A Successful Surgery

The title says it all. Thank God, everything went well. The day before surgery, we had to call to get a time: 6:15 a.m. Um, what? But they couldn't switch it, so down we went. Everything went very smoothly.

Hanging out in the waiting room.

6:15 -- we were actually on time! That might be the first time ever.

6:30 -- Taken into the perioperative room. This is the room for both pre-operative interviews and recovery. The room has a rocking chair for me, a chair for Tim, and stretcher/bed for Oliver, a "parent phone" for outgoing calls, supplies and a desk for the medical staff, and a tv. Since this is our third surgery, it's getting to be sort of familiar. Before the surgery, the nurse takes down general information about Oliver, verifies what is in his records, goes over allergies, etc. Then the doctor comes in to talk about the procedure and answer any questions. Finally, we meet with anesthesiology. Meanwhile, Oliver gets dressed in cute little hospital jammies. I'm always tempted to steal them, but I know I would never put them on him at home. Everyone commented on how big he is -- poor guy is going to get a complex.

7:30 -- They took Oliver into surgery. No matter how calm I am leading up to it, I always get choked up. Yesterday was no exception. I hate the idea of him going under anesthesia. Once he went to surgery, we went to the surgical waiting room. There is a woman with whom you check in, and she gives you all the information that goes along with waiting. I've identified a few jobs that I would want to do if I wasn't on my current career path, and for some reason, this is one of them. You can track Oliver's progress (in surgery or recovery) on a large board. There are computers, tables, vending machines, free coffee, and free graham crackers. I set up shop and got started on my dissertation. Tim read his book. It took quite a while for Oliver to get on the board -- I was just starting to get worried when I saw his initials and patient number pop up. A nurse came out twice to give us an update.

9:30 -- Oliver was in recovery. Always a relief. The doctor came out and told us that everything went well. They found his left testicle (yay), brought it down and "tacked" it so it stays in place, and also went into the right side and tacked that one down, too. The little guy is all set. Oliver was a little hungry and a little cranky. He spent much of the next hour sleeping and occasionally eating.

11:30 -- We were able to be discharged. After we went down to the cafeteria to get lunch, we hit the road to go home. Oliver spent the rest of the day sleeping and eating, but mostly sleeping. He doesn't seem to be in much pain. He has four incisions altogether, two of them in a very delicate place. But by today, he was all recovered from the surgery.

All tired out and ready to go home.