Surgery 2012 - SURGERY DAY

Surgery 2012 - SURGERY DAY (orig. published 7.12.12)


As I sit in the parent waiting rooms, or wander around the hospital I have always spent a decent amount of time rethinking our decision for surgery. And it all comes to a head when I see my boy post-op. Ya know what? Things were just fine, he could get around, he moves pretty quick in his wheelchair, he always beat his sister in a race (poor girl would try so hard too). I'll just pick him up always and always I thought. Seeing his pale face, hearing his raspy post-anethesia breathing, watching his heartrate spike if I'm sitting down and he can't find me in the room - breaks my heart. I have to be supportive of his new hardware, I told him he looks great, like a robot and he smiled.


Colson went into pre-op about 8:30 yesterday morning, and of course Dr. van Bosse gave him his purple pen AFTER Colson was doped up with versid. The nurses all just shake their heads because of course, Colson, and all the other kids of Dr. V's take that purple pen and write all over themselves. Colson loved it though. Surgery ended around 4:30 pm and everything went well. He had the hardware (metal plates) removed from his hips from his bilateral proximal femoral reorientation ostetomy surgery in April 2011. Then they attached the external fixator, he has 2 pins in his upper leg, 2 pins in his lower leg and one in his foot. There is a large tension bar on the whole thing and we have to rotate the bar 4 times a day which is approximately 1 mm at a time. Colson shouldn't feel a thing besides some possible minor bone aching.


He came out of surgery kicking and screaming almost quite literally if he his legs weren't rendered useless by the epidural. One of the nurses called Dr. van Bosse "Dr. V" and he yelled at her and said, "No, it's Dr. van Bosse!" and then he demanded they take the fixator off. They sedated him instead. He's been sleeping since about 5 pm (it's now 8:30am Thursday as I write this). He woke up about 9 pm and I heard the most precious little "Hi Mommy" and then he was back asleep. He's white as a ghost, they may run blood tests later today. They said he didn't lose much blood and he's not anemic, so they think the paleness might just come from the "I feel like I've been hit by truck" post surgery feeling. He'll wake easily if you talk to him, but he prefers to just doze on and off.


Thank you all for your kind words and thoughts and prayers, they mean so much to all of us and we appreaciate your overwhelming support.


Much love.


-J-


Some before surgery prep - also a good picture of his "before" legs.

He didn't want to go to surgery :-(

Thanks for the pen Dr. van Bosse! Colson, on Versid, says "Mommy, I had to draw on my legs, they didn't give me paper until after I drew on my legs!" Haha

Poor sweet boy

A peek at his toes with the fixator

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It's a Miracle (League)!

Image
It's a Miracle (League)  (orig. published 6.11.11) "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." -- Albert Einstein What amazing opportunities children of all abilities have these days. Colson had his first baseball game this last Wednesday, thanks to the community of Appleton, WI, the hearts and minds of The Miracle League of the Fox Valley, the teenagers, young adults and adults that have volunteered their time to support the children as buddys and as coaches, and the amazing children that have the ability to play. We had a blast, Colson was so surprised that he hit the ball (with the help of his buddy assisting Colson in swinging his arms) that he froze in place and didn't know what to do at first! Hah! He was waiting for someone to bring it back to him! Run Colson run we all said! And off to 1st base him and his buddy went. When he made it around all the bases, he ran up to the f
Read more

All is Well

Image
All is Well (orig. published 10.19.12) We are eight days post-op and Colson is doing amazing. Neurontin continues to be a world changer for our lives as he is handling life SO much better this time around. We were released from the hospital on Monday (a day early yay!) and have been hanging out at my dad's house in Richmond, VA ever since. Colson has one very straight leg in a very red cast and one very bent leg in a very large piece of equipment. And he is doing fantastic. He wanted me to take a picture to show everyone how he can wiggle his toes: Some of you may know and some may not, but the cost for these operations is making a huge impact on our family. We are having a fundraiser here:  http://www.gofundme.com/z67qc  if anyone can help that would be amazing! Just one night at the Ronald McDonald house is $20.00 which isn't much, but it really adds up with how long we end up staying there. I'm humbled at the amount of money we have been able to raise, and I'd also
Read more

Another Year of Firsts

Image
Another Year of Firsts (orig. published 5.28.09) Well, it’s been another year of firsts. My sweet little guy turned 2 years old on May 21st and as always, he amazes us every single day. Here’s a recap of some of the “firsts” of his 2nd year. We have been a busy family! First (and 2nd!) road trip halfway across the country First plane ride First time visiting Pennsylvania (5 day stay) First time visiting Ohio (3 day stay) First time visiting Kentucky (3 day stay) First time visiting Virginia (10 day stay) First time visiting the zoo First time riding the train First time playing and sledding in the snow First ride on the boat on the lake First time seeing and playing in the Atlantic Ocean First time playing in the sand First time swimming in Lake Nuangola all day First tantrums First time-out! First “I love you’s” to Mommy and Daddy First time using a stander First time learning what a big brother means! First time going 4-wheeling First time adopting an injured wild animal First time
Read more