Surgery # 3 and recovery

This time handing Reid off to the surgeons was easier.  We knew he was in good hands and we were anxious to just get it over with.  This surgery was going to take his double colon and 1) detach it from his right bladder and 2) make it one large colon -think double barrel shotgun and make it a single barrel shot gun instead.  Reid's urologist was also going to be in the operating room just to look at Reid's anatomy again to make sure things were still working as they were suppose to.  His anatomy is so unique that any chance that his surgeons have to see inside him they take it.  So to say the least we were  slightly more at ease with this surgery over his last surgery.  So off he went and we went to the place we were just at 2 weeks ago, the surgical waiting room.  This surgery again took longer than expected. I hate that.  It was about 4 hours until Dr. Sullivan his general surgeon came out to tell us that he did great.  She said he is a chunky baby and he had 1 inch of fat on him (breastfed baby!) so she had to cut him more than she expected to get a good view of his colon and bladder.  When we got back to the PACU we didn't realize how much more she had to cut him!  His poor tummy was cut open from one side to the next.  He looked like a little frankenstein with 2 very swollen stomas.

 He also had a feeding tube in his nose because he couldn't eat until he was able to poop.  When a child has surgery on their colon or bottom they have to wait a few days after surgery for the inflammation of the colon/bottom to decrease.  But in the mean time the liver is still making bile and filling the stomach with that bile.  So Reid got a NG tube that went to his belly and they put suction on the tube so that any bile was sucked out.  If they didn't do this the bile would fill his tummy and eventually he would throw it up.  He didn't really mind the NG tube which was surprising.  I was shocked at how much gunk (bile) they were getting out of him.  I did notice that the suction seemed to be really high and I didn't quite understand at the time the reason that they were doing this.  All I was concerned with was the fact that he couldn't eat until he pooped.  Which meant I was pumping again.  I hate pumping.  Thursday night Reid just slept all night.  He was tired from surgery and needed to heal, but this was okay with us because the SF Giants were in the playoffs!  That first night nurses and Dr's would walk in our room to "check on" the sleeping child who was hooked up to a monitor and slowly walk out while watching the TV.  We were fine with it other than the Dr. who wasn't discreet about it and just walked in and stood in front of the TV.  Um at least pretend to be doing something.  Friday Reid was in good spirits but didn't like the bottles.  He has not been a bottle kid other than when he was sedated after his last surgery.  So this was a worry for everyone.  

While we were in the hospital I told the nurses to not worry about cathing him, that Michael and I would do it each time.  This wasn't to step on anyones toes but we knew how to do it and do it well.  They seemed to have trouble so it was just easier for us to do it.  His urologist supported this and had to tell the nurses a couple times to not cath him and just let us do it.  I was happy when he told one nurse in front of me "Mom knows how to do this better than you because you tried 4 times and couldn't do it, follow my orders and let Mom do it".  I didn't like that nurse so this was nice ;)  Sunday morning (3 days after surgery) Reid finally pooped out of his stoma!  This meant he was able to eat.  Hooray!  No more pumping!  So I nursed him.  Ooops to much… he threw up about 30 minutes later.  So I waited 3 more hours and tried again… same thing. WTF.  Did we have another problem on our hands?  Luckily the nurses had confidence in Reid and my ability to know my son and asked me.  I said I think he just needed to be eased into eating and I should have started with bottles and little amounts.  They agreed and so back to bottles and pumping.  

To be honest I don't remember anything big after this point… we were released to go home the next morning, Monday which had made that our shortest hospital stay! I was so excited to come home and see Parker!  We were told by Reid's urologist to continue cathing him but only 2 times a day now which was nice.  I was hoping to leave the hospital and not have to cath him anymore but oh well. Twice a day wasn't bad.  This was progress.  

That evening Reid was very fussy.  My Mom volunteered to stay the night with us just incase I needed to sleep and Reid decided he wanted to be up all night which was typical of him.  So we went about our evening and it was bath time.  Reid still was only able to have sponge baths so into this netting he went and I washed him up.  Since his spinal surgery I had been VERY VERY careful to not get any water on his back.  I squeezed out any water I could and then dabbed him with the wash cloth.  I picked him up and in the mirror I saw his back. 

My heart stopped.  

Did his back incision look… open?

Did it always look like that?

I knew the answer to these questions. I instantly knew.  

His incision had opened.  

I yelled for my Mom and she said call the neuro surgeon.  

He had looked at Reid's back that morning before we were discharged and maybe he had seen this?

Was this okay?

I knew it wasn't.

I finally got a hold of a different pediatric neurosurgeon and had to explain Reid's story (this takes time) and what had happened.  

I also noticed he had a fever.  

His first fever.

CUE PANIC

I felt like I was going to throw up.

Come on! Seriously, I just got home!

The next morning (after sleeping maybe 2 hours and taking turns holding him with my Mom <3) I spoke to his neuro surgeon who said bring him to their ER and they would admit us to look at his back. So we dropped off Parker at the babysitters and went to Santa Clara.  

The place we had just left 22 hours before… we were back.