Surgery Update

Well Caleb had his surgery yesterday. We got up at 5 and were out of the house at 6. We arrived at Children's Hospital right at 7:30. A couple minutes before we reached Children's Caleb was asking for milk. This is the first time we have had to deal with a child that drinks and eats pre-op. So it was very difficult for him to understand why he couldn't have any milk. But we and he dealt with it well. Once we got back in the pre-op area, poor Caleb knew all too well where we were. He got very upset. My heart broke, as I realize that now that he is older he knows what is to come. We got him calmed down in the pre-op area and watched some cartoons while we waited. I am not sure if the wait wasn't long or if my nerves were so bad that I didn't notice how fast time was passing. But soon they were ready to take him to the OR. I had such a hard time also in the pre-op area. I know some would think that the amount of surgeries Caleb has had up to this point, which would be probably in the 30's, that one would get 'more used' to the routine. But it is quite the opposite. They do give you the option of going into the OR with your child as they put them under the General Anesthesia, but I did that two times before and it is very hard to see. So I carried Caleb the whole way from the pre-op room, down the hall, until the docs said that was as far as we could go with him. As I went to put Caleb back in the crib, it broke my heart as he cried and said 'nana' and reached out for me and Brian. That is the first time he also 'verbalized' how upset he was. It doesn't get easier. His surgery was finally done and soon we were able to see him. We went back and he was curled up in a ball in his crib. The nurse asked Bri and I if he was a cuddler and we said yes, and she said she could tell by how he was sleeping in the ball in the side of the crib. I immediately picked my lil man up. Once again, trying to figure out where all the tubes and wires were to make sure I didn't pull anything. I can't believe he had tubes and wires on him constantly and how moving him around with all these things attached to him at one time for so long was second nature. Nevertheless, I scooped up my lil man and held him. Then, I handed him off to Bri so he could hold him also. Once he began to wake up he was very groggy. It took him about an hour and a half to come out of the anesthesia and drink enough to come home. On the ride home, he didn't seem as 'unaffected' by the surgery as he has with some of his previous surgeries. Once we got him home, he curled right up on the couch and passed out. He slept for about 2 hours and then woke up and was very cranky and obviously in some pain. We gave him some pain meds and he then passed back out. We also realized this was about the time that the epidural they gave him for pain was probably wearing off. He then slept for about two more hours, waking up in between crying. At about 8 o'clock he tried drinking some watered down milk and it went well, but an hour later he started gagging like he was going to be sick. This is also a new thing for us and him as he always had the g-tube and if he was sick we just vented that to prevent the vomiting. So he cuddled with his daddy while he was sick to his tummy and the nausea seemed to subside (as he can't actually tell us, but we could tell from his demeanor) as he started to move around a little more. After sharing some jello with his dad we got Caleb into bed. He slept through the night and seem to be doing better this morning.
I cannot thank everyone enough for all the messages on facebook and texts regarding Caleb and all the prayers for him and our family. You all have been so supportive to all of us throughout this and we cannot thank you enough. You all are amazing people and friends. Thank you for being such a wonderful support system for our family!

God Bless you all!!

God Bless Caleb!!