An update- finally!

Whew!  We got in late Tuesday night after Drew's operation and the past couple of days have been busy with Dean home.  His last day at his old job was Tuesday, and he starts his new job on Monday.  So we're spending these few days trying to squeeze in dentist appointments, car repairs and house projects that we don't normally do on days that he's working.  Yesterday was spent almost entirely trying to figure out how to refinance our house.  What a mess!  It's crazy trying to make sense of these statements you get from mortgage companies.  You want to make the right decision and get the best deal, but trying to understand those forms is like trying to teach yourself Latin in one afternoon.  And you want to make a decision fast, knowing that rates change from day to day, which puts you under even more pressure.

Anyway, Drew's surgery on Tuesday went just fine.  We got to the hospital at 11am and Drew and I were going back to the holding room by 12:30.  This was the only time I cried, when they took us back and gave me these tiny little hospital pajamas to put on Drew.  We waited there for 45 minutes until we met with anyone.....but they had lots of toys, and Drew insisted on riding one of the cozy coupe cars around the room over and over again.  He stowed Brownie (his blanky) and Kitty in the back and had a blast while I wheeled him around probably a dozen times.

By the time we met with our anesthesiologist (Dr. Power) and surgeon (Dr. Brandt), I felt a lot more reassured.  They gave Drew some versed (sp?) to make him loopy, so he wouldn't care so much when they took him out of my arms.  And it worked within just a couple of minutes.  He was so funny, just staring into space and nodding his little head no matter what question someone asked him.  When they took him from me and went back into surgery (at 1:45), he had no clue what was going on!

At around 3pm, Dr. Brandt came out and told us that everything went well...it was a very standard hernia repair.  I went back and saw him right away, just as he was waking up (siblings weren't allowed in the holding room or the recovery room, so Dean and Grant stayed in the waiting area both of these times).  He wasn't in the best mood at first, and tried relentlessly to tear his IV out of his hand.  But I got him to go back to sleep in my arms, and he woke up in a much better mood.  He ate a popsicle with gusto (even though he was still half asleep!), and immediately asked for more afterward.  We were about to leave for the car at 5pm when Drew started coughing (he had a really croupy cough from the breathing tube), then threw up his entire popsicle.  Poor little guy....

We went to Star Pizza up in town for dinner (we didn't want to fight rush hour traffic heading home), and Drew was groggy/sleepy through most of it.  But he did eat some goldfish towards the end.  He slept in bed with me that night, and by Wednesday was almost back to normal.  He was maybe a little more fussy/whiny than usual, but for the most part he was playing as if his surgery had never happened.

And Grant did very well at the hospital too....he ate an entire 8-pack of chicken nuggets in the food court with Dean, and he had fun running around in the hallways.  While Drew was in surgery, the three of us went to see the amazing miniature train exhibit.....it is definitely worth a visit to Texas Children's even if you don't have a medical reason to be there!

Thanks to all of you who commented or emailed to ask about him.  I'm glad it's over, but it wasn't a bad experience at all (thankfully it was just a simple hernia repair and nothing like what some of those patients are going through).  I think it's hard to leave a place like Texas Children's (or any hospital that's just taken very good care of your child!) without being overwhelmed by the skill of the doctors and staff there.  I hope we never have to go again, but I'm very thankful that we have access to such excellent care basically in our backyard!