Surgery Follow-up

First, I would like to tell all of you Mommys out there who have had to endure open heart surgeries and other major medical issues that have involved countless minutes waiting for your child to come out of the OR that I commend you for your strength. I know that most of us do what we need to do when put in difficult situations, but it was hard to hand my baby off to the hands of anesthesiologists and doctors and then watch him get wheeled into recovery in his little gown with wires in the little crib hospital bed. I think I handled things much better than I expected since I tend to be on the emotional side.

We got to the hospital at 7:30 am and after doing the paperwork at check-in, we were taken back into the little area where he was "admitted" and where everyone spoke with us about what was going to go on. I immediately felt a load lifted after talking to the anesthesiologis because he addressed Colin having Down Syndrome and the neck laxity issue before I even had a chance to ask any questions involving this. He told me that although we don't know if Colin has neck laxity, he would be handled extra carefully when under anesthesia because of the potential for it. Since Colin has not had any other more serious health conditions, he would be like any other little boy under anesthesia.

While we waited, Colin was able to watch his favorite show Mickey Mouse which kept him calm and relaxed for at least an hour. We played ball, blew bubbles (how cool is that they we were allowed to blow bubbles in there?!), attempted coloring and sang songs. In all actuality, we waited more before the procedure than the procedure and recovery combined! Although Colin was a bit hesitant to be handed off to a stranger, he did really well as we watched him being walked away into the ER {sniff.}. I had to laugh to myself though because the nurse and anesthetist debated whether or not Colin should walk or be carried back there! Ummm, yeah, he's not quite walking yet...

You'll have to excuse the quality of these pictures as they were taken with Chris' phone since I forgot the camera...

Here we are singing Colin's new favorite song these days "Monkeys jumping on the bed". It's a great time-killer...

Hanging out looking so cute in his hospital gown...

Getting LOTS of love and attention before leaving Mommy and Daddy...

Trying to take off his hospital bracelet...

Watching Mickey on his very own TV...

He was such a good little boy for the long period of time we had to wait before he went back...

Snuggling with Daddy...

Once Colin was wheeled into the recovery area he immediately started to wake up (which they were hoping he would have slept longer to let the effects wear off a bit). They thought that if they could get him into my arms quick enough, he might fall asleep, however he was just crying and crying in this hoarse sad cry. He needed to drink a few sips of a clear fluid in order to leave and amazingly, despite our best attempts previously, he drank the whole cup of apple juice through a much wider straw than he was used to. I guess he was thirsty! He cried and thrashed a bit until we were given the OK to leave (not very long after he got in there since he was able to drink) and then promptly fell asleep in the car.

We were expecting him to be uncomfortable and mopey when we got home, however, he was up to his usual antics crawling all over the place and playing with his toys. He ate a small lunch and we attempted a nap but it just wasn't happening. About an hour ago he just started crying again and we figured his pain medication was wearing off. I took him with me to the pharmacy to pick up his prescription (thank you drive thru!) and he immediately fell asleep in the car. I transferred him to his crib when we got home and he has been sleeping since.

He's such a trooper!! Thank you so much for all of your support and prayers!