A Family First

So, I left something out of Cillian's two month post. At the appointment, Dr. Hirsh told me that she thought she felt a hernia and that we should call Children's Hospital. It just changed names to Lurie Hospital but it's still Children's to me and really it's a mute point for this post. Anyway, I called as soon as we got home and since he's so young, we were given an appointment on Friday (two month appt was on wed afternoon). We met the pediatric surgeon and she confirmed that he does have a hernia and would need surgery. When she left the room to go and get some paperwork, I told James I needed a hug. He hugged me and said, "Don't worry Mommy - we all going to be okay."

Surgery would be on October 4th and since the littlest patients go first, we had the first surgery appointment. I really can't even describe how I felt over those two days. I think it was just fear and worry and sadness. My Mom said something helpful to me though - "Fear is destructive. Dont' be afraid. You have to have faith." So I did, I did my best to replace fear with faith. I emailed my family and asked them to pray. I am a big believer in the power of prayer. I asked them to send hope, love and positivity our way. They did, we felt it and I thank them all so much. Please don't be angry if you read this and you didn't know. A lot of people didn't know. Most of you know me well enough to know that I usually keep things like this close to the vest anyway.

The surgery would be at 8am, we'd have to get to the hospital at 6:30am. Per the surgeon's instructions, Cillian could have formula up to 1am, breast milk up to 3am and pedialyte up to 5am. We figured the formula would keep him the fullest so we made a huge bottle and like a champ, he took most of it around 2am. Then we woke him up at 4:30am and offered him pedialyte until 5am. Then we put him back to sleep. We woke James at 5:45am and had him eat breakfast. Then we all left the house at 6am for the hospital.

 

 

 

 

We got there and Cillian was weighed, etc and then we met with the anesthesiologist and he told us what he was going to do. They'd give him a mask and put him to sleep and then give him an IV. They also would give him something similar to an epidural so he'd be essentially numb from the waist down. This was the hardest part for me. They asked me if Doug or I had any questions and I said, "I just want him to wake up." When they came to take him for surgery, I kissed him, hugged him and then handed him to Doug. I couldn't hand him to the staff.

 

After we got to the waiting room, Doug and James went to go and get some tea and snacks and I sat there and said my Rosary. They came back with chamomile tea and chocolate croissants. James has never ever had a chocolate croissant before. We all sat down at a child's table and ate. I asked James how he liked the croissant and he said, "My mouth will never be the same." Doug and I laughed so hard. Thank God for James.

Doug took sugar filled James up to the 12th floor where they have a huge firetruck for the kids to play on while they're at the hospital. They stayed there until Cillian got out of surgery. I was called  back and I could hear him crying. As soon as I saw him I went to hug him and saw all of the wires attached to him. I gingerly held him because I didn't want to pull his IV or tug on any of the cords. Oh my gosh he looked so little and pale. I was SO thankful he woke up - his cries were like the most beautiful sounding reassurance. We brought bottles of breast milk for him. He could have that right after because it's considered a clear liquid. The nurse told me not to give him more than 2 ounces because they needed to see how he'd handle it. He handled it like a champ. No problems at all.

 

You remember that he's an infrequent pooper? I told Doug before the surgery that he was due for a "release" and the surgeon told me that he "released" all over the table. And then some. Every nurse that was in the room told me about it.

After we walked to our recovery room, Doug and James were able to see Cillian. We waited there for an hour and then we were discharged.

While I was talking with the discharge nurse, Doug and James walked over to Prentice (the hospital where James and Cillian were born) to pick up chicken fingers and curly fries from the hospital cafeteria. They had them for lunch with my Mom when Cillian was born and since then we treat ourselves to them every now and again. They are so good.

It feels wonderful to be home. I felt very lucky to be a parent that would just have to be there for the day. In the waiting room were other families waiting for their soms and daughters who were undergoing much more serious surgery than Cillian. I am so thankful and feel so blessed to have two healthy children.

Cillian is doing better each hour and he'll get back to being himself sooner than I realize. I am so thankful that my little sweetness Cillian is alright and made it through his surgery. This was the first surgery for our family and I hope it's our last. It's a family first I never thought we'd have to experience. I am so grateful for Cillian's successful surgery, James' outstanding behavior and of course Doug's support, love, patience and strength.