My Kid is a TROOPER

Kaeden went in for a little surgery on the 9th. We've known since he was born that he would need to have this surgery to correct some things......ummm....."down there." Kaeden was born 99% perfect, but did have a case of chordee and torsion. When the pediatrician making rounds the morning after Kaeden was born told us that he checked out just fine, other than his crooked penis, Jeff and I thought she was kidding. I was like, "Ha ha. That's a good one." Then after she continued about how we'd have to have some corrective surgery done after the sixth month mark to ensure it's usefulness, I thought, "I don't know this lady. Why would I think she was joking like that?"

Lucky for us Kaeden's condition was very minor, and oddly enough, very common. No one in either Jeff's or my family had ever heard of such things, but once you get talking about it, almost everyone knows someone who had a similar problem below the one-sied waistline. Although there are thousands of kids and parents suffering with much more serious and painful diagnosis [walking the halls of Primary Children's Hospital you are reminded of this constantly], it's still scary to think of your baby going under complete anesthesia no matter the situation.

Kaeden took his surgery like a champ. We scheduled the big day for a Friday, and had prepared ourselves for a weekend of screaming, crying, and all around uncomfortableness. We were blessed with the complete opposite. My little man acted as if nothing ever happened. He slept peacefully all weekend [I even caught up on a little sleep!], and when he was awake he gave us all his dimpled smile we love so much. He was just awesome!

We started the day in the registration waiting room at 6 a.m. A bunch of other kids and their parents surrounded us anxiously anticipating what lied ahead. I expected Kaeden to be fussy at this point given the fact that he hadn't eaten since 11 p.m., and a stretch like that without food is generally accompanied with severe irritability [i.e. screaming] until you insert a food source. Not today. Kaeden sat in the waiting room in awe of the other kids, and in love with the new toy the nurses had strapped to his leg.

Our next stop was to a screening room where they took Kade's vitals, hooked him up to a few machines, and then gave him a cool new pair of duds. You have to admit he even makes hospital-issued jammies look cute!

The next stop was the pre-operating wait room where we were again corralled with all the other children we had seen in the prior waiting room. Kaeden continued to be calm and silent, thus allowing me to eavesdrop on what all the other children were having done [mostly tubes being put in their ears]. At one point I was so involved in my eavesdropping I didn't even notice that Kaeden had all the nurses behind the nurse's station swooning over him. Apparently he had started flashing those big blue eyes and dimpled smile. I look over and all the ladies see me and freeze as if they were embarrassed that he had every single one of them wrapped around his little finger. That's my boy!

The anesthesiologist came out followed by Kaeden's doctor, and the group of us make the trek to the place where we say our final goodbyes. We gave Kaeden to the nurse and he just smiled and giggled at us as if we had taken him to the most fun place ever. Awww....the innocence of complete trust!

The surgery lasted a little over an hour, and when Kaeden was taken to the post-op room they allowed one parent to go back. I head back there to see my little boy in a surgery crib. He had two nurse's hanging over him, and he was screaming and flailing in distress. I thought it might be because of pain. Nope! The nurse was trying to give him a binkie. Kaeden hates them, and acts as if you are gagging him if you even try to soothe him with one. I told the nurse the binkie was a no-go, and he took off as if I had just chastised him. He probably thought I was one of those parents that don't allow their child the simple joy of a pacifier. Nope. Kid just doesn't like it.

Kade recognized me immediately, spent a few moments letting me know what all those people had done to him, and then rolled over to lay his head in my hand. His little hands grasped the bedrails, and he was just the sweetest most innocent thing you've ever seen in a hospital bed. At this point he began his nap that would eventually last about 6 more hours.

After his vitals remained stable, we were moved to a recovery room where Jeff could join us. For the next hour the machines monitored him while I held him and we made sure he was completely okay. Here he is. Wondering what happened, yet so happy to have his mom back.

He was just so sweet, sleeping so soundly, yet we knew he just wasn't feeling well. It was heart-breaking seeing all those tubes hooked to him!

Like I said, he was a champ. Here is a picture of him later in the day. Completely happy to be playing with some toys. His eyes say, "I'm not feeling good," but his heart said, "Let's play!" I Just love that little boy!

Although slightly nerve-wracking, our whole experience was wonderful! The staff at Primary Children's Hospital is just amazing. It's so neat to see how the hospital has customized nearly every aspect of it's medical care to accommodate children and their innate fears. They are really a special group of people to be able to see children in such dire conditions day in and day out. Bless their souls!

I would say that the only awkward moment we had was when the doctor came to the waiting room immediately after surgery to let us know how the surgery went. Many of the other parents had already had their doctor come discuss their child with them, and all the doctors kept everything pretty hush hush [despite my eavesdropping dismay]. Then came our doctor. She basically let everyone know that Kaeden was now "a normal boy," with a new "pig in a blanket." We laughed at the analogy until we actually saw it. I guess that's why she's a professional. It definitely was a pig in a blanket. [picture that will one day be awesome blackmail material ommitted].