Sunday, September 16, 2007

Home from the hospital

Hi everyone! Thanks to everyone who sent us well wishes and prayers. We are home from Cainan's cleft lip surgery! We got to come home after only one night in the hospital because he is doing really well. The surgery went well yesterday. We were supposed to go in at 9am, and didn't go in until 10am, but Cainan never complained. He was busy playing the whole time, and did just fine with the wait before the surgery. The surgery lasted just under 2 hours, and everything went off without a hitch. I went to be with him in recovery, and he was doing well. I was able to give him some juice, and that won him over. He had about 2 ounces of juice (out of a syringe) and then they gave him morphine, and he promptly fell asleep. We spent about 1 hour in recovery, and then we went to the floor. On the floor he had 6 more ounces of juice and slept again for one more hour. Then I tried really hard to keep him up until his bedtime, and he did pretty well with that. He got a little tired and cranky around 6pm, but then I gave him a bath and that made him happy again. He fell asleep aroudn 7:30pm. I think he would have slept all night if the nurses didn't come in every 2 hours to do something! They kept waking us both up for one thing or another. He didn't cry at all overnight, but he didn't sleep all night either! Oh well. It was noisy in the ICU unit where we were, and that didn't help either. Yes, we were in the ICU for our stay. Because they did work on his airway, he had to stay there and be on a monitor. That tied us to the room, which was a little hard. He wanted to get up and around, but couldn't go far! But after a so-so nights sleep, we were up at 6am. He took two small 1/2 hour cat naps this morning, and then at 11am had a CAT scan (as pre-op for his upcoming palate surgery). After that, we were free to go. He drank about 4 ounces of pediasure, and was ready to hit the road. We were home by 2pm. He looks really good. Really different! His face is quite swollen, so when you see the pictures know that he didn't gain a bunch of weight! He hasn't required any pain medication. He is a trooper. He has to wear arm restraints for 2 weeks so that he doesn't touch his lip. He has to be on a liquid, then soft diet for two weeks until the wound heals. He gets the stitches out this coming Friday. I think he is going to tire quickly of the diet, but what can you do? I don't want to chance ripping those stitches.
So that was our adventure. We are so happy to be home. I think he will do much better being here at home. He is already playing with his toys and enjoying his freedom!


10 comments:

Donna said...

Oh, sweet boy! He really does look great. I'm glad things went so well..you all continue to be in my prayers.

Anonymous said...

Wow! He looks really good! It's amazing!

- Tricia

Cammie said...

So glad Cainan is getting such excellent medical attention in addition to his loving home. I'll be praying for the next couple weeks of dietary and physical restrictions. He is such a trooper with his helmet and surgeries. I know his great attitude is influenced by how loved and safe he feels now.

Cammie

Unknown said...

Glad to hear everything went well and you could come home today. Hopefully you all can get some rest. Cainan's a survivor. He'll be such a tough little guy after all this. Builds their character I guess. Let me know if you need anything. We'll be thinking about you and send good vibes your way!

renee and phil said...

We are so happy that all went well! We have been keeping you all in our prayers. We can't wait to see you guys adn meet Cainan.

Anonymous said...

Good that things went so well, must be from all the T L C from his Mama. Nanny

Marilyn, Paul, PJ, Chris & Lauren said...

So thankful everything went so well. He looks great! Keeping you and your lovely family in our prayers.

Marilyn Rhude

Lisa said...

WOW, Cainan looks wonderful. Glad to hear all went well.

Wishing this sweet boy a speedy recover.

Lisa

Shandra said...

Oh wow! We are a few steps behind you. Lilah will have her CL repair in a few weeks. Glad you boy is doing great. He is such a cutie.

Anonymous said...

Eevrything looks like it is going well for Cainan! He looks GREAT! I hope that he continues to be docile for you during all the surgeries. So, what's it like to have 'twins'? Email me sometime!

Crystal