes, yogurt, ice cream--doctor's orders. I'm not sure why the ham and cheese sandwich, French fries, over-cooked chicken, mushy broccoli and oatmeal cookies were on his tray, other than for the highly prized quality of sogginess that most hospital food achieves after being under a lid for a while!
You would HEAR loud snoring from a small boy. The doctor says that will tone down as his swelling decreases.
You would SMELL--well, in short, post-anesthesia gas. If only we could put a scratch-n-sniff feature on this post....
You would TOUCH some very sweet, soft, freshly sponge-bathed and lotioned little boy skin.
Owen ate a little lunch under Mommy's direction, then got very tired of swallowing, so he got some more Lortab. He then quickly fell asleep with the help of a back rub and a story from Grandma B.
We are forcing fluids down his throat and hoping to have his IV removed this afternoon. Probable discharge tomorrow morning. We are feeling the need to get home to our little girl and life as normal.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Surgery Day
owen finally has his pharyngeal flap. we left home yesterday afternoon and stopped at the bass pro shops in prattville where owen had a wonderful time at the fish tank--a fun store even if you don't hunt, fish, or camp. part of the thrill for owen was having his bontrager grandparents along and his little sister at home. he was so excited he couldn't sleep till eleven last night. grandpa b left for indiana this morning and grandma stayed behind to help with jack. we arrived at the hospital by 10:30 this morning but since owen's was the last surgery on the schedule he didn't begin his procedure until 3:00 this afternoon. for a little boy with nothing to eat or drink he did fantastic. i remember him asking for milk two or three times all day. about thirty minutes after owen went into the o.r. i received a call from the surgeon wanting permission to remove his tonsils. it seems they were "enormous" and he couldn't do the pharyngeal flap procedure with the tonsils in place so out they came. dr. wiatrak said the surgery went very well but there is really no way to predict how much it will improve his speech. success will be giving him the physical tools to speak properly and the ability to unlearn all of his bad compensation mechanisms. we won't know if the surgery accomplished this until the swelling goes down and he spends a lot of time with a speech therapist.
now we are in the "special care unit" which is a step down from intensive care. owen is sleeping off the anesthesia and morphine. joyce, jack, and ruby are out getting supper and i am hanging out with owen. i will get the night shift and the scu rules prohibit eating, drinking, or sleeping at the bedside. excellent. he should only have to spend one night in the unit and move to a private room tomorrow.
***
While Jason was out finding supper and I was out feeding Jack, Mom stayed in the room with Owen. When I came back, Mom looked at me with a funny smile and said that 20 minutes beforehand, Owen had pulled out the tubes in his nose and handed them to her while she was standing at his bedside. (The tubes were there to maintain an airway.) The nurse made a call to the doctor and found out that if the tubes need to be replaced, Owen will probably have to undergo anesthesia again, which if needed, won't happen until morning. We are hopeful that won't be necessary, as his O2 sat is still looking good at 96% on room air.
10 minutes until we get kicked out of here. We'll keep updating...
now we are in the "special care unit" which is a step down from intensive care. owen is sleeping off the anesthesia and morphine. joyce, jack, and ruby are out getting supper and i am hanging out with owen. i will get the night shift and the scu rules prohibit eating, drinking, or sleeping at the bedside. excellent. he should only have to spend one night in the unit and move to a private room tomorrow.
***
While Jason was out finding supper and I was out feeding Jack, Mom stayed in the room with Owen. When I came back, Mom looked at me with a funny smile and said that 20 minutes beforehand, Owen had pulled out the tubes in his nose and handed them to her while she was standing at his bedside. (The tubes were there to maintain an airway.) The nurse made a call to the doctor and found out that if the tubes need to be replaced, Owen will probably have to undergo anesthesia again, which if needed, won't happen until morning. We are hopeful that won't be necessary, as his O2 sat is still looking good at 96% on room air.
10 minutes until we get kicked out of here. We'll keep updating...
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Answers!
Owen's appointment at Children's Hospital in Birmingham was satisfactory; we have some answers about his speech development.
Owen has velopharyngeal insufficiency. His soft palate does not hit the back of his throat and form a tight seal, a maneuver necessary to build up oral pressure to produce consonants. As a result, he has severely hypernasal speech, where the amount of air escaping through his nose as he talks is off the charts.
Dr. Wiatrak told us that without a pharyngeal flap surgery, Owen's speech would not improve. This surgery involves cutting a flap from the back of the throat and stitching it to the soft palate, leaving a little room on either side so the nose is not totally closed off from the throat. After the surgery is performed and all the swelling goes down, he will need intensive speech therapy.
It's what we were suspecting, and now we know for sure. We'll schedule the surgery for after the baby arrives, since the first available surgery date was during my 37th week of pregnancy! Imagine that...
Owen has velopharyngeal insufficiency. His soft palate does not hit the back of his throat and form a tight seal, a maneuver necessary to build up oral pressure to produce consonants. As a result, he has severely hypernasal speech, where the amount of air escaping through his nose as he talks is off the charts.
Dr. Wiatrak told us that without a pharyngeal flap surgery, Owen's speech would not improve. This surgery involves cutting a flap from the back of the throat and stitching it to the soft palate, leaving a little room on either side so the nose is not totally closed off from the throat. After the surgery is performed and all the swelling goes down, he will need intensive speech therapy.
It's what we were suspecting, and now we know for sure. We'll schedule the surgery for after the baby arrives, since the first available surgery date was during my 37th week of pregnancy! Imagine that...
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