Friday, December 4, 2015

Pre-op day!

I had good intentions of keeping up with all of Caleb's pre-op/surgery as it happened, but all the things came so quickly! I was thinking about how the last two months have been like "speed sanctification" -- everything was a rush and a whirl, then surgery, then over. Whew.

I'm grateful to be on the other side of all of this, but I'm still processing and stewing. And basically just sitting still and quiet before the Lord. I can't think of where to even begin when I sit down to read and pray. It's so much.  But so good.

Caleb got croup on Sunday, November 15th.  On Monday we found out that croup could delay surgery to December 10th.  I took him to the doctor and he got a steroid shot.  We asked people to pray. Caleb drastically improved over night. We gave him steam showers and sucked his nose out a lot.  And we wrestled with the fact that we may very well need to hold off of surgery until Caleb was perfectly healthy.

By Wednesday Caleb was so much better! We went to the hospital to do pre-op and that was so overwhelming.  As the nurse was talking to us, I started feeling hot.  Everything was becoming so real, so fast!  The PA talked with us and told us that the anestheoloigst on call didn't feel comfortable moving forward with surgery because Caleb had croup over the weekend.  Then she basically told us that had we not gone to the doctor and got the steroid shot, they wouldn't have concern.  They left the room and Patrick and I talked and prayed for a few minutes to make sure we were on the same page.

The PA came back in and explained the "risks" to us {the main concern would be needing to do a breathing treatment during surgery if his oxygen dropped too low} and we talked through everything again.  We decided to move forward based on the facts we were given and that Caleb's lungs sounded perfect {which meant the infection did not go any other place than his throat}. When we were finished asking questions and talking, the PA told us that she would have made the same decision.  That was extremely comforting.

The nurses had the hardest time finding a vein and stuck him three times.  Caleb was a wreck and I was a wreck. Patrick is a hero.  At one point, the needle slid out of Caleb's hand and blood was everywhere.  I got a little light headed and sat down.  Luckily, by God's grace, I didn't pass out! Those two hours at pre-op were so stressful and felt like a thousand hours.

To say that it was a hard day would be an understatement.  It just felt like such a heavy day.  Even though we were moving forward with surgery, there was a chance that the anesthesiologist on call could say "no surgery" -- so it wasn't a sure thing.

I didn't pack a hospital bag prior to Wednesday, so that needed to be done.  I wasn't sure what to pack or how much, but it was weird packing a bag for myself that didn't include things to bring home a newborn baby. It didn't take long to get things together and I was glad because I really wanted to spend the evening together and doing family things and trying to not worry about the "what ifs".  Plus, it was my birthday.  Even though nothing about that day felt light and fun, so many people celebrated me and let me know I was loved. It was a kind reminder that even in the trenches of life and trials and motherhood, we are not forgotten...

Here are a few pictures:
Sad baby with croup. Plus helpful meds.

Pre-op

So glad daddy was there!

Looking for veins.

Instructions!

Exhausted after such a day... :(

My four babes the night before surgery!


1 comment:

mama cindy said...

Without a doubt you are the bravest person I know. How scared you must have been I'm so glad you had Patrick and your group of friends and family to help out. It's amazing that it's been a couple of weeks since the surgery and things are (almost) back to normal. Love you. Mom.