Surgery Day - Evening Edition

Well, surgery day has almost come and gone, and Bradley did GREAT. Thank the Lord!

We arrived at the hospital a bit early to look around, then decided at 1:30pm to see if it was OK to go ahead and check in. It was, so we went ahead and did that. Soon after, a nurse came and we all were able to go back with Brad for his pre-op physical and medical history review. Then, we met with his DR who advised how long the procedure would take and what we can expect. After meeting with him, we met with the anesthesiologist and two other nurses that were  going to be a part of the procedure. Bradley asked a lot of questions and they were all wonderful and answered them all to put his mind at ease. They gave him a dose of Tylenol to help with the "after surgery" headache he may get. The doc was ahead of schedule so at 3:00pm my sweet boy was wheeled back to the operating room and I kissed him goodbye.

I cannot tell you how slow the two hours he was in surgery went. I read a magazine and talked with Hans & played with Jacob. My mom & her friend Dean met us up here for the last half of the wait and that was by far the worst. I kept wondering, "shouldn't he be done?" and just before the two hour mark, one of the nurses came back to tell us that he did great and that the doctor was just finishing up and he would be moved to recovery. Shortly after he in fact was, and then once he was coherent they came out, told us what his room number would be, and that we can go wait for him up there and he would be there with us in about five minutes.

When I saw Bradley wheeled into the room, I was mixed with a sense of relief that he was here and alright, but also teared up a bit because I know that he was uncomfortable. The incision site that they showed me was far larger than I was told or had anticipated. I was initially told about 2" or so and my baby has about a 4-5" cut along the lower part of his tummy. Luckily, they did give him a morphine drip and he showed me how well he knows how to push that button! One click, and he is o-u-t. He has been asleep most of the evening. He woke up to see me & grandma (Hans & Jake had to leave for the night to sleep), and then our Pastor John & his wife Sharon came by, along with our good friend Kim's parents, Jack & Dianne. He was up for them, too. But after that he just went back to sleep.

Thank goodness he is alright. Sore and uncomfortable, yes. But he is here. Safe. Alive.

I am going to "sign off" for now and try to catch some rest before the nurse comes in and checks his vitals again. I'll try and update more tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for all the prayers and support, it really means the world to us.

God Bless,
The Rellers