Surgery Day

Well, you all are in for a treat. I (Tommy) get to take a turn at the blog tonight. Hey, don't all of you jump up in excitement at the same time!

The day went as well as can be expected. James' surgery was the 7th surgery for one of our kiddos. Of course, they have varied greatly in severity, but anytime your child goes in for surgery there is a tremendous amount of anxiety that accompanies the day. The nurses and doctors have been fantastic. The facility is also excellent. I have to admit, I did not know what to expect. The only other time we've been to the hospital was for the initial consultation in February. The doctors offices are very dated as the hospital was built in the 1950's. We were pleasantly surprised that the surgery center, PICU, and pediatric wing are all brand new.

James is still heavily sedated, but he is being weened. Whenever he wakes up he cries, fusses, and squirms quite a bit. The best way I know to describe his tongue right now is that it looks like a wad of bubble gum with stitches in it. His bleeding has been relatively light compared to other tongue reduction patients, so that is great news. However, it's tough to watch him as you know he has got to be very uncomfortable.
His arms are in splints to keep him from pulling out the feeding tube. They started feeding him through the tube tonight and that will continue until he is able to eat/drink on his own. We are praying he can do that as early as tomorrow or Friday. One of the really cool things about the hospital is they have self-serve ICEE machines on certain floors. Granted, they are there to encourage kids to drink following tonsil or tongue surgery, but it is also a really nice perk for the parents (get them free also). I can attest that Bernie is quite excited about these machines. We found them late this afternoon and the joy was undeniable. I foresee many trips to the ICEE machine over the next couple of days!!

We thank you for your prayers and ask for continued prayer that James' recovery stays on track with limited/no setbacks. Check back tomorrow as we will have another update and some pictures and maybe a video.

Tommy