Morning of Jan 22 2013, day before his operation.
Getting the last little crawls out.
We arrived to the hotel on Jan 22nd to spend the night before the operation a few miles from the hospital. James operation was scheduled at 8:30am with a check-in time of 6:30. So we got to go swimming for a few hours before getting to bed. The weather that day and the next few days were a high of 15 to 20 degrees with lows in the single digits.
Both Clara and James LOVE the water.
Clara is getting better and better at kicking.
The pool water was REALLY cold, but was tolerable in the sunshine.
We had the whole pool to ourselves which was a huge plus.
James didn't stay very long in the pool because it was sooo cold. Eventually, our room became available about 3:30 and mommy and James went up, took a shower and got warm.
We arrived at the hospital at 6 am and checked in. The Dr had forgot that surgeries on Thursdays are intern-learning days and that all scheduled surgeries move an hour later. So we sat in the waiting room until 8:30 when a nurse came and led Nikki and James to the prep room where they took him and sent her back. They put James under with gas and then kept him under via IV. The operation took roughly 4 hours and Dr Keating came out and spoke with us, saying that everything went nominal as well as what we could expect in the near term with swelling, meds, etc.
He spent the rest of Thurs pretty sedated with Morphine and Valium and Tylenol. He had an incision similar to where the old one was and continued just inside his hairline across the front of his head wrapping around to the right side and dropping down to just above his right ear. They removed a rectangle piece of bone about 3 inch by 1 inch bone from the right side of his skull and put it on the left side with a dissolvable plate and 16 screws. The hole on the right was filled with a "medium" that would assist his skull in growing back together and heal. The Dr gave him a 90% to 95% chance that he would not need another surgery. We were told that he will need checkups monthly for about 6 months then bi-annual for a year or so, then yearly for about 6 - 10 years or so. Oh yeah, that Thursday through the night, he was in the PICU and received vital checkups every hour, so he's and Nikki's sleep schedules was sketchy. Clara and I stayed in the hotel until Saturday and when we got back to the hotel around 8pm or so, we went swimming for about an hour or two to burn through Clara's energy.
James had a stint for drainage and a couple IVs in each arm. They had removed the ones in each leg and they eventually released him to the floor and out of PICU.
It was good to see him sleeping peacefully.
It was nice to have our own room also. We're sooo glad to have good insurance.
Our first "dinner" at the hospital. The hospital food wasn't really good, compared to fast food which is a shame because the hospital in general is really nice.
The majority of the time the room was really nice and quiet.
When he did wake up, he was in a pretty good mood.
He was happy to see mommy and big sister.
We were getting worried because he started becoming "too awake" and wanted to be held.
But he responded well to our attempts to get him to laugh and stay distracted with toys and things.
One of the nurses that was doing his final checkup in the PICU before he was released to the floor.
Traveling down the hall to the elevator.
He loved the change of scenery.
Just soaking up the attention. His turban kept sliding down over his eyes and when he'd try and move it back, the IV connectors attached to his arms would get caught in the mesh fabric of the turban and add to his frustration.
Clara getting inventive and hitching a ride on mommy's luggage on the way to James new and final room.
Ready to go home.
They removed all but the bare essentials and we were able to pick him up and even take a few short walks down the hall to look at something other than the inside of the room.
YEAH!! Back in mommy's arms.
Clara loved to do anything other than sitting in the room so she was excited when we took little trips to the fish tank or the cafeteria or the children toy rooms.
Clara had great stories about the fish.
And this is Clara trying to stay mentally/physically stimulated.
She would also climb in the shelf above but preferred the one with a door.
She loves to play hide-and-seek.
Dinner in our new room.
And James ready to get out and play.
They attached an arm and hand brace to help reduce the chance of James reaching up and yanking out the drainage stint that exited his head bandage on the right side.
He did not want to back in his crib/bed ever again.
And when we was back in, he was formulating ways of breaking out.
He may have been thinking he could've fit between the opening, or could be distracted by the TV on the other side of the room that was playing cartoons.
Now, for a Jedi mind trick...you want to bring me snacks.
One of the many field trips we took Clara on. I took her to the main atrium where there was a stage with a big TV playing Disney movies.
In the same room, attached to the 60 foot ceilings were mock hot air balloons.
Stopping to enjoy the artwork.
Getting some laps in the long hallways. It was odd that the majority of the time we were there, that the hallways were pretty much empty.
Everyone getting a nap in Saturday afternoon.
Finally home Saturday night around 8pm.
James didn't skip a beat at getting back to crawling around in a big room.
Would've been more cool if the Dr could've made the incision more symmetrical.
James did eventually get a nice warm shower before bedtime to wash the surgery gunk out of his hair.
Being back home with the whole family was just really great.
His smiles always erase anxieties.
We're constantly more vigilant about trying to avoid head bumps now and he only has been getting Tylenol since Friday at the hospital every 4 hours. And starting Sunday Feb 2nd, extended it to 5 to 6 hours between doses with, so far, no side effects.
Clara back to practicing her building skills. She also has a unique way of dismantling her constructions. She uses her head as a battering ram.
We were advised to to use this stretchy knit bandage thing for a few days to help keep uniform pressure on his head.
Clara pulled the stretchy knit thing off once and James did it himself another time.
It was still pretty cold outside but Clara still wanted to get out for a little bit.
She loves having a swing in the yard.
I enjoy having a swing in the yard so we don't have to walk to the park when it's soooo cold.
She loves to step in snow, mud, water, anything.
All of a sudden, she cries "You're it, chase me!!!"
So the game has begun.
And she's rounding the bend picking up speed...
Ah oh...
Crash!!! mmmmm....now what.
James has a strong sense of curiosity, especially if the subject is in crawling distance.
First, gotta see what this pillow thing tastes like. Could be good.
Alas, nope, not good tasting at all.
Oh, what's big sister doing?
I'll wait... to see what happens.
Ok, I'm ready to get out now.
So about 4 or 5 days after his surgery, with no swelling until now. his forehead swelled pretty uniformly. We're glad that it lasted less than 24 hours.
Still an outstanding beautiful smile.
He's learned to climb up the fence with his toes and doing a pull up. The fence may have to come down.
Really glad that the Dr's didn't shave his head for the surgery so his hair does really well at covering up his right side.
The left side on the other hand....
Enjoying some snacks.
He's going to need a haircut soon.
What a great trooper.
Ok James, no standing on the oven door.
Good boy.
Making sure he eats his mushrooms.
Clara enjoying her snack-time.
I look forward to when he likes to put things away instead of pulling everything out.
He's very proficient at emptying the kitchen's contents to be more readily accessible.
Big yawn....
continued....
and....all done. Nope, not tired. Possibly hungry.
He had fallen and hit the left side of his head on a toy, which caused the left side of his temple and cheek to swell. It lasted about a day and then subsided.
The Dr said that the swelling from the surgery would possibly last about 4 to 6 weeks.
And back to practicing his piano.
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