Surgery

We had surgery today. First, I must express my gratitude to my Heavenly Father for such healthy children. I work in a field where I know first hand just how lucky I am. I know families who have to go through this kind of thing time and again, I'm just grateful it's so infrequent for me and mine.

Sammy did great, as to be expected from my mellow middle child. This morning, he reminded me that the nurse who did his pre-op appointment said he could wear his pajamas to the hospital, I was shocked that he had even listened to her at all. So, he wore his super warm jammies to the hospital in 90 degree weather complete with a pair of fuzzy slippers. On the way he had lots of questions, mostly about how much it would hurt and when it would hurt. The upshot of this was that he was "a little nervous" by the time we got to the hospital.

We had been through this type of thing several times with Pearl, so I was prepared. I had a new magnadoodle ready for the waiting room, and as soon as he got his nightgown on, I handed him his leapster with a few new little games and a new camera accesory. It was a hit. He was thoroughly entertained.
Then they brought the verset (sp?), which is a relaxing drug they give kiddos before anesthesia. He started to droop, so I switched to reading Georges Marvelous Medicine (which is a completely marvelous book, by the way). When he started asking weird questions with blurred speech, we turned the lights off and just let him be.

He was pretty loopy. Here is a little video of him staring at his hands in the air... he kept telling us about the shapes he was seeing...

Once he was in recovery, they brought me back, and we walked right by his bed because he was curled up in a ball of blankets way on top.

Once he woke up, the first thing he did was ask for water, the second, for a popsicle. We had promised him as many as he wanted. He started chomping away at the popsicle and shivering, and was doing this when the Dr. came by. She had us take it away and get him a warm blanket:). He was in a lot of pain, so they gave him a narcotic and let him sleep a bit more, but he didn't really sleep until we got him home and into Pearl's bed. After a good long hour nap, he came and found me and said "mom, remember how I'm supposed to have lots of screen time?" So that's what he did. I was able to give him pain meds at about 5, and at about 530 I had him come to the kitchen to eat a popsicle. I was making scrambled eggs and chicken sausages for me and Max, and Sam really wanted some... so I let him go to town. I have NEVER seen that kid eat so much. By the time he was done, his belly was bulging and he said his tummy kind of hurt. I figure by tomorrow the big pain meds will have worn off, so I should get food in him while I can:) What a great kid. But after today, I think we'll BOTH be taking it easy for a week or so:)