Old Hat

You know you've been to Same Day Surgery way too many times when . . .

1. You know to block out three hours the day before to wait for a phone call from the SDS desk to give you your instructions.
2. Your child has a "frequent flier" file.
3. You could easily guess your child's check-in time.
4. The week before the event, your child tells you the procedure, "ride in the wagon, put on the mask, fall asleep, wake up, drink water, and go home."
5. Without prompting, your child tells you what smell he wants for the anesthesia: "strawberry."
6. You listen politely while mouthing the instructions from the nurse because you have the instructions memorized.
7. You mentally take note the month before the procedure any time you gave your child medicine of any sort, how much, and for what reason.
8. You know exactly where to sign on each piece of paper that's shoved in your face and what it's for.
9. You arrive 30 minutes late from your scheduled arrival time because you KNOW that you're not going to be pushed forward, you're going to be bumped back, and you know that waiting there for 1 1/2 hours is already too long to have to add more time. So, you take your time leaving and get a car wash on the way because it's not worth stressing over.
10. You stress anyway because you know you've been pushed forward before, and you're hoping you will be today.
11. You measure how much liquid you give your child up to 12 hours before the procedure because you know you have to tell them in oz. how much he drank and what he drank.
12. You recognize most of the doctors and anesthesiologists when they come in to the waiting room to visit with parents, and you know most of their specialties (ENTs, etc.).
13. You recognize all old toys and note the new ones.
    
14. You adamantly state what the nurse and anesthesiologist should do because you know better than they do.
    
15. You know where the warm blankets are kept.
16. You know what Versed is and does and wish that your child could have it like all the others (Jackson had some reactions to that drug while he was a preemie, and so he can't have it.)
17. It's no surprise that the doctors take your child back 45 minutes LATER than scheduled.
    
18. You have a bag of food and water bottle prepared for the trip home because you know that your child will be starving.
19. You bring a book to read, snacks to eat, and a crossword puzzle because more than likely someone will be watching Dr. Phil on the waiting room big screen TV.
20. You realize it's pointless to go down to the cafeteria for food because you can calculate the the second when the doctor will be back, and it's within 20 minutes.
21. You don't have to be escorted to Recovery or Post-Op because you have all of the bed numbers memorized -- chances are your kid has been in every space.
22. You tell the discharge nurse the discharge procedures.

What a weekend! Jackson had yet another eye exam under anesthesia, and I'm happy to report that his eyes are healthy. It's so great to have good news about his eyes. I'll always worry about them, but at least we know that the surgery he had almost two years ago has been worth it so far.


Despite the fact we've done this too many times to count, my little man still gets nervous. Here's the emotion he was feeling the last 45 minutes of waiting in the pre-op room:
He either spent the time cuddling with Daddy and Rico or Mommy and Rico. Yes, Rico comes with us every time, and he stays with Jackson during the entire procedure and wakes up with Jackson, too.

Alarm Clock

Who needs an alarm clock when a horn honks outside at 5:00 a.m. every morning for your neighbor? I understand that it's cold outside and that horns are very convenient; BUT IT'S FREAKING 5 A.M. IN THE MORNING PEOPLE!!! Get out of the car, knock on the door, then run back to your car. It would be more polite to wake up everyone in that house instead of the WHOLE neighborhood. I don't know who that car is picking up, but I do know that it's not for me, and I would really like to sleep through the early morning hours. I just feel bad for my other neighbors who have a baby and are up all the time. It's enough to have your baby wake you up, but someone honking their horn?

And today is another eye EUA (exam under anesthesia) for Jackson. This one, again, is in the evening at 5:30, so he'll be fasting all day. It's awful, but worth the $300 I save by going to the children's hospital instead of the very convenient eye center. Maybe this time they'll tell us that we don't have to come back for 6 months -- hey, I can hope, can't I?!

Good News

This picture was taken back in June at the eye center, that's why he doesn't have fitting pajamas, and he's still wearing his sweats and his own socks.

