Surgery for John

Today started bright and early, well maybe just the early part.  We got up this morning around 3:30am and John got up around 4:20am.  We had to give him a bath with a special wash and he was not real happy with us.  This kid is such a trooper, he did not shed another tear after his bath.  He was giving high 5's to his surgical team, let the doctor draw on his head and took his versed like a champ.  We were told the versed usually puts kids to sleep right away or at least within about 15-20 minutes.  Well 30 minutes later, John was still charming his surgical team and sang Happy Birthday the whole way to the operating room.  That was perfect, mom needed a good laugh right about then.  I was able to carry him to the O.R. and be there until he fell asleep.  I left him him around 7:45am and then Rhett and I sat and waited, and waited and waited.  Finally at 1:45pm, Dr. Haines came to let us know that the surgery was over and they were just stitching him up.  So, around 3:45 or so (kind of lose track of time), another neurosurgeon came to talk to us and let us know that he was asking for mommy...that was music to my ears.

So, most of you are probably sick of the details of the day and want the details on how the surgery went...all I can say now is so far so good.  He is in ICU tonight and since this was considered a brain surgery the next 24 hours are very important.  He is doing wonderful so far.  The surgery went according to plan and they did not run into anything they weren't expecting.  We finally got him to settle down (thanks to morphine and tylenol) and laying in the crib by himself.  Up until that point, he just wanted to be in my arms which after a long day, there is no other place I would want him.  We are hoping tomorrow morning we will be able to move out of ICU but I am very happy to be in ICU tonight.  They monitor him very closely.  We have wonderful nurses, in fact, he was having such a hard time settling down so the nurse asked me if he would like to fall asleep to some soft music and I started saying that if he doesn't settle down soon...and then I look at John and he is shaking his head yes...I guess mom was overruled.  This kid is a fighter, from not letting medicine take him down to making his own decisions!  No wonder he has had a tough road in life and he just keeps on going!

Lastly, I just want to give a heartfelt thanks to all the texts, emails, messages and prayers we received today.  I want to especially thank my mom for taking Sebastian and Catie, I know they gave her a run for her money, but if anyone can handle it, it is her.  Also, to my cousin Lynn, she works in surgery here at the U and checked in with us a few times and also my sister's neighbor, Josh, who works with Lynn, he stopped by to see us while we were waiting and then came up to ICU to see John to make sure we were doing ok.  Lastly, Rhett's brother Derek stopped by to see us as he also works here.  It was so good to see familiar faces as the day got really long waiting for our little buddy to be back in our arms.

That is all for tonight, I am hoping to catch a few zzzz's tonight.  I should probably quick get some shut-eye as John is out cold and there are nice lullabies playing per John's request!!

Good night all!!
Holly and sleeping John