No yelling. No running. No jumping. No crying. No coughing. No rough play. Those were Dr. Rahbar's restrictions when he met with us after surgery. Had he met my child? That'll be easy, since I have the most spirited 3 year old in the neighborhood!!!! hahaha So we have prison rules this week here at 1029 (the nickname for our house).
Sloane's surgery went as well as we expected. Ill do a breakdown and back -tracking to get all my followers up to speed.
Monday:
Thankfully, Sloane had eaten like a truck driver on Sunday night so she didn't ask for any food or drink until 9:30am. I explain that Dr. Rahbar didn't want us to eat and that we could only drink apple juice or water. She took it but not without a sass comment and huff about the fact that her nail polish had to come off too and now she couldn't eat. To say the level of stress was high through the am would be accurate. Our phones were buzzing with texts of good luck wishes and love constantly. Sloane's big day had entered into the hearts and minds of those around us.
We loaded the car and we were off. There was only one quick stop to grab mammie and say hi to poppie. Let me just say...thank you above for the dvd player in my truck. It has helped make the ride to Children's much more enjoyable all around!! Sloane watched a movie and we all chatted about misc things on the way up. Noone touched the days events with a 10 foot pole. Once we got to surgical intake area, it was clear that Dr. Rahbar was behind and our 1:15 start time was going to change. As time ticked, Sloane got a bit more quiet and inquisitive. And I questioned again why we were doing this.....oh yes, it is because Sloane still has constant unnecessary secretions in her lungs from aspirations and her lungs aren't able to function at 100%.
Right around 1:00, a familiar face walked in. Jane, the pre-op nurse. It is a bit sick and twisted that we know the pre-op nurses and they know us. That tells me we have had one too many surgical procedures and scopes at Children's. It was so nice to see Jane's face though. A bit of calm came over me. She escorted us into the pre-op area and more and more familiar faces popped up. Comforting on one hand and ridiculous on the other.
Sloane was quiet as time was ticking. She was getting nervous after her johnny was on; asking me: are we done yet?, can we go see mammie now, i saw Dr. Rahbar? momma, can i go give mammie a hug? I kept thinking....my poor child, we haven't even started yet. It was a longer wait than I would have liked and in the past, we have given Sloane walking around privileges while she waits. But on Monday, I knew the parent waiting area had one mammie, one poppie, one nonni and one Shu who were all emotional themselves about the next few hours. So a quick lap around the halls to say hello was out of the question for everyone involved. I was holding on by a blink.
The anesthesiologist came over to chat and yes, we knew each other too. She suggested giving Sloane something orally to sedate her a bit before I did my mask holding duties, but Sloane wasn't having it. It didn't turn Jerry Springer, but Sloane made sure everyone in the OR knew she wasn't into medicine at all! I put on my OR clothes....and off we walked. Sloane was so brave. She walked herself right into the OR, sat in my lap and stayed calm. We played a "can you guess what flavor you are smelling as I held the mask" and after a few minutes, I placed my sleeping child down on the gurney and made my exit. Not before I had my moment with Dr. Rahbar. He looked at me and I looked in his eyes begging him to take care of my baby.
And the wait began.....I made the mistake of saying that I wanted a water. Well, that opened the food conversation. I would have just assumed ate a bag of almonds Au Bon Pain downstairs but Sloane's people wanted more. More like, lets walk to Bertuccis one block away. I was silenced by the thought and out numbered. We had 2 hours so why not...I heard. I decided to keep the peace and go. Mentally, I was sitting in the family waiting area. I am pretty sure Sloane's people put me on the inside of the booth so I wouldn't run. I was trapped in my sit. As soon as I swallowed my last bite in 10 seconds flat, I announced that I was heading back to the hospital. And after a moment all of them decided to join me.
As I knew it would happen, my phone rang. Dr. Rahbar was looking for me. We all power walked back to the 3rd floor and there he was with photos in hand. All I really heard was "Sloane is fine. All went well. She is in ICU." What he did say was that:
he lasered the area,
he put in 2 stitches to close up an opening the size of a tip of a pen,
he would scope her in 2-3 weeks to check the healing,
he wondered if she popped a stitch after her last repair based on what he saw,
he suggested softer foods and a limit on liquids as it is the hardest to swallow,
he thinks she may be noisier in her airway now,
AND he wanted no yelling, no crying, no coughing, no running, no jumping and no rough play.
The moment he walked away....Sloane's people stopped holding it together and let the day's emotions all go.
There was a mad dash up 4 floors to ICU. Sloane wasn't going to the recovery room. She would recover in ICU. A few minutes later, the big game started. My hubby and I walked around the corner and I heard her. Sloane was wailing uncontrollably and I wasn't holding her. WTF!!!! I rushed in and took my baby from the nurse's arms. She was inconsolable and I was heart broken. We were sitting in the chair like the days in the NICU. Sloane had a hard time coming out of anesthesia. Harder than they like so in walked the critical care doctors to access. Super duper!! Within a few hours, she was settled down and he hunkered down into our new home for the night. Dinner was a Popsicle, dessert was another Popsicle and the late night treat was a Popsicle. Plenty of time spent with her people and even some tv shows. Well beyond night night time, my hubby left for the hotel and climbed into Sloane's bed. The closer I was to her, the more acceptable the day felt.
To be continued....................
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