Surgery Day...again...

Today was the day Mom and Dad were not looking forward to.....

Back in May Dylan had surgery to repair his Incisional Hernia. Just minutes after we saw Dylan in the recovery room after that surgery we noticed his hernia was still poking out, it did not look any different than before and he was just coming out of surgery to have this repaired. The docs dismissed it as swelling and asked us to come back in 3 months if we were still concerned. Well we were, so we went back, we knew the hernia was still there. Sure enough they said, 'it's still there we need to re-do the surgery'. The doctor took full responsibility as he really felt like it had been closed during the previous surgery. SO he said he would perform the surgery himself and not have a Resident partake as usual. We were going to ask of this anyway, it was good he explained this to us before we asked. We understand the UIHC is a teaching hospital and many of the things our kids have had done have been performed by Resident's and things have been fine. BUT....this was a 're-do' and because the Staff docs take responsibility of what the Residents do, he thought as well, it would be better for him to perform this surgery.

So today was the day. Surgery scheduled for 7:15am, early morning just what we asked for, this meant getting up very early to be to the hospital and in the pre-op room by 5:45am. Dylan of course could not eat or drink since last night and he had to be bathed last night AND this morning. So we woke him with just enough time to bathe him and scoot out the door.

Upon arrival they took us into the pre-op room and prepped Dylan for surgery. Vitals...change of clothes....more consents for mom and dad....circle and initial of the surgical site and he was ready. Brad being the super strong daddy he is, offered to be the one to take Dylan back to the OR until he went to sleep.

Surgery went good. Mom and Dad sat in the Day of Surgery lounge and waited then tried to pass a little of the time and got our flu shots. We scheduled them purposely for this time. The doctor came up after surgery and told us that all was well. The surgery though ended up being a little more evasive than the first surgery. He had expected it to be less evasive....Well he was flat out honest and said it literally took him 20 minutes to find the first hole causing the hernia. Once he finally found it bowel continued to poke out at another spot. He described it as like the layers of a sandwich, that is like the layers he was going thru. He found the first little hole, then the second hole was one layer beneath the first and up Dylan's belly a little further. So it was like flat almost, the holes did not line up. This made things more complex. It should be taken care of now. We are praying and believing the best. The doctor said he will be in more pain and discomfort than last time but he will let us know when his activity level is back to normal, he will be as active as his body lets him be for now.

Recovery went fine, he woke up fine and did not require oxygen like last time. We were only in recovery for 1 hour and were on our way home. Dylan was crying in discomfort and it is hard to move him and carry him, it is almost more comfortable for him to stand than sit. The way home he was content watching Disney on the Ipod Touch, he made a few squawk's in pain but was fine. This afternoon he ate quite a bit and drank well. He laid on the couch with mommy and took a few snoozes off and on. This evening he is sound asleep in bed.

We are so blessed that this surgery went well considering things changed once the doctor started the actual surgery. Thank you lord for protecting Dylan today. Mommy and Daddy were quite nervous, thank you for protecting the doctors and nurses on Dylan's surgery team. Please protect him now and in the future so he does not need to have any further surgery's. We love you Dylan, you are SO strong and SUCH a little fighter. It is so hard for mommy and daddy to look back at everything you have been thru. If only we could have taken away some of your pain. We have learned so much from you Dylan. You are amazing, you have quite the story little man. You have gone thru much more in your young years than some people ever go thru in a lifetime. We pray that you never have to have any more surgery's and you can just go on and focus on being a busy little boy. Running, playing, giggling and doing what little boys do. Never give up little man, keep fighting and believing and we will never stop believing in you. You are our miracle!~