John's Surgery

John went in for a hydrocele surgery on June 23. It's just like a hernia surgery; fast, common, but still a big deal for us! We took a hospital tour the afternoon before the surgery. It was GREAT! The funny part was the teacher was someone I went through the Ed program with at USD. It was fun seeing her again :) She had doctor tools, like blood pressure cuffs, stethoscopes, and the gas mask for John to "play" with and check out. We walked to the pre-op area and we were shown where the waiting areas are. There was also a take home kits with gloves, hat, mask, band aids and other goodies. John loved it and he enjoyed dressing up. This was a great way for him to get used to the hospital and things that we would see that day. He still didn't understand what was going to happen, but it was not scary for him. Debra told him that he could wear whatever he wanted to the hospital, comfy clothes or even him pjs. John told me, "Hmm.. I think I'm going to wear my boxers and a shirt" I told him, that was silly he couldn't wear that! He told me, "well, that's what I wear when I go to sleep!" He got me there, although he did wear sweats to the hospital that morning! :)

Here's John in his doctor gear.

Ry wasn't too sure about Doctor John. She was a little freaked out since it sounded like John, but it sure didn't look like John!

John was very excited to have Ma spend the night at our house the night before the hospital! We got to go to Fuddruckers for dinner, play with Ma at night and the morning AND he got Mr. Potato Head from Toy Story 3! What an exciting time... although I think he knew something was up...


The other part that John was looking forward to was playing with my iPhone. He usually doesn't get to play with it a lot, but I told him he could play when we were at the hospital. Da put some movies on it for him and he was in heaven!

We eventually made it into the pre-op area and John changed into cool hospital clothes.

Our cute little patient

As the operation got closer, the doctor came in and put an "x" on him where the surgery was going to happen. He let John have the little pen he used. John made little "x" on me, Ma and Da. He also made a picture of a person and put "x"'s all over him :) It was really cute!

I was surprised that the anesthesiologist asked me if I wanted to go back with John. Last time that wasn't an option. I got the whole OR gear, shoe covers, hat and outfit. This was right about the time that John started getting a little nervous. I think it started when he saw that Ma and Da were leaving and when the doctors all came in for him. He was very calm though, only a sad little face and a few quiet tears.

We headed into the OR. Once we got there, they moved him over to the operating table. The anesth. asked me to sing John a song while he went to sleep, we decided on "Twinkle, Twinkle" John was still taking everything so well, better than I would have. He had no sedatives in his system at all! He was lying there peacefully and calmly, just a few quiet tears here and there. I kept rubbing his head and talking to him. Then it was sleepy time. The doctor asked me to start singing, so I did. I almost started crying at one point when he looked right into my eyes with little tears sliding down his face. I knew I couldn't though, so I stayed strong for him. He was calm through the whole thing and towards the end, the doctor commented on how long it was taking him to go under, that he was a strong one. The other doctor mentioned that we may have a future Navy SEAL on our hands! Then suddenly, he was asleep. He still had the little stickers they gave him in his little hands. It was hard leaving him, but I headed out into the waiting area with Ma and Louis. I was in a bit of a daze and was glad that I ran into a friendly nurse who headed me find my way out and get undressed from the OR gear.

He was out about 30 minutes. We had a Coke, filled people in by, phone, texts and FaceBook. It was great having my new phone! It felt really quick when they said he was out and ready to see us. Only one parent is allowed in the recovery area (really dumb policy for little ones!) so I headed back there. It was a little scary since I heard him crying before I saw him. He was just waking up, so he was scared and confused. He just kept saying that he didn't want to sleep by himself and he wanted to go home. He eventually calmed down after the nurse told him he needed to drink something. She first gave him apple juice and he wasn't too happy about that. He asked for water, she said he couldn't have any. He asked again a little louder and she asked if he wanted ice. The next time he said very commanding " I WANT WATER" she went to get him some and as soon as he had a drink, he was almost instantly peaceful. He knew what he wanted. The rest of the recovery time was uneventful (thank goodness!) John kept the fluids down, so he was transferred to the post-op area. Again, he was a total trooper. Here are the heart monitor papers the nurse gave John. She him he could see where he was crying with the elevated rate, now he tells everyone that "the papers show you how much I cried"

John got to ride out in a wheelchair. He couldn't wait to get home. He also wanted to ride in the chair all on his own. He was very brave when the nurse pulled out the IV, she got us ready for the chance of him freaking out, but not even a tear or a whimper from Super Hero John

We finally made it home and John got to lay down and watch movies. He was up and walking a few days later. We were amazed how fast he recovered from the whole thing. He slept great that night, and never needed anything stronger than regular old Tylenol. The next day, we even met Da for lunch at Balboa Park since John had so much energy. He;s taken naps every day since the operation, so he tires out faster. What a brave little guy! He likes telling about his hospital adventure and it amazes me how much he remembers of the experience, especially in the recovery area. John still wants to be a doctor, so it must not have been too bad for him :) He brought his, hat, mask and heart paper to school today for sharing.