Andrew's Surgery

Some of you knew, but for those of you who didn't, Andrew had a minor surgery today. He had a penile cyst (Smegma) removed along with some extra skin that was said to be the cause of the cyst.

He woke up at 7 am, we left for the hospital at 8:30, checked in at 9, and had the procedure at 11. He couldn't eat anything before hand, but he did well. He didn't ask for anything. I guess we were so busy that he didn't have time to think about it. When we got there to check in, there was a hot-wheels Hummer that he played with. He was not to happy to find out that there wasn't a battery in it. He tried over and over to get that thing moving!

Then the clerk came over and put on his ID bracelet, or anklet! We were handed a pager and told to wait in the hospital's main waiting room until the pager went off. Then we reported to the surgery center to check in there, where we got to wait a little longer.

When it was our turn, a nurse came and got us to check Andrew's vitals and get him set up to go in. He wasn't very cooperative, especially when they put the heart rate monitor on his big toe. (You know how he hates band aids, so you can imagine!) He changed into his little hospital pj's and I put on my gown to go back to the OR with him.

This is where it gets tough. I was allowed into the OR until the anesthesiologist got him to sleep. He was scared and didn't want to sit on the table, so a nurse held him down and I held his hands while the anesthesiologist put the mask on. At this point I've completely LOST IT! It was so hard. I just wanted to pick him up and run out of there. Before hand he had warned me that it would take about 15 breaths for him to go to sleep UNLESS he was crying. Well...it only took 4 breaths...if you get my drift. As soon as he was asleep they escorted me back to the waiting room where I cried some more in Drew's arms. I didn't like him screaming and begging me with his eyes to get him outta there.

Next is the hard part....WAITING. Drew and I sat in the waiting room for what seemed like forever. (In reality it was only about 30 minutes). Dr. Sutherland came and talked us through the surgery and post-op care. Then he took us into the recovery room to see Andrew. He was still asleep when we got there. He looked very peaceful except for the oxygen mask and all the cords. He woke up after about 30 minutes. I figured he'd have a fit when he saw the IV and the monitors hooked up to him and the doctors thought we'd have to sedate him. But luckily we were able to take out the IV before he woke up. When he came to, he didn't mind the rest. He looked so confused when he woke up and immediately climbed into my arms. He was a little woozy! It was kinda funny because he was all smiles, but he couldn't quite sit up straight yet. (Looked a little drunk) He was really happy to see that his Daddy brought him a Pooh balloon!

We had to sit in recovery for about an hour and then we were good to go. They gave Andrew some pain medicine during surgery that will last 4-6 hours, so he's pain free! I just hope he stays that way for the next few days. He has 20 or so tiny stitches that will fall out on their own in a week.

Drew and I were very proud of him today. He was a brave little boy! Please pray for him in the upcoming week that all goes well and he gets back to normal soon. Of course looking at this picture on the car ride home, he looks pretty normal already!