What a Night - actually several of them!

Hello all.
We made it through the holidays and now we've made it over another big hurdle. Scott had his surgery to repair the hernia last Thursday. Poor baby - it's been tough on all of us. He's starting to go down for a nap right now, so I'm going to do a quick post to update you and then I'll have to run. I had thought about writing this as a retrospective - as if I were years in the future and looking back on a difficult time in Scott's childhood, but I'm too tired to be that creative. Sigh.

We did the pre-op meetings on Wednesday afternoon. It's strange because I was always concerned that I wasn't asking the right questions or I might be missing something. It's hard to concentrate when you've got a wiggling, giggling, whining toddler to hang on to. Thankfully we were both there and between the two of us, we got all of the necessary information. We were told to come back at 9 the next morning for the surgery.

When we got home, there was a phone message saying that another surgery had been postponed and that we were to be there at 7AM. I was actually relieved because I didn't want to have to explain to the baby why he couldn't have breakfast when he wanted it. We were up and moving by 5AM on Thursday and all 3 of us arrived on time. Scott was a little confused by it all, but did okay until they started trying to take blood pressure readings, etc. He's a smart kid and figured out that something was going on. They let us stay with him and entertain him until it was time to take him back to the operating room. I was working hard to stay calm and relaxed because he feeds off of our emotions. I had a rather surreal moment when a guy I knew from community theatre years ago walked in and said hi. He had retired from teaching and is now a medical technician. He was going to be working in Scott's operating room and was surprised to see me. I haven't seen him since I got married (11 years ago), but it was nice to see a friendly face at that time. He gave me a hug and was there when they took Scott away. I saw Scott going in to the operating room and a little bare foot had escaped the peach-colored hospital gown. I had a lump in my throat when I saw that tiny little foot. He looked so vulnerable!

We spent the next hour in the waiting room drinking coffee and eating a muffin. I was trying to focus on the Parenting magazine I'd brought but I kept staring at the clock on the wall. I called a few folks on my cell phone and did some praying too. It was a huge relief when the assistant came and told us that the doctor would be out shortly. We met with the doctor and he assured us that everything went very well. He said we'd be brought back when Scott was coming out of the anesthesia.

Seeing him lying on that gurney all groggy and confused is a sight I'll never forget. They got him up and in my lap under a warm blanket and he cried a bit out of confusion and hunger. He downed 8 ounces of pedialite very quickly and another 6 ounces of formula. They were amazed at what a good eater he is! We got the IV out and were soon told he could come home. He slept alot on Thursday.

Friday started out fine - he played and ate well throughout the day. Friday night - not so good. He cried and ran a fever and we did everything we could to try to make him comfortable and get the fever down. We called the urologist on call for the weekend and he made some suggestions. Scott just got worse about taking the liquid medication (lots of spitting it back out) and any kind of fluids (ditto). We were up regularly throughout the night.

Saturday morning, he didn't want to eat and the fever kept spiking. We tried everything we could think of - especially in light of the ice storm coming down all weekend. The last thing we wanted to do was go out in it with a sick baby. By 3PM on Saturday, the fever was nearly 103 and when we called the hospital, they wanted to see him. We got everything ready that we could think of - got ourselves ready and drove very carefully. By 4PM, we were at the ER and checking in.

He was so lethargic and fevered - I can't even describe the fear I felt. They said he wasn't dehydrated and his wounds looked good. They wanted to check for a bladder infection, so they needed a urine sample. They have an interesting little back to tape to that particular area of an infant. The nurse helped us force some motrin into him, and showed us another technique to help get the medicine in. She said she has a 15 month old baby and that's what she has to do as well. The doctor made some suggestions about how to alternate the motrin and tylenol to keep the fever down and that was good too. Then we settled in to wait for the urine sample. You can't tell a baby to pee. He just has to do it.

We also managed to get about 3 ounces of formula into him and did our best to entertain him. It was amazing to feel the fever start to come down and to see him perk up. He was limp in my arms when we brought him in and sitting up looking around when we carried him out 4 hours later. There was no sign of infection and the incisions were fine. What a relief.

We were starving and decided to get a different flavor of motrin in case that was part of the problem (it's not - we're still having trouble getting him to take medication). We went home past a Steak and Shake, so we went through the drive thru and got some burgers and fries. Scotty seemed interested in food, so I sat in the back seat with him and gave him a few bites of fries. He really liked them! I read somewhere to hang on to good moments and memories when things aren't going well. I'm never going to forget watching him in his snowsuit in the carseat as we travelled the ice covered roads and listening to the sleet hitting the windshield. Dave got us home safely and we bundled him in the house. He still seemed hungry, so I warmed up some mac and cheese and he ate about half of what was left - a good portion. He didn't like cold fries, so we skipped those. He then took about 4 ounces of formula and went to sleep. He woke up at 2:30AM and drank nearly a full bottle of formula. He settled back to sleep. There was no temperature at all then - thank God.

He awoke again at 6:30 to a pretty wet diaper and discomfort. I changed him and he didn't really want any juice or breakfast. Hi temp was up a little and we "convinced" him to take some motrin. He just seemed to want to sleep, so we all went back to bed and slept until 8:30AM. The exhausted parents were particularly grateful. He woke up happier than I'd seen him in days. He had a good breakfast and is trying to take a morning nap now. He keeps doing what we call the "black and decker" chorus - a drilling noise combined with singing and fussing. He's tired and wants to sleep, but doesn't want to sleep if you know what I mean. I'm going to take a few moments and catch a shower now that Dad is finished with his.

Thanks for all of the nice e-mails and support. Scott is going to be fine - I can see that now. It's just something that you have to get through and pray for the best. We'll keep doing that!

Much love and good wishes to all!
Anna