Another Successful Surgery

And hopefully the LAST surgery!

I was up at 3:30 this morning, and we arrived at the hospital right at our scheduled 5:30 arrival time. I signed a couple of forms and we were taken back into a room to get Bryce prepped. The nurse asked some questions, got Bryce a gown, and turned a movie on for him while we waited. At around 6:30 the anesthesiologist came in, asked his questions, and ordered some "happy juice" for Bryce.

The surgeon came in around 7 and went over everything that was going to be done. He was going to repair the hydrocele in his testicle (I have been calling it a hernia, but it was actually a little different), remove the adhesion from his circumcision, and cut a skin tag off of his anus. That doesn't sound like much fun, huh?

Shortly thereafter the nurse came in with Bryce's "happy juice". He has never gotten Versed before because of the reaction Rylie had after her surgery, but the anesthesiologist told me that was more likely the gas than the Versed, so I let them try it. That stuff really works! Within minutes he was bobbing his head around and giggling. I was finally able to put him down so I could take a picture of him. (I totally forgot my regular camera, so a crappy cell phone pic is all I have.)

They took Bryce from me at around 7:20 and said the surgery would take about an hour. I was surprised at how calm I was. Maybe it was because this was his third surgery and I know how tough he is? There was a point in time during his surgery when they announced a code blue and I do believe my heart literally stopped for a few seconds, but I was assured by another mother that it was from a different portion of the hospital. I guess it was around 8:15 when the surgeon came out to get me and told me that everything went well. He gave me some instructions and I went back out into the waiting room.

Brian got there shortly after that. He had to take Rylie to school this morning. A few minutes later I was taken back to Bryce. When I got back to recovery, there were two nurses with him just gushing about how good he was doing. He was sitting there coloring on a little magnetic doodle board and wasn't really making a peep. A few minutes later he decided he needed to show everyone how awesome he really is and stood up in the bed. That is when I got up in the bed with him. They checked his vitals and then took us back to the children's section of the hospital.

Once we got back there, we watched Cars and they monitored him for another half hour or so. He drank some juice and laughed at the movie and did so well. The nurses kept coming by and kept talking about how cute he was and how well he did. Once we had the all clear to leave, he said bye bye to his nurse and even blew her a kiss, without any prompting. She just about melted. I have a feeling this boy is going to be popular with the ladies all of his life.

I ended up going in to work for a little bit this afternoon, and Bryce stayed with Brian. At one point I got a text from Brian that he was "dancing around like a fool." He took a long nap and ate a huge dinner after Rylie and I got home. After dinner he decided to climb up on the couch and jump around with Rylie. Really, kid? He was cut in 3 places and thought that jumping around on the couch was a good idea? I swear I think I gave birth to the next Superman or something. LOL He hasn't even had to take any pain meds! He seems to be in pain when he pees, and during diaper changes, but other than that, he is running around like nothing ever happened.

All in all, everything went well, and I think Bryce will be back to 100% in no time. My mom will be here to stay home with him the rest of this week, and I am sure he will love every minute of that!

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers for Bryce! I really appreciate all of your kind words!

I know this post is already ridiculously long, but I have to talk about the hospital for a minute. This was my first experience with Florida Hospital with the kids, and I was VERY impressed. Everyone I came into contact with was so nice and helpful. The waiting room was filled with toys for the kids to play with, and they even had someone come to Bryce's room with toys and bubbles to help make things easier and happier for him!

I also found out that the surgeon that performed Bryce's surgery has a great free lecture coming up on Wednesday for my Orlando readers - What You Need to Know About Bedwetting.

Does your child wet the bed? Young children often suffer the stigma and embarrassment of bedwetting, but it’s not their fault. Many preschoolers’ bladders aren’t fully developed, and therefore can’t hold all the urine that is produced throughout the night. Additionally, some children aren’t able to recognize when their bladder feels full during sleep, causing them to wet the bed. In some cases, there is a medical condition that causes the bedwetting.

During this free lecture at Florida Hospital, one of the leading experts in bedwetting will separate fact from fiction. Pediatric urologist Dr. Michael Keating and pediatric nurse practitioner, Penny Noto, will explain the true causes of bedwetting and will tell you how you can help your child make every night a dry one.

Dr. Keating certainly knows his stuff, so if you have questions about bedwetting and are in the Orlando area, you should definitely try to check out this lecture.

WHEN:               Wednesday, August 24, 2011

                                11:30 a.m.

                                A light lunch will be provided.

WHERE:            Florida Hospital for Children

                                Creation Conference Center

                                601 E. Rollins Street

                                Orlando, FL 32803

CONTACT:     To reserve your seat at this free lecture, please call (407) 303-BEST (2378).

And with that, I'm off to bed. It has been a LONG day, and honestly, I don't know how my eyes are still even open!