Surgery Day 1

Zachary had his eye muscle surgery today. The doctor said he did really well. She went in and moved and/or tightened the muscles behind both of his eyes.

We had to be at the hospital at 9am to check in. Zach did really well. He usually freaks out at the sign of doctors, hospitals, or anything that remotely resembles a hospital. But he was wonderful.

We checked in and then headed over to the prep area for day stay. He got a little restless for a minute but we took out our portable DVD player and popped in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and he was great from that point on. After the nurse talked to us and checked his vitals and all that fun stuff, the anesthesiologist and surgery nurse came and talked to us and everything was good to go. We had been a little nervous that they were going to cancel the surgery again because he had a green snotty nose for the past 2 days, but they listened to his chest and it was clear so they moved forward. About 10am they took him back and started the procedure. Chris and I went to grab a bite to eat and a much needed drink of water and cup of coffee. Since Zach couldn't eat or drink, we didn't eat or drink anything all morning either. We didn't want him to see us and want some too.

About 11:30am they called down to the Surgical Waiting Room for me to go back and be with him. He was very uncomfortable and in a lot of pain. They had given him some fentanyl to help with the pain but he was still very irritable. 42 lbs of dead weight is not easy to manage when he is that uncomfortable and throwing himself around. I held him and rocked him and he moaned and cried between little cat naps. He asked for Daddy a lot, but only one parent was allowed back there.

The doctor had told us that he would have blood in his tears, but actually seeing blood come out of my baby's eyes was not easy to see.

About 2 hours passed and the nurse in recovery thought he was ready to go back to the day stay area. He was still in a lot of pain, but once the fentanyl wore off and they gave him some plain old Tylenol, he slept much better and seemed to be handling it a little better. They had me hold him in the wheelchair and we went by and got Chris and went back to day stay. He tried to open his eyes on the ride back but the pain must have bothered him too much because he closed them tight very quickly.

Once we got back to day stay he must have liked that bed better because he crashed out there and hardly moved. At about 2:15pm the nurse said she thought he was good to go home and she did his discharge paperwork and removed his IV and sent us on our way. When we got outside he tried to open his eyes again, and he just cried and closed them. He slept all the way home.

When we got home there was a great Get Well card from his teachers and classmates. He has yet to open his eyes yet, or be up to seeing it, but I am sure he will love it when he does. I will post a picture of it soon.

Since we got home he has been pretty miserable. We were able to get another dose of Tylenol down and 2 sips of juice, but that is it. It is so heartbreaking. When he is awake he repeats "Mama Mama" and "Hurt Me". It breaks my heart to see him in so much pain. I wish I could take it all away.

At the moment he is sleeping despite his sisters girlish squeals. We are hoping he has an uneventful evening and that tomorrow he will be feeling a little bit better.

Thanks for reading. I will keep you all posted as he progresses.