A few hours post op...
The first thing I have to say is THANK YOU so much to everyone for all of the incredible support we received throughout the day. We are overwhelmed with the messages on Facebook, the blog and carepage. Thank you to my many friends who posted our blog link on their facebook pages and blogs. It means the world to me. It is truly amazing, and very obvious how much our boy is loved, and we are so proud of him!
Recovery has been up and down a little bit this evening, which is always to be expected. Andrew is mostly sleeping, which is the best thing for him. First thing when they wheeled him up from the OR, Craig and I followed and stood outside his room in the pediatric ICU while we watched his room fill up with doctors and nurses, all there to get him settled. Pretty much immediately after arriving in the room, he got fiesty and yanked at his breathing tube, which I could have predicted. They rescued it, but he was not happy with it. They had to give him more sedation and put him in restraints. They soon learned this is not a quiet and obedient child! Ha! He is a fighter, and that is just the way we want him.
He looks like such a big boy to us here. Hard to believe he was once the size of that puppy he's holding! (That was the puppy he got at his very first surgery when he weighed only 4lbs!)
They pulled the breathing tube a couple hours later and the first thing Andrew said in a raspy voice was "w..a..t..e..r, pleeeeease!" It was so pathetic and sweet at the same time. It just broke my heart. It was the first thing he asked for before he was sedated too. We've been able to swab his mouth with a wet sponge and he just sucks it dry in 2 seconds and says "More, please." Poor baby. He is so thirsty.
The main issue he's been having is vomiting. He's been coughing and starts to gag and then vomits. This is very painful for him with his chest incision and he usually cries afterwards. It is hard to watch. They also noticed his tummy was a little harder than when he first came in. After a third bed change, they decided to put in an NG tube, which goes in through his nose and into his stomach. They can then suction out the junk that is in there, as well as extra air. Our nurse got about 80 mL of air out of his belly, as well as lots of other yuckies! He felt much better after that and so far so good...no more vomiting.
He's been talking to us some- he's very hoarse and it is hard for him to talk, but he will once in a while open his sweet eyes and ask us for water. He is trying so hard to watch Nemo on the Disney channel but he just can't keep his eyes open. He wants us all to be in the room and has already requested that Ga Ga not leave him! Ha!
He has several iv's and tubes, one in his neck that is particularly bothersome. It has also been bleeding quite a bit and they've had to change the dressing several times. We are hoping it is just because of his previous vomiting and now that the NG tube is in, the bleeding should subside. We absolutely love his nurse, Nate. He is such a neat guy and is taking great care of him. We have his hearing aids in so he can hear when people talk to him, and Nate is great about explaining everything he's been doing. He's been messed with quite a bit but Nate tells him what they are going to do every time and Andrew just nods. He's got them all fooled! Ha! Nate even wanted to take the restraints off and we all gasped! Ha! None of us who know him well thought that was a good idea! Not just yet anyway. I'm afraid once he's more awake and fiesty, he's going to be yanking everything out, one by one!
Everyone can't get over his long eyelashes. All the docs and nurses keep coming in and when they see him for the first time they all say how cute he is! I have to say I can't disagree with them. He's been a trooper so far and he's doing great, despite the minor setbacks. His O2 sats are perfect and his labs are coming back awesome. They've turned down the oxygen and morphine and things are looking good. We're praying for a restful night for everyone. Please join us! Thank you again for everything today!
