To Surgery We Go

Wednesday was surgery day for MM. I was fine until about an hour before we had to leave for the hospital. I had to put on one load of laundry and had to start the dishwasher before we left. Lucky for me, MM was napping. It was as though my brain was in overdrive. This was my defense mechanism. In order for me to keep my mind off my 15 month old baby having surgery, I kept myself busy.

Fifteen minutes before leaving home, I decided I had to wash my hair. Now, you know I had all morning to do this, but for some reason there was some trigger that went off that insisted I needed to shower and wash my hair in the 15 minutes before we had to leave. Not only did I need to do this, but I needed to blow dry my hair, get dressed, apply some make-up, wake up the baby from her nap, dress her, and get some juice packed up. Oh, I cannot forget that I timed it just right that the clothes would be finished in the washer just before leaving. I had to put them in the dryer. I also timed the dishwasher just so I would be able to get MM's favorite sippy cup for our journey. Surprisingly, I did all of this in 15 minutes. I got to the hospital with 2 minutes to spare.

Here's MM at the hospital waiting in the pre-op area. She could not sit still. Luckily we were one of the last ones in there waiting for surgery. She certainly kept the staff entertained.
This was her after a dose of Versed. Strangely, she stayed in my lap until I walked her over to the surgery suite. She certainly liked the Versed. Notice the syringe in her right hand. She wouldn't let it go. She was feeling good.
Off she went for surgery and off I went to the land of neurosis again. I just could not sit still. I couldn't stop talking. I had to walk. I walked over to CCU to say hello to my friends and work colleagues. I really think they thought I was the one drugged.

Once I got back to the surgery area, the doctor came to talk to us to say the surgery went well. Whew! What a relief. Even though they say minor surgery, it is still major surgery in a mom's brain. When you medicate my child to sedate her. Then you anesthetize her, put a breathing tube down her throat, start 2 IVs, and medicate her more with Fentanyl, I would call this major surgery.

The anesthesiologist came out to talk to us and then the nurse. Finally, I get to see my baby. But, the problem is that she is screaming and won't stop crying. She has IV fluids infusing to her foot and is hooked up to the oxygen saturation monitor. Her vitals are within normal limits except her heart rate is elevated. As a nurse, I know this is generally due to pain. I finally convinced her nurse to give her some acetaminophen. MM kept arching back and getting stiff. JoJo the clown could have stayed home because MM had no interest in her. Once she got the medication, I continued to rock her and started singing BaBa Black Sheep. Somehow, my singing helped soothe her. I tried other songs, but this was the one. So, Tylenol, singing and flatulence made my baby happy again. It was so good to see a slight resemblance of a smile on her face.

Off to the house we go. Now, at this point I am completely exhausted. I felt like I had been up for 2 days straight and non-stop on the go. I was so happy to get home. I was so happy that the surgery was over and my baby was fine. The only trace of surgery is the swelling of her left eye. You would never know she had a tube inserted from the eye and into the nose.

Here's MM waiting to get get home. I thought to get a picture of her post-op, but I was feeling a bit overwhelmed and didn't remember until we got her in the car.


What a day! I am glad it is over and all went well.