Sydney's Surgery and Mother's day

On Thursday, Sydney had her tonsils and adenoids removed and tubes put in. She was in the same hospital as she was born in (and where I had my post partum hemorrhage and hysterectomy just over 4 years ago). It was a little easier than I thought it would be to send Sydney off for surgery. I'm going to provide some back story, so if you want to skip it, find the words [HERE] at the beginning of the paragraph for Thurs'. experience.

When Sydney was born, my surgical nurses received Employee of the Month and Year for working on my case. Our hospital is small and remote. In fact, the closest NICU is 100 miles away and helicopter service is rare. We have one surgical team on call after hours and if a second emergency comes in and can't wait, they have to start calling people at home and hope they can reach people. Needless to say, I was the second emergency. I was lucky because it was dinner time (they decided to operate by the time Joe returned from having Sydney cleaned up and I was being walked down to the OR by 5:45 - Sydney was born at 5:00). It was also in the middle of the week which was good because many people leave town for the weekend. So, my nurses were rewarded for their willingness to come in on their time off.

About a year and a half ago (at Thanksgiving) , I dropped some flowers off for the 2 of the 3 nurses who are still at the hospital as a thank you. I've never met them. It was hard walking into the pre-op area. While I never spent time there, I do remember being walked through it. In hindsight, it helped that I did that because it made walking into that area easier when I had to do it for Sydney's pre-op visit last week.

[HERE] Last week, Sydney and I had to go for her pre-op visit. From my review of my medical records, I knew that our Anesthesiologist (we have 1 and 4 CRNA on staff here ) was in my operation for some amount of time. The Anesthesiologist met with us to review what would happen for Syd's surgery. As we were finishing up, I mentioned to him that he was in on a surgery for me and wanted to thank him for his skill. He thought about it for a few minutes and said "I didn't start out in your surgery, I was called later. But I think I remember it. It was about 6 or 7 in the evening?" He was right, even though it was over 4 years later.

Thursday arrived and Sydney and I headed to the hospital. In some ways my ordeal made it easier for me to send off Sydney because I knew that if they could save my life, they could take care of Sydney. When I arrived, one of the nurses "D" started to check us in. She looked at me and said "I know you." She checked Syd's birthdate and asked if she was born there. It turns out she was in OB at that time. She remembered my being there, that I was in the ICU, went DIC. I remembered her, but not her name. She told me that there are just some faces that you never forget.

I mentioned to her that I have wanted to meet the nurses who were in the surgery with me. It turns out that one of them was around that day and she sent her over to see me. It was really strange meeting "J" - someone who was so important to me yet I'd never met. I started to get a little teary talking to her and she walked over to give me a hug. It wasn't just a hug, but the kind that you give the best friend you haven't seen in 20 years. The kind that you are uncertain you should give but really want to. We had wanted to hug, but stayed apart trying to decide if it fit with protocol. I figured out that the other nurse in my surgery has the same last name as a woman at church, and knowing that there are a group with that last name in town, she's probably related to her. I may be able to meet her sometime.

Sydney did well, and the nurses were wonderful. She had a bit of a tough time when she woke up as she kept crying and saying it hurt. For naps, Sydney tends to sleep on our laps and when she wakes up, she wants to immediately get up and go. It was hard to convince her that she wasn't ready to walk. We decided to try putting her back in bed and I sang her the "Moon Song" - the Sandra Boynton book "The Going to Bed Book." It calmed her down immediately. She corrected one word the first time I read it. I quickly forgot how it started and kept reading the middle of the book while I desperately tried to remember the words. I finally did and I recited the book while we walked her back to the pre-op/recovery area and settled her down for a nap. She finally fell asleep and had some popcicle.

She has done remarkably well and we took a small break from pain meds until today (day 4) and I have to work hard to keep her playing quietly.

I closed a few chapters and faced a few demons. Not sure I'll every completely relax about surgery, after all, the phrase "it's just routine" went out the window when I had complications when Sydney was born.

Mother's Day is very special. We usually have a low key day, and some year I'll convince DH that I get a few days a year when I don't have to decide what to cook, and I know I'll soon miss the home made gifts, but I do love the day! It's a day I get to see thanks to the skill of a few doctors and nurses and a bit of luck.