Tyler's Surgery

Tuesday, July 10, Tyler had to go in for surgery to repair a lingual hydrocele. We just had to go to his Dr.'s office in Meridian, they have a same day surgery set up there as well. Even though our appointment was at 8:00 am, they were still running late from the first surgery so we had to sit and wait for awhile. Once we got called back, things went quickly.  I got out my camera to get a few pics of him in his surgery gown and to my disappointment, the SD card was still on my desk at home!Agh! Marc pulled out his laptop and we grabbed a few pictures using the iphoto booth. The pictures aren't the best quality, but at least I have something to document this experience! He had just been given some "happy juice" so he was in pretty good spirits!

We had done our best to prepare him for the experience. Tyler was extremely well-behaved and cooperative. He knew he couldn't eat or drink in the morning and he never complained, even when he watched his brother and sister eat breakfast. He smiled at the nurses and answered all their questions. He was excited because we let him bring his white blankey and special dog Obie with him. He was nervous, but extremely brave!


The nurses were helpful and very friendly, the anesthesiologist was great! Very kid-friendly and spoke to him as a kid, not down to him which was appreciated. Dr. Miller was friendly, and very smart, but definitely not a doctor who specializes in kids. He had a hard time speaking in "Laman's terms" and we had a difficult time understanding him when he was telling us about the procedure, and then the recovery.


Once the "happy juice" had kicked in (I think it was something to help with anxiety and calm him) he was slurring his words, couldn't give Marc a high 5, and was content to just lie down and snuggle with his blanket and dog. He was told to give us hugs and was wheeled off,  I was surprised that we couldn't stay with him until he was asleep. When he was a baby and had his ear tubes put in, we were able to stay with him until he was out. I definitely held up a lot better than I did the first time he had surgery.  It's hard to send your kid off to be operated on and place complete trust in someone you've barely met! We were anxious, but felt at peace. Marc and I were escorted back to the lobby to wait out the surgery.


After about and hour and 15 minutes, give or take, the doctor met us to tell us about the surgery. Things had gone well, but they had to do a second incision point in his scrotum. This is where we completely felt like he was talking over our heads. I could understand a little bit because of the research I've done on-line, but we both stared at each other afterwards and went, HUH? Even when it came down to the medication and dosage to control pain, he kept using scientific terms and abbreviated words (for example he would say "1500 q4 or q6"). I even had him write it down and that's how he wrote it. Marc had to point out it meant give him 1500 ML of the pain medicine every 4 to 6 hours (am I the only one who had a hard time interpreting this?)


A nurse came back a few minutes later to tell us Tyler was awake, and screaming....great. I was thinking to myself, why didn't you come get us faster so he's not waking up, confused, scared and feeling like we abandoned him in this place?!? He was crying out in pain, they had just given him morphine and a dose of Tylenol with Codeine (in addition to the local anesthetic around the incision points) As soon as we came in and started talking to him he started to calm down. I was able to pick him up and rock him and we just soothed him until the medicine kicked in and the nurse grabbed an ice pack for him. It was in this moment that I questioned why we did the whole thing. Why did we put him through all this? I know it's for his best interest in the future (it could cause hernias, painful swelling, possible fertility complications, etc) but in that moment I just felt awful because of the pain we were causing our child to experience. The ice pack helped the most. When he had settled down, we helped him get dressed and then were sent on our way.


The day of surgery was the worst for recovery. The anesthesia takes a long time to wear off and made his stomach upset, loss of balance, and very groggy. He was so pale and had these dark bags around his eyes, poor kid! I was worried about him waking up during the night in pain, but he slept really well. He politely asked Marc for some more medicine about 6:30 in the morning. His appetite started to return, his coloring looked so much better, and you could tell he felt a lot better. Still sore, but better! The toughest part about recovery has been getting him to take it easy. He's not allowed to jump, ride a bike, swim, or do anything with a lot of jostling movement for 7-10 days. I'm constantly reminding him he needs to rest and that he can't do something, which frustrates him, but he's trying to comply. We're battling stir-craziness now, eager to get out and do something, but don't know what to do, especially since its so hot outside (100+ degree temperatures) In the meantime, we're watching lots of shows, coloring, playing games, doing puzzles, and reading. Any other suggestions would be more than welcomed!!