Surgery Update

Thanks again to everyone who sent encouraging comments and emails yesterday/today and especially to everyone who prayed for Ilya. To answer Stacy’s question, yes “that” surgery is the one particular to little boys!

I’m sorry it’s taken so long to update. Ilya has been cranky and really, who can blame the poor little fella? It was pretty obvious he was in a lot of pain yesterday, last night & most of the morning. He took a super long nap this afternoon and woke up seeming like he was feeling better, but I think he was starting to feel uncomfortable again just before bedtime. The urologist gave us a script for Tylenol w/ codeine but we’re trying not to use that more than we have to. We did give him a dose last night before he went to bed and again tonight. During the day we’re giving him regular Tylenol if he seems like he needs it.

Our post-op instructions nearly made me snort when the nurse read them to us in recovery. She was reading from a pre-typed sheet that has options for the doc. to circle but the Urologist, who apparently is missing his calling to appear on Last Comic Standing, added a few comments of his own. I’m not sure if it was her facial expression and the fact that she was totally disgusted in the doc’s “lack of professionalism” or that his instructions to us were really that funny, but it definitely lightened my mood. The stuff in red are his additional instructions:

1. You (may) (may not) operate a vehicle for 24 hours. + 14 years
2. You (may) (may not) drink any alcoholic beverage during the next 24 hours. +19 years

I know it’s one of those moments where you “had to be there” but I still find it funny.

Speaking of recovery, the nurses told us that if all the kids were as well behaved and cute as Ilya, their jobs would be cake! The docs and nurses all knew that Ilya was adopted from Russia, that he’s been home only a few months, and that we’re continuing to work on attachment and bonding. I have to say they were all awesome, amazing and so compliant with our wishes. He was definitely the highlight of their day – unless they say that to all parents!

Now for some seriousness. Sorry folks but I need to be honest here. Before I get into that, though, let me just tell you what a wimp I am. I cannot watch surgeries on Discovery Health. I leave the room at the vet’s office when my dogs & cats get their shots, and yes even when they have their claws clipped. I cannot watch Norm shave because I’m terrified he’s going to slice his throat open. I turn my head, get chills, and refuse to watch if Norm pops a blister or digs out a splinter. Don’t even ask me to dig out a splinter or sticker for you either! I would rather clean up puke than put antibiotics on someone’s wound. And ya know what? I was a Medic in the Air Force!! Now if that’s not funny, what is?!

Anyway, I was dealing with a lot of guilt yesterday afternoon, and a lot of heebie-jeebies. A LOT. I’ve debated whether or not to post about this, but I know a lot of people who read this are either about to, or are considering, scheduling the same surgery for their sons. On the off chance I’m not the wimpiest person in the world when it comes to blood, etc., I thought it important to explain a few things so here goes.

I was NOT prepared for what I saw when I changed his first post-op diaper at home yesterday. Not in the slightest. They did not show us in the hospital, so I got my first glimpse alone upstairs, and frankly I was close to having a panic attack.

A blogger friend posted after her son’s surgery how surprised she was at the lack of surgical evidence (my words, not hers) when she first saw the site. I read that & thought great! I can do this!! Apparently, however, the technique used on her son (bell technique) and on mine (I assume ‘free hand’) were definitely NOT the same. I’m embarrassed and ashamed to admit that I didn’t know there were different techniques. I didn’t know that I should have asked what technique our Urologist used. Seems to me if there were a choice, he would have mentioned each in our consult. That didn’t happen. He didn’t suggest one technique over another, he just told us what to expect pre and post op, the anesthesia, the surgical pros & cons, etc. I still don’t know if one technique is any “better” than the other, unless you factor in the shock effect of seeing “it” for the first time. I wish I had known or read her post again before we had our consult so I would have realized she mentioned the bell technique. That may have clued me in that I should ask more questions.

So anyway I wasn’t prepared. I nearly had a breakdown before I could get the new diaper on, and I had to bring Ilya down 2 flights of stairs to our other changing station in the basement for Norm to peel off the bloody gauze that had become affixed to Ilya’s surgical site. It was stuck and there was no way I could (physically or mentally) pull it off myself. But again, I am a wimp and was totally out of my element at this point. There was lots of swelling and inflammation, lots of redness and lots of other stuff that may be too much to post here. It may not sound like much but trust me, it was.

If you had asked me at this point yesterday whether or not we should have had the surgery, my answer would have been a resounding and emphatic NO! As I type this, however, I am feeling somewhat better about our decision to have this surgery done. The swelling and redness have gone down and Ilya is about 85% his normal, happy self. He was obviously not feeling well this morning but I think we’ll be in a much better place when he wakes up tomorrow.

I guess all I can offer for parents making this decision is to research and ask questions. Although this is considered a routine procedure, don’t think you don’t have options and don’t think you’ll only have to consider the potential dangers of anesthesia, post op bleeding or infection, etc. I’m a little peeved at the urologist for not explaining the different techniques, and I’m way peeved at myself for not Googling this like I seem to Google everything else known to man.

So once again, I have to ask that no one blast me about this. I’m doing a pretty good job at blasting myself, thank you very much. Ilya’s not suffering but I do think we would have done this differently if we knew we had other options. Hopefully by talking about this other families won’t have to suffer the same shock & guilt I did/am.

Kar

Time to put the gown on:


In Recovery: