Noah's Big Day at the Hospital

It's been a busy spring, mostly because of the new kid in town. Busy enough that I might have failed to mention that my other kiddo had been experiencing some eye problems since March.  We went to an initial appointment to get it looked at, and  after a couple of months of watching to see if it would improve, the opthamologist finally recommended surgery.

The issue is something called "strabismus", and involves one or both eyes crossing. If it is related to farsightedness, they can treat it with a patch and glasses. But in Noah's case, there is no vision issue--- it's muscular. So a patch and glasses would do nothing to help... And therefore, as much as it broke my heart, we scheduled the surgery. It is a simple procedure-- a "same day surgery" that truly doesn't have lingering pain for my kiddo. Still, to know I was sending my little one to an operating room to be put under anesthesia... to be cut into... It was a rough thing to get ready for.

So, my little man had this procedure done just this past Friday. Joe took work off, my mom and sister came to hang out with Lucy at home while we both went with Noah to the hospital.. And we tried to make it a grand adventure for all of us. I brought my camera and caught the days' events for our personal history.

Here, in photos, is Noah's Big Day at the Hospital:

We started with the usual-- the nurse checking his vitals. Noah is currently 41" high and 38 lbs.

He was in surprisingly great spirits most of the day. Here is a goofy face from him:

Our nurse was Micki, and she was WONDERFUL with Noah. He responded to her kindness so well, and was quite the charmer himself. Everything she explained to him and showed him elicited the most ridiculously cute reply from him, repeatedly:

"I like that!!"

Whether it was, "Noah, this is going to squeeze your muscle." or "Noah, this stethoscope will listen to your heart.", he chirped happily in response, "I LIKE that!"

He basically won everyone over with his charm and happy mood.

Then it was time for his "special fish pajamas." He kind of wanted to stay in his street clothes--- I think the change of clothes made it feel a bit more scary to him...

But the gripper footie socks got him smiling again.

I love these three shots, taken in a row-- they show how his mood would dip, but go right back to cheerful-- this whole experience was like that for him. (And notice the middle pic-- it shows a bit of the eye thing that is the reason for the surgery. See the left eye cross a bit?)

His hospital bracelet... ("I LIKE that!")

The surgeon (Dr. Greg Lueder, opthamologist- AWESOME) came in to talk to us about everything. (Noah looks a bit nervous again...)

And we were told that Noah could bring Mai into the operating room with him. HOORAY! So Mai got a name bracelet of his own... but it made a better collar for him.

Micki then gave him the liquid sedative he'd get to help him zone out prior to the anesthesia. before drinking it:

"I LIKE it!"

After drinking it:

"Ew.EW!! That's yucky! I don't like it!!"

He got a bit of Sprite to wash it down.

Then it was time to walk him to the operating room doors. This part was the hardest for all of us.

Because he had to go somewhere we couldn't follow. My little guy...

The procedure took about an hour total, including the small time in recovery he spent still knocked out. We played on our iTouches and had a snack... mostly, we just waited. 

When he came back to us, they darkened the room for his comfort. He was groggy, but awake. He never cried, never whined... He was just mellow and a bit out of it--- asking questions over and over, like what was the clicking noise? (It was the I.V. he was still hooked up to, administering doses of fluids). What was the nurse's name? ("Micki! Remember?" "I LIKE your name!")

And he talked about having "crumbs in his eyes"--- his own little description of how it must have felt to have the irritated eye socket with the teeny cuts and stitches in it. We all encouraged him to not touch the eye, and to use a cold washcloth instead. He got a grape Popsicle to nibble on.

He was also fascinated by the mess of stuff on his left hand-- the board and tape anchoring (and hiding) his i.v. needle.

How sweet is my baby boy?

Loving being in control of "his" TV:

We spent a good stretch in our recovery room, fawning over our baby, laughing at his cute questions and exclamations, and monitoring his reaction to the anesthesia (watching for nausea, perhaps an emotional jag, etc.)... But he continued to be simply AWESOME at this whole thing--- as easygoing as he was prior to the surgery, he was just as fast to recover and was a model patient. Before long, he had earned the right to get up and walk with Micki the nurse to the "Treasure Chest" to pick out a prize for being such a good patient. As she was taking his i.v. out and getting him up to go walk, he said, "Micki, I love you."

All of us melted into puddles. he tels US he loves us, of course... But this was the first time I'd seen him spontaneously volunteer the sweetness to someone outside of his family. She was visibly moved, too. Such a tender moment!

See him holding her hand? They were buddies, for sure.

He picked out a Hot Wheels fire truck, and was given a pair of radical star sunglasses to help protect his eyes. he took his prizes and shuffled back to our room.

And after getting dressed and getting his things together, we made sure he got a photo with his sweet Micki.

Then he donned his radical sunglasses. Ha!

As we left, about 4 hours after arriving, we enjoyed the features of the fabulous Children's Hospital at Barnes Jewish... Including some fabulous aquariums, great art, and even a fully electronic miniature train set that was installed in the ceiling of the lobby. (The boys enjoyed watching it for a while!)

Since our kiddo hadn't eaten since the night before and seemed to not have any tummy issues from the medicine, we treated him to Fitz's for lunch so we could dote on him just a bit longer before getting back to the little sister waiting for him at home. 

Our cute little guy was clearly feeling great and ready to eat-- he cleaned his plate!

And so.... We survived! Noah proved to be just about the coolest patient ever, and we both crossed through a new parenting portal-- the one where you have to let you kiddo go through scary stuff without you--- and we survived. All of us. And rewarded ourselves with cream soda floats at the end. 

:)