SURGERY DAY

***Every night in the hospital I took some notes on my ipad about what happened that day so I wouldn't forget. I'm copying them to this blog for documentation.  To start at the beginning of our scoliosis journey go here.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Sydney, Brian and I arrive at the hospital at 5:30 a.m.  We check in, sign papers and then meet with nurse to check vital signs, etc.  

Next we meet with Dr. Zimmerman, the anesthesiologist, and Randy, the OR nurse.  Sydney is very nervous and is crying when it is time to leave us and walk back to the OR.  Dr. Zimmerman senses her fear and puts his arm around her as walks her back to the OR.   It was very comforting for me to see him assuring her on that very short (but very long) walk away from us.  

Brian and I go to the waiting room and within five minutes the nurse pages us.  My heart races as I envision Sydney being the first kid to not be able to be put under anesthesia or something crazy like that.  Luckily we were only paged so we could meet with Dr. Newton before the surgery.  We talk with him for a few minutes and he reassures us that she is already asleep and ready to go.  We leave him at about 7:30.  We wait.  Brian paces.  I can't even focus on a magazine so I sit and vacillate between hope and fear.  My mom and Bryan arrive and about five minutes later, at 10:50, our pager goes off.  We were prepared for the surgery to last five hours so when we get paged at less than 3 1/2 hours we are caught off guard.  They tell us at the desk that she is out of surgery and lead us to a room where we wait to meet with Dr. Newton. I am relieved it is over but want to see Dr. Newton and hear him say everything went well.  He comes in within five minutes and tells us everything went perfectly.  We go back out to the waiting room and wait until we can go back and see her in recovery.  Nurse Amy comes to see us and brings us the before and after x-rays. 

About 12:30 I get to go to recovery and see her. She looks better than I expect. Her face is not too puffy and I think it is because the surgery is shorter than expected. She has a tube in her nose going to her stomach and an IV in both of her hands. She also has a drainage tube coming from the incision sight. She is very groggy but definitely acknowledges me and we talk a bit. She is "dying of thirst" and wants water.  She's not ready for that yet but they let me soak a little sponge in water and give it to her. I wipe her face with a cool washcloth.  As difficult as it was to see her so sedate and hooked up to all of the machines, I am able to breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the surgery part of the journey is over.

Around 2:15 she gets moved up to her room (3114) and my mom and I ride with her in the elevator.  Our neighbors, Rodene and Jeff, have arrived and are downstairs.  They come up with Brian and Bryan when we get to the room. We meet the nurse and Syd says her pain level isn't too bad - about a 6. The nurse says Syd can have some crushed ice so we feed her some.  Rodene and Jeff leave and shortly after that Kim, Kyle and Maddie arrive.  Then Casey comes with Jack, Kenny and Leah. For a while there are a lot of us in the room. Dr. Fornari, who was in the surgery with Dr. Newton, comes by to check on her. He says everything looks good and to let her rest. He gives her "homework" which is a device she has to breathe in and out of to work her lungs.  While he is there Syd throws up and she jokes that he is "bad luck".  The nurse cleans her up and turns her on to her other side for the first of many times.

Around 4:30 or so everyone is gone except the four of us. Syd is sound asleep. The nurse says that is good because she is comfortable enough to sleep. The pain management team rep comes in and while she is there Syd calls me and says she needs to throw up again. She dry heaves but nothing is there.  She goes right back to sleep. They prescribe her an anti-nausea medicine. She also has a morphine drip with a button to push for more if she is in pain. By 6:00 she has pushed it about five times - not too much.   Brian and Jack get us some dinner from the cafeteria and we eat in the room. Around 8:00 or so they leave to go home and get some sleep. Gracie spends the night with my mom. Sydney has a good night but the nurse is in and out a lot. Every two hours they reposition her by rolling her to either her side or back.

It is a relief to have the actual surgery complete.  To me, the unknown is the most worrisome part.  At least now we know what we are dealing with and can work together day to day to get through it.