More updates from the hospital

So, 2 things I forgot to mention last night:

1) Surgery was further delayed (from 1 until 2) because he had a pimple. They were afraid it was chicken pox and so had to have the Infectious Disease guy come and clear Little Monkey for surgery. I was glad to know they were being so careful, but I was so worried.

2) The staff here at Children’s are unbelievable. Competent is a given, but they’ve been so compassionate and loving toward my son and other patients. I was especially struck by one nurse who would pet and quiet and murmur quietly to a severely mentally retarded girl in the post-op area, to soothe her. This girl couldn’t speak, and had been very loud in her vocalizations before surgery, but this nurse was so loving and attentive to her that she quieted down to a soft hum, and seemed calm. I would give anything for my brother to receive care like that.

Anyway, Little Monkey is much, much more active than he was last time, awake more often too (though not in pain…they are wonderful about that here, too). He opens his eyes (not swollen closed yet) and looks around, and can even focus on me.





His arterial line hates him, but that happened last time as well. He ate at 3:30 am, and greedily sucked down 8 fl oz, and then puked up about 3 of them for eating too fast. He didn’t eat for nearly 2 DAYS last time, so this is a real improvement. He’s peeing well and resting comfortably, and his sucker makes him a happy little boy.

He at 4oz at 6:30 and again at 9 am, and between 9 and 3 took in 13oz. Now he doesn’t want the bottle (or his sippy cup) anymore, because he’s a big, gassy mess. He will, however, tear at my shirt, trying to get his preferred food source. Oh, and being the boy he is, after his first big post-operative fart, we got this face:



I know him well enough that I dove for the camera once he started tooting. This kid LOVES to grab his toes and fart, more than almost anything else, so there’s a smile only a little over a day out of surgery.

He’s much less swollen than he was at this point last time, which is great, and he’s active…playing with his bears (the surgical one and the blue one from the Oakland Firefighters) and trying to rip of his little “hat”. He’s also babbling a little too, which is nice.

We met another family, whose daughter is here for a bunch of very serious other issues, who just found out she’s got sagittal cranio as well. I was able to let them know that the cranio is a totally fixable, almost easy (in comparison) issue, and not to worry about it. Poor little thing is 7 months old, half of Little Monkey's weight, and has a tracheotomy and a g-tube, so she’s got a rough time. We brought them a stuffed animal. :) Tomorrow I meet yet another cranio family (this one a planned meeting) before their 2 year old goes in for surgery on Friday. I feel that I need to give back as well as I can after all the kindness, especially from my “internet friends”, that I have been shown.

By the way, one of my Mothertalkers (a liberal mom’s blog loosely associated with Daily Kos) came by with her daughter, brought Rorysaurus a stuffed bear, and snuggled Little Monkey. They were very sweet to drive all the way over here, and it was great to finally meet them in person. I love my internet community!