Yesterday was a very long day as Jackson had another evening EUA. It's so hard on a four year old to fast all day long. We love morning times, but we were doing the EUA's in the morning at an eye center; and the center was charging us 1.5 times the amount we get charged at the children's hospital. It's much harder to get into the children's hospital, but it's worth the money saved to do so. Either way, Jackson had an EUA once a month since April when he had his eye surgery. (Who can save for a house with bills like that?) Anyway, I'm very pleased to say that we won't be going back for 3 months!!! Jackson's eye pressure is finally down to normal, and he is being taken off one eye drop.

Oh, lately we've been reminded what a miracle Jackson is. When we've talked to medical personnel to get him registered and review his medical history, they are amazed that he was a 25-week preemie. On Wednesday, the nurse we registered with asked, "He's a 25-weeker and glaucoma is the only eye problem he's been diagnosed with? What a miracle!" Jackson's eye doctor constantly reminds us because despite setbacks in the glaucoma, he's always VERY pleased with his progress. The Lord has truly blessed us and our little boy.

Life is always better with a friend

Today started very early for all of us. We made it to the Eye Center by 6:30 a.m.

After hopping out of bed, Jackson's first words were, "My eye's all better." I wished I could have agreed and slipped back into bed; however, we trekked off to the doctor's office. He tried so hard to be brave, but he was cautious the whole time. When we had to undress him and leave him on the bed, he suddenly was very scared and wanted to "go back Mommy's house." Fortunately, we took Rico, his beloved penguin to keep him company. Jackson hung onto him the entire time.

After 20 minutes of being under anesthesia, Jackson's eye doctor came out and told us that the pressure was too high to not do surgery. The surgeon inserted a tube shunt (a small tube a millimeter in diameter) in his eye under his eye lid to help drain fluid. Supposedly, this procedure is very successful in children to bring down high pressure. The rest of the surgery took another hour and a half to complete.

Poor Jackson was furious when he woke up with an eye shield over his eye. He just wanted to take it off. The nurse gave a shield to Rico, too, to help Jackson cope. We were able to teach Jackson how NOT to touch his eye and shield by using Rico. Overall, Jackson was very, very brave. He hardly cried, and he has been very good today. He is on some pretty strong pain medicine, and although we have to force it on him, we know that it's helping him stay happy and pain-free. You can see that he remains happy in this picture.


We see the surgeon tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. to take off the shield and check the eye. If everything works the way it's supposed to, then Jackson may not need eye drops again for his right eye after it heals.

Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers. We could tell that we've been strengthened through your strength, and we know that this is best for Jackson. We will get through it.

Oh, and thanks to Uncle Ken and (soon-to-be) Aunt Aimee for the giant "Daddy" penguin and balloons.

Eye Update.

Yes, today Jackson had surgery on his right eye. The pressure was just too high to do anything else. He's doing well so far, but of course he's still on his pain medication. I'll give more details very soon.

New Date

Yes, we have a date for Jackson's eye exam with possible surgery. April 21 in the early A.M. This should work out great since Matt will be attending a conference for work in Las Vegas the week and a half before that; and Jackson and I are skipping town to visit my parents while Daddy is gone.

Eye alert: Postponed!

As most of you remember tomorrow was scheduled as the big day for Jackson's exam under anesthesia. Well, because life happens, it is officially postponed until who knows when. The operating doctor's father passed away, and so everything has been pushed back. Originally, they wanted to reschedule for April 9. Well, Matt will be out of town at a conference, and I'm going home to help my mom prepare for my brother's May 1st wedding. Thus, I will hopefully find out on Thursday when the next opening is. I'm not mad because I don't control life and death, and besides, maybe the situation will allow Jackson's eye to heal and the pressure will drop to normal or close to it. Who knows?

Revised Update

As of this morning, the EUA/possible surgery is scheduled for March 19 around 5:30 p.m. I know, I'm very, very excited to have to make my 4 year old fast all day to see the doctor. Nice. It's no wonder he hates doctors. Now do you understand why we haven't been to the dentist yet? Any doctor-looking person is just plain scary to Jackson. Poor kid. Let's just hope we get better by next week so the anesthesiologists will feel comfortable with Jackson's health.