I wake up to hear Dr Goumnerova going over the surgery once again with Scott. She was still quite impressed with what a great job she did & she had every right to be. She is my hero and as far as I knew, she has earned her wings!!! So we have started Day 2 off better. Rhett was asleep, I had gotten a few hours of sleep and Dr. Goumnerova was giving us good news. This was going to be a great day!
Rhett seemed to be finally getting the pain under control. It only took Tylenol, Morphine, Codeine & Valium to do the trick and in a constant flow! The Nero team did their rounds and said Rhett should be ready to start eating and could make the transition from his stomach to his side and his catheter was safe to come out. As Jess (Rhett’s favorite nurse) began to pull the tightly wrapped blanket off Rhett and roll him to his side, there was an instant sense of relief. He seemed so much more comfortable. We still had a fever, that was continuing to rise, but this seemed to be normal after surgery. Jess kept a close watch on how high it continued to get, because we were getting close to the “high” end of what they considered to be normal. Pain meds were continuously pumped into his IV as the anesthetic was obviously wearing off. Rhett would open his eyes and there was no life there. He just had a blank stare. He didn’t look around, he would barely even blink, it was just an empty stare. You could tell he had no idea where he was or what was going on & by the blank look in his eyes, he didn’t care.
Rhett had many visitors that day. The Urologist & Neurologist who performed the Urodynamics test came by to check on him and see how surgery went. As well as, Sarah his anesthesologist who pried him from my arms to take him back for surgery.
Sarah…poor Sarah! She probably thinks I am some hysterical crazy lady who needs meds, which sadly isn’t too far from the truth. She slowly stuck her head through the door as she quietly says, “Hi! Do you remember me?” I started to smile and say “Of course, I do, come on in!” She wanted to check on how I was doing after surgery. She said she knew I was pretty upset when she took Rhett back and wanted to make sure I was ok and if I was more comfortable with the whole process now that it was over. She was checking on me? These people really are amazing! Where else would an anesthesiologist make a special trip to go check on how a mother was handling her child’s surgery the next day??? I can tell you right now, she needs to give “Sundance Anestheology” located in Ft Worth, Texas a few pointers. (Side note- if ever delivering a baby at Harris SW…avoid Ms Sundance Anesthesiologist Extraordinaire, she is stingy with drugs and refuses to give them out…even if you beg.)
As the day went on, Jess would rotate him from side to side, each time he would roll, he would just scream out in agony. He was in so much pain, and all I wanted to do was just scoop him up and hold him. Apparently, Jess is not only a great nurse, but she evidently a mind reader because next thing I know, as we were chatting about Rhett and his whole life story, she is picking him up and asking if I want to hold him. “What?!?” Scared wasn’t even the word…maybe terrified is better. What if I hurt him, what if something started leaking, what if….
“Just sit in the chair, I will bring him to you and we will lay him on a pillow…it will be fine!” Jess kept reassuring me. She knew neither Rhett nor I would calm down until this happened.
So I did what she said, we get Rhett situated in my arms & on his pillow. I was a nervous wreck. I think I sat there holding him perfectly still for over 4 hours. Both of my legs and arms were numb, but I didn’t care. I was so happy to finally get my arms around him; I would have sat in that chair forever. I would like to say we were both so peaceful and happy, but that wasn’t the case. Rhett was finally at peace and slept better than he had since being put under; I on the other hand am surprised he didn’t wake-up from me nervously shaking.
When Scott finally got back to the hospital that night I was giving him a recap of the day and going over all of his visitors. We both could not get over all of the doctors that had gone out of their way to check on Rhett, when they didn’t have to. The nurse’s even commented on his visitors and said Baby Rhett clearly charmed everyone he has come in contact with while in the hospital…I agree, he is a charmer! I think it is the cheeks…how could you not love the cheeks!!!
That night, Scott decided to stay at the hospital with Rhett, so I could get some sleep and that is exactly what I did. I slept for 8 hours that night and I couldn’t tell you the last time I had slept so well. FINALLY, I had some peace! Rhett seemed to be doing better, the surgery was behind us & everything seemed to be falling into place.
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