Today we woke up dark and early and took our second born baby boy to the
MCG Children's Medical Center. Its located at the heart of Augusta, Georgia and its the only place around here that has a pediatric surgeon.
Peanut had surgery today. Most of our family and close friends know the reason. I am not trying to be evasive, but once its posted online, its out there.... forever! I have also requested friends and family that we have told, to not tell everyone. It
is private. Not super serious, but something on my son's body that he may not wish to chat about years from now! ;o) And for that reason, I am making a decision to not discuss it on the blog!
But I did want to document our experience at the hospital today.
We were very blessed by our experience today at MCG. Everyone that came near our child was kind, loving and talked directly to Peanut. They interacted with him, asked him questions and just loved on him. I don't think my child could have been in better hands. We met every SINGLE person who was going to be TOUCHING or AROUND our son before and during the operation. After the surgery, the recovery area nurses were loving and very attentive. They made sure everything was comfortable for Peanut and that he was happy.
When we arrived this morning for the surgery, our son was allowed to pick a toy from a "wall" of toys and he picked a duck. That duck was able to stay with him through surgery. Peanut was then told to change into a hospital gown and we were able to sit and wait on the doctor to arrive. Once the doc arrived, he told us again how he would perform the surgery and how long it would last. While we waited Peanut was very happy and pleasant. He read his book and played with his puzzle. After Peanut was given some Tylenol and some relaxing narcotics, he was whisked away and we were told to wait and get a pager. The children's center has pagers so that the parents can get up and move around the hospital and receive informative text messages. The nurse sent us a text message once the surgery had begun while Hubbie was getting some coffee. After about 30 mins, we went back to the waiting room to wait on word and were told that Peanut was finished being operated on.
From this time and then speaking with the doctor, it was still another 20 to 30 mins waiting to be taken back to see Peanut. This time was AGONIZING for this Mama. I couldn't read a book. I couldn't do anything, but look at every person coming in and out of the waiting room.... waiting for someone to call me back! Finally, a nurse called us and lead us back to our drugged baby boy. He was such a sight to see. So handsome and smacking his gums like he was trying to get a nasty taste out of his mouth. The nurse allowed us to hold him. We wrapped a blanket around him and he asked for us to read his book to him. We read and he was given some watered down apple juice. Unfortunately the juice didn't sit well and he puked. After that, we gave him a tiny sip every 10-20 mins. and he began asking for all the monitors and IVs off of him. To distract him, we began to ask him if he wanted something else out of his bag. He asked for the "coloring board" and instructed that Hubbie draw a monkey and a fish. Hubbie did as he was told...... about 20 x. As soon as Hubbie was finished, Peanut would take the board away from his Daddy, he would say "thank you" and then erase the monkey drawing. He would then hand it back to his Daddy and ask for him to draw "monkey" and "fish". It was TOO cute!
The nurses took his blood pressure one last time and then we were able to start the process to leave. We signed some papers, got all the "stuff" off of Peanut, put some clothes on him and we were able to leave.
I was very impressed with the medical center and all the staff. The people were so kind and loving. They did a wonderful time getting families in and out and catering to their patients. I also got a very small glimpse of how some families spend their lives. Constantly worrying and waiting.... their children being wheeled into surgery over and over again. We saw several families that waited just as long as we did, if not longer and still hadn't left when we did. I overheard talk of chemo and radiation.... and I thanked God over and over again for our precious and healthy baby boy.
I tried not to over dramatize Peanut's surgery, because this kind of surgery gets performed every single day.... its very common, but it was also my baby being put to sleep with "acid" and you just never know. Before they took Peanut away, I realized that I was starring at him and memorizing his features. No, I didn't want to be morbid, but really..... God doesn't promise you anything in this life. He doesn't promise happiness or health or riches. He promises you peace IN Him and rest IN HIM, but not the next second or minute or even that Peanut would wake up. I believed that he would, but I didn't know for sure. As I starred at my beautiful middle son and tears started to well up, I knew that I had to push those thoughts far, far away.... that God allowed us to "discover" the issue at the right time in his(Peanut) life and would grant us the financial resources to pay for this and wisdom on how to care for him after the procedure. I had to believe that the outcome would be God's will.
Thankfully, God showed His blessings on us and granted our son to wake up and heal just beautifully. He is already being his normal, two year old self. Screaming at his baby brother for taking his puzzle pieces and asking for food every few minutes. He is trying to take a nap with Daddy now and typical Peanut fashion, he is having trouble settling down.
Recovery is going to take about 4 weeks and it involves some "pain" a few times a day to care for the wound. This worries me, but I know God will grant me a strong stomach and nerves of steel to be able to perform what is necessary to help Peanut heal. Thank goodness, Hubbie is home to help!
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