Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Pre-op Day

Our long pre-op day is over and we are having fun in the hotel after a great dinner. I'm trying not to think about tomorrow, though if it is anything like today, we will breeze right through.

We started out the morning just trying to find the right building, though it ended up being pretty easy. I checked us in while Mason and Papa played with lots of fun toys. Then it was off for pre-up testing. It went so well! They did all the usual stuff, weight, height, blood pressure, etc. The nurse did something I did not expect, which was to put some numbing cream on Mason's arms before the blood draw. We left it in place covered with a bandage while we did a few other things. Next it was to the anthropologist for measurements. (Anthropology was one of my majors in college, and I never heard of such a job as an anthropologist before!) Apparently, this is the part where many babies often scream and fuss, but Mason just sat there very calmly on his papa's lap. He was certainly interested in what was happening, but not scared.

Then came Max. Max is the photographer for the media department. They get lots of pre and post-op photos of all the kiddos. All I can say about the "photo shoot" is that it was hilarious, and quite possibly the closest thing to a David Bowie music video shoot I will ever experience. Ask Aaron to describe it sometime plus see photo below...

After the photos it was question and answer time about the surgery with a nurse, and then time for the dreaded blood draw. I could not believe it, but Mason did not even cry! That numbing stuff really works! Why doesn't our hospital in Alamosa use it? It was over in no time.

Then we had some lunch before our appointment with Dr. Sacco, the pediatric neurosurgeon. He was very nice, and Mason loved playing with some big trucks in his office. He drew some pictures of the surgical procedure for us, and explained what would happen tomorrow. He also said that there is even more evidence emerging that when treated and untreated cases of sagittal cranio are compared, the kids who have had surgery tend to do better cognitively.

The we had a break to come back to the hotel before our last appointment with Dr. Fearon. He called us back to his office himself, and we really like him. He's such a genuinely kind man....I definitely feel like I can trust him. We talked to him for a while about Mason and the surgery. The last thing he said to us as we left his office was "I guess the only guarantee I can make is that I will treat Mason as if he were my own son", and his eyes told me that he meant it.

The anesthesiologist called us tonight as well, to tell us when to stop feeding solids, breastmilk and clear liquids. The surgery scheduled for tomorrow morning before us might be canceled, and if that happens we will be called in for an earlier time. This means that I have to stop nursing Mason at 5:30, and we will get a call at 7:30 either telling us to come in for surgery, or to go ahead and nurse Mason again. If he ends up going in earlier we will definitely post an update so everyone knows.

So here we are. I'm a wreck thinking that this is happening tomorrow. I'm nervous about him asking for milk and not being able to give it to him, of the moment when he his taken from the holding room to the surgery, and of the moment that we will see him, swollen with a different head shape. Part of me so wants to just take him and go home, but I know that tomorrow morning we will go and he will have the surgery. Please keep sending us lots of love...we need it right now!


Playing on a fun snake at the hospital.



Sleeping on mama....so nice.



Helping unpack at the hotel.




The unique photo shoot...



Head measurements.






Checking out the blood pressure cuff.



Playing with some cool toys in the waiting room.

3 comments:

  1. I love the hotel pic. He totally has your rosy cheeks, Allison! Best wishes for tomorrow =)

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  2. I'll be thinking of you guys and your wonderful son! Best wishes from me, too!

    Love, Angelina

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  3. GAB sends out love and smiles for you all! We miss you and will see you soon!

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