Thursday, June 27, 2013

Hernia Be Gone

We awoke a little early today so that we could get the surgicenter on time for Sully's surgery to have his two epi-gastric hernias repaired.  I was happy that we had the first appointment of the day because he wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything this morning.  Sully is used to having a big mug of milk every morning so I knew there would only be a small window of time before he really started missing it and began screaming and crying.  Things actually went really smoothly.  We took him straight from the crib to the car.  Monkey came along too.


Within just a few minutes we were in the exam room, had a meeting with the nurse, the surgeon, and the anesthesiologist.  We changed him into special surgery pj's and then the nurse gave him a little something to help relax him.  For the most part, he remained in good spirits and when the nurse came to take him to the operating room he cried but only a little bit.  I was happy that I didn't have to see them put the IV in.

They had told us that the surgery, including all the prep time in the OR, would take about an hour.  We were only in the waiting room maybe a half an hour when the surgeon came out to say everything had gone well.  He made one, small incision right in between his two hernias and felt that both were repaired well.  They required a few stitches, which will scar over and stop the hernias from reappearing, so we will be able to feel those little bumps under his skin still but it will be from scar tissue and not his organs bulging through the fascia.  The surgeon did say though that there was some weakness around where he made the incision and so we might see more hernias develop as he grows up.

We couldn't go back and see him until he woke up on his own but once he had we went back and snuggled with him.  He was upset over the pulse monitor on his big toe and the IV in his foot but with a little help from Super Why, he was distracted enough to stop noticing them.  He drank a little water and then the nurse came and took out his IV and we were ready to go home.  He looked a little drugged, but overall, was acting pretty  normal.


On the way home we were all starving so we stopped to have a late breakfast.  Sully gulped down a cup of milk and devoured a pancake.  Once home he took a nap and woke up normal as ever.  He can't take a bath for a few days but other than that, he's allowed to play as much as he's comfortable with.  The surgeon said that little kids have an amazing ability to self-limit, unlike many adults who don't feel well but push on with things.  The only thing I'm a little concerned about is that he seems very aware of the bandage on his chest and keeps trying to touch it.  Hopefully after today he will barely even notice it so that five days from now when I can take it off it's no big deal at all.

I'm relieved that it's over and happy everything went so well. 

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