Lets hope the worst is behind us! We were scheduled for surgery yesterday at 11:30. We knew going in that the time could change. At around 10:15 they told us that they'd be up to get us at 10:30. At about 1 they finally showed up. I almost wish they hadn't told us they were coming early as the waiting just added to the stress and frustration. We got to hold him to take him down to surgery this time. He was remarkably mellow for not having eaten anything for the previous 24 hours. There was a bunch of paperwork to be signed, then it was go time. The nurse I had to give him to was wonderful. She said she had a 4mo. old son and she cried when I cried when I had to give him away. So many medical professionals are just so clinical and that, to me, appears cold. So it was nice to have a nurse who at least seemed to share the emotional part of handing him off.
We were told that the procedure could take between 1 and 3 hours. Sitting and waiting to see the doc again is the worst. After about an hour and a half Dr. von Allmen came out to let us know that everything went exactly as planned and they were just waking him up and we'd be called back shortly to see him.
A nurse was holding him when I got to see him again. She went on and on about how beautiful and precious he is (I couldn't argue!).
We brought him back upstairs by about 5 and he just seemed to be in a great deal of pain. He had a high fever (which they tell me is normal after surgery) an elevated heart rate and just visible overall discomfort. We spend the next 5 hours (yes, FIVE HOURS) trying to get a doctor in here to order new pain meds. He'd had morphine and tylenol several times but they were providing zero relief. He was moaning and wrythig in pain and despite repeated attempts by the nurses and the doctor saying he was on his way, nothing. I was furious and so upset. I finally went out to the nurses station crying and begging, telling them there has to be someone who can do something for him. He was quite literally in agony.
We finally saw a very apologetic doctor around 11pm. I didn't care if he kissed my feet - it was because he couldnt make it up sooner that my son had to suffer for that long and I was pissed. They were able to put him on fentanyl with a patient control button so if we thought he pain was worse at times we could press it to increase his dose. This whole new medicine/machine was not set up and working until almost 3am. THATS 12 HOURS SINCE SURGERY!!! Drew had his belly cut open, his bowel stitched back together, his belly sewn shut, and zero pain relief for 12 hours. I've definitely swallowed a bitter pill about this.
This morning the pain team came in shortly after Martin had left for work. They were trying to decide how long to keep the meds going before switching him down to something more mild. I talked with them and the nurse and decided to keep him on it and resting comfortably for the next 24 hours. He's still in pain but at least had been able to get some much needed rest. Hopefully that will go a long way in helping him to feel better.
Its really a shame that we had to have that experience here because prior to that happening I had not 1 negative thing to say about Childrens. I hope that now that things are under control we will be happy with the remainder of our stay, and never have to come back.
The good news is that there is no more bag, and with any luck in just a few short days he'll be operating just like the rest of us!
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