We've had a crazy few days at the Brown Household. I started feeling sick Saturday night. I slept terrible all night and eventually just got up at 6 am to drink some hot tea in hopes it would soothe my throat. I was miserable all day Sunday with a fever, sore throat, and throwing up everything, even liquids. I was able to get into the doctor first thing Monday morning. They swabbed me for strep and sure enough, it was positive. I've never had strep before, but I gotta say, it's no fun! The doctor also gave me some meds for the nausea which was greatly appreciated as it kicked in on our drive to the hospital for Ryker's surgery. I'd also like to thank my amazing husband for helping out all weekend. He took care of Ryker and got the house ready for a showing we had yesterday afternoon too.
OK, so on to the important stuff- the surgery! We were scheduled to arrive at Clarian West in Avon at 11:30. We quickly made it through registration and headed straight upstairs to the surgery unit. Papaw surprised us and came. Dad does hospital sales and tried to tell Mom he was just coming to check on some stuff for work, but he was really there to keep an eye on his boy. ;-) He also kept Mom updated throughout the day. Nana was a little nervous to say the least! Ryker did surprisingly well with no food or drink for the majority of the morning, but by noon as we were headed upstairs, he was over it! He had a complete meltdown and was crying so hard! Of course, this was right as they called us back to begin his prep work. Robert had to stand on the scale with him and then without to get his weight because he wasn't having it!
Here he is in his pajamas once we got him calmed down a bit...clearly still not happy though!
Showing me his star socks...not that impressed at the time, but later thought they were pretty cool.
His surgery was scheduled for 1:00, but that time came and went and he still hadn't been taken back. He was getting very restless and hungry! We managed to keep him entertained though.
We explored the room a bit and found a mirror that folded up out of a drawer. It was pretty popular.
He also wanted his blood pressure and pulse read again. The wonderful nurse was happy to oblige.
He played dinosaurs with Daddy too.
His surgeon, Dr. Kaefer came back around 1:30 and explained that were being held up by a hip procedure that was going on in the room they booked for Ryker. He talked us through the procedure again and put our minds at ease (especially Robert-since he had never even met him!) Next, the anesthesiologist came back and talked us through his portion of the procedure. He brought a mask to the room and told Ryker he would let him choose a flavored lip balm to rub on the inside of the mask and then all he had to do was smell it in order to take his special nap. Ryker chose grape and the doctor put it in there and let Ryker smell it. He took several deep breaths and said, "Hey, this not working!" because he wasn't falling asleep. It was pretty funny! The doctor started laughing and said, "That's a pretty smart kid." Of course, Robert decided that was his favorite doctor of the day! haha! They finally took him back a little after 2:00. Thankfully, he went to the nurse pretty well and let her carry him back there. All he took was one of his dinosaurs. We never heard a peep out of him! I was so proud of him, but especially of myself! I didn't even cry! Yay me! We went downstairs and grabbed a bite to eat with Dad to distract us. I, thankfully, was able to keep my lunch down and felt much better after I'd eaten. It was great having Dad there. He really distracted us from worrying and stewing over what was going on upstairs. We headed back up to the waiting area. The procedure was supposed to take about 45 minutes, so at 3:15 I started getting a little worried. Thankfully, Dr. Kaefer came out a couple minutes later to update us. He said everything went great and Ryker was a trooper. They called us back a few minutes later and said he was still sleeping. This is what we saw when we walked in:
Talk about breaking your heart!
So, I did cry here I'm not gonna lie. He just looked so sad and defenseless! He was so sweaty and red in the face! Poor guy soaked his pillow by the time he woke up.
The nurses kept telling us to be prepared for him to be very unhappy when he woke up, so we were ready for a bit of a battle, but he just woke up like he would from a nap and sat right up.
He downed his entire thing of juice in about 5 seconds flat! I'm sure his throat was sore from being intubated. Thankfully, they used a different tube than they normally do. It's more flexible and doesn't go as far down into his body. It's supposed to be easier on your throat that way.
Then he discovered his "arm decorations"...he didn't mind the pulse reader since it glowed red, but he was ready for the IV to come out.
Here he is enjoying some Honey Nut Cheerios..poor kid was starving!
After he ate and drank and was able to keep it down, they took his IV out, gave him some more pain meds, and released him. He also went to the bathroom great for me before we left. He fell asleep again in the car on the way home, but was up again in time to enjoy the McD's that Nana brought over for him. She also brought him some new shoes and a special prize for being such a brave boy. Ryker his very own copy of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and a stuffed caterpillar that looks just like the one in the book. He slept great through the night, even through the pain meds we had to give him every 4 hours and is doing very well today. Thank you to all of you that were praying for us yesterday! We really appreciate it!
