David had surgery - Part 2

Finally the big day arrived! We waited 5 1/2 years for this day, and all of a sudden it was here.

It took me 3 weeks to get ready for this day.
I had Hannah sleeping over at my Mom's (Nana), with Auntie Kim and Grandma as my backups. 
I packed three bags to take with us to the hospital. 1 for Gaby, diapers, toys, 6 changes of clothes (just in case) and we used three of those. 2 for David. Change of clothes, a pair of jammies, books, stickers, games. And 3 food. We would be waiting a long time.

We woke up very early on Thursday morning, and traveled to the Victoria General Hospital for check in at 8 30. His surgery was scheduled for 10. He was given a white wrist band with all his info on it, and a Sponge Bob sticker. He thought that was pretty cool.

We took the elevator up to level 3 and walked over to the pediatric "day care" they called it. The nurse, Andrea, did a quick once over on David. Temperature, blood pressure and she weighed him. They also put numbing goop on his left hand for if they needed to use an IV (which they did).

We were then seated in front of an educational video on the process of surgery, getting ready etc. It was made for kids and very good - even though David didn't watch it. He coloured instead.

Then, all of a sudden one of the nurses ran in telling us to quickly get ready as the people before us didn't show up, so we were bumped up a spot! How great :) We put David into his hospital gown, and James got to sport a pair of surgical scrubs.

Dave in his hospital gown. Look how cute he is!

We were then given a room and a bed to wait in. There were games and some toys and a TV with lots of movies. David and James played battle ship while we waited. We were then taken down the hall, Dave got to ride on the bed. There was a small little waiting room, just big enough for the hospital bed and a bench outside where he would be taken for his surgery. We were able to wait with him the whole time. The anesthesiologist came to speak with us. He was great. He gave Dave the gas mask he would be using to put him to sleep. We had been telling him all about the space mask, and it worked out great! The anesthesiologist called it the same thing, and Dave got to play with it while he waited for his turn. I remember being a kid and being so afraid of that gas mask. And here he was, playing with his space mask, and then they would take his toy to put him to sleep. So easy. The Dr came in next to talk about the process. And that was just fine.

I have to say that in 20 years, the improvements to the pediatric surgery process have been phenomenal. James and I were both very impressed.

One parent was even able to go in with him. We had decided previously that it would be James. Between James and myself we had discussed that James would be the best to go in. David calms down better for him than for me. We also gave Dave the choice that day (knowing who he'd pick!) and of course, Daddy was it. So James, in his cute scrubs, got to go in and hold our little dude's hand while he was put to sleep. So great.

And then we waited...

This is Gaby while we waited. All the other parents in the waiting room were thrilled to see her sleeping on my back. This is the way to nap for sure! 

David had surgery - Part 1

David had surgery!

Let me start at the begining.

When David was about 3 days old, we noticed that his right eye had a patch of white bleeding into the cornea (the coloured part). To say the least, I was scared. I remember the feeling of panic as it set in deep within my chest.

Here David is about 4 or 5 months old, but you can clearly see the white patch on his eye.

We rushed him to the doctor, who had no answers. We were referred to a Pediatric Ophthalmologist, Dr Pegado. We first met with him when David was 2 weeks old. He took a look and told us not to worry. That it was just skin and nothing more than cosmetic. It did not cover his pupil and there for did not limit his vision. We would have to watch it closely as he grew to make sure it continued to be superficial. We also knew then that at some point in the future he would most likely have a surgery to remove it.

You can see it clearly here. This was taken approx 1 month ago

Well we headed back into the Ophthalmologist in October for our yearly check up. We knew that this time around we would be talking about a potential surgery. David was old enough, and with school right around the corner, it was definatly going to be up for discussion. James and I decided that if the growth had not changed, and was not causing any problem, we would leave it as it was. The risk of possible blindness or weakening of his eye seemed to great for us to make this decision for him. If it was purely for cosmetic reasons we wanted him to have the say as he became of an age where he could choose for himself. However, the growth had changed. It had grown larger, and had sprouted hairs. It was obvious that it was time to do some thing about it....

12 am

12 am and I'm still awake. It's been a crazy week. And tomorrow is Hannah's birthday party.

It's so quiet once everyone is asleep. It makes my thoughts seem a little louder, and right now that's not something I want.

I'm worried. About a lot of things. There's too much floating today. Hannah's party tomorrow, I'm worried it won't go well. I'm worried it will rain. I'm worried the food won't get done. I'm worried the food won't be any good!

David's surgery is on Thursday. Not even a next. This coming Thursday. My stomach twists just trying to think of it.

And that doesn't even touch the frosted tip of this berg.

When it rains it pours.  That makes me think of monsoons. Monsoon by definition is  a "seasonal reversing wind accompanied by changes in precipitation"1. My family has definatly felt the effects of that reversing wind, it howls against us as we struggle on and on. And all through it "the rains keep a tumbling down"2.

1 Wikipedia, the free encylopedia. Monsoon

2 Children’s Songbook of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints "The Wise Man and the Foolish Man"