I cannot tell you how much relief we are feeling to have this behind us. Bear with me as I talk through the last couple days. I want to remember it all now, because I know I won't later on down the road.
We arrived at Methodist at 6:00 Monday morning. For such a massive hospital, the registration and admission process wasn't very impressive. Took almost an hour. Once we got up to the surgery floor they were ready to prep him. Everything went well. We were nervous but things moved pretty quickly so there was no time to sit and dwell on it.
Dr. Crichlow came and talked to me about the procedure. He couldn't tell me many specifics since he wasn't sure what he was going to find until he got in there. The anesthesiologist and scrub nurses were all fired up because they had never seen a surgery quite like this before. In fact, a code didn't even exist for it...they had to use a code for a different type of hip surgery. I say no code.. no cost. lol. Too bad it won't work out that way.
They called Aaron and our pastor back when they were ready to take him. It was very calming for all of us to have Pastor Greg there. We prayed over him and I think we all felt the sense that God was all over it and there was no need to worry. I did not walk away sobbing as per my usual, but it was very difficult to watch him leave me.
Surgery took right at three hours. The sciatic nerve was surrounded by scar tissue. They were able to free it without damaging it. That took about an hour and fifteen minutes. The rest of the time they worked on the bone mass. They got it all except for about two inches worth. The doc felt it was too close to the main blood supply of the pelvis to safely chip away. They reattached his hamstring to his pelvis using the tendon as best they could with sutures. Hopefully it will hold and heal. There was no rebreaking of the pelvis or plates or screws needed. That was awesome news.
He spent two hours in recovery. They would not let us see him during that time. Even though I stood at the desk a couple times and reminded them that he is a minor and I didn't want him waking up back there without me. They said unless it was a small child who woke up asking for mommy, they usually didn't have parents go back. I said just because he is 16 does not mean he won't wake up wanting his mommy. lol. Found out later he did, but they wouldn't call for me. Looking forward to filling out the survey on that part of the experience.
The first time we actually got to see him was at 2:00... 6 hrs after they had wheeled him away. We met him at his room. That was probably the most emotional part for me. Just that overwhelming sense of relief in seeing for myself he was ok. He had a pain pump and a wound vac and an iv but he really looked no worse for wear. He reached out for my hand and his first words... "I'm starving...when can i have some food." That's when I knew he was fine. :) And man did he ever have some food... a jello cup, a pudding cup, chicken fingers, fries, an ice cream cup, a brownie, and part of an Arby's that Uncle Kent brought him. He drifted in and out between courses... always reaching for my hand between the rails... <3 (I LOVED that!)
The rest of the time at the hospital went well. Therapy came to see him a couple times a day. Had him using a walker in no time. He isn't able to put weight on it yet but he can put his foot flat on the floor for balance.
The highlight of his stay was a visit from the Colts. Half a dozen players and a couple cheerleaders came in and spent about 10 minutes with him. They gave him a bag full of colts stuff and signed a football for him. Once the players left, the owner Jim Irsay came in and talked with us and gave him a $100 and signed it for him. He seemed to be a great guy and genuinely concerned. It was very cool.
Wednesday he was released around 11. He was able to sleep most of the way home. He had a steady stream of visitors that night and was soooo happy to be home. Very weak, and very sore, but so thankful it was over.
That night, wednesday night, he got really sick and started vomitting. He vomitted all night. It was the first time he had been sick through it all and I attributed it to the anesthesia working its way out of his system. He was under for a long time. By morning he was worse. The vomitting had quit, but he was very short of breath, to weak to move, and his pulse was very high and erratic. We rushed him down to Jasper where they confirmed my worst fear and suspected a pulmonary embolism. He was taken for a ct scan, and a very tense hour later we learned it was negative for clots. The ER doc explained that the all night vomitting and the intense trauma he had been through had triggered a vaso-vagal response that had mimiced symptoms of an embolism. We were able to take him home and soon after he started feeling much better.
Christmas was kinda crappy for him. He was still feeling pretty bad at that point. He was only able to stay at my dad's for a couple hours before Aaron had to take him home. Through it all he still had that Ethan smile on his face. He was more concerned about messing everyone else's Christmas up than he was about his own. Have I mentioned how much I love that child!
Now every day we notice improvement. He no longer needs pain meds, he has graduated from walker to crutches, his spirits have greatly improved and he is almost my old Ethan again. He has incisional pain and soreness from the actual surgery, but the pain caused from the bone mass and pressure on the nerve is GONE! PTL!
The incision site is pretty wicked. 60 staples. Probably the largest hip incision I have ever seen. It is healing great and we will go back to Indy to have them all removed on the 7th. He will have more scans at that time and we will find out how the healing is going on the inside. I feel confindent it will be good news.
Thanks again to everyone who prayed, called, texted or sent cards, etc. as we went through this experience. We felt every prayer and appreciated every gesture of kindness. We will continue to ask for prayer as he continues through the healing process, and as we turn our focus once again to his back.
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