October 4, 2012. Luke's Surgery at CCHMC!

Luke had surgery today in order to release his tendons at the heals.  Surgery was scheduled for 7:00 AM, and we needed to arrive at CCHMC at 6:00 AM.  We left the house at about 4:45 AM, and we were right on time!  Luke's surgery took place just as scheduled, and it lasted just over one hour.  When it was time for Grandma and I to see Luke in the recovery room, I discovered he was crying tremendously.  He was uncomfortable and completely inconsolable.  The nurses, and later the Anesthesiologist, explained to Grandma and I that Luke had a respiratory reaction to the anesthesia.  His lower left lung collapsed a bit, and he became increasingly congested during surgery.  He was being given oxygen in the recovery room.

The nurses asked me to hold Luke in a variety of different positions, hoping to find a way for him to get comfortable in order to settle himself.  We were not successful, and pain medication was not helping at all.  Luke cried and screamed for approximately 2 and 1/2 hours.  At that time, the lead nurse requested the Orthopedic Resident examine Luke, and he arrived within a few minutes.  After checking Luke from top to bottom, he announced the casts were too tight, and needed to be removed immediately!  The nurses ran to locate the saw, and Luke's casts were split on the left and right side of each leg... four cuts in total.  The Resident explained to me that the saw had no blade, that it couldn't cut Luke.  The saw opperated with high level vibrations.  I can only say that inconsolable children in tremendous pain do not like noisy saws!  It was extremely difficult for Luke, truly heartbreaking!  The casts were cut and split to allow appropriate relief, and then wrapped with ace bandages.  Luke calmed within about ten minutes!  His casts were too tight!

Luke was admitted in the hospital for the evening, in order to monitor his respiration and oxygen level.  The surgery was considered to be outpatient surgery, but not in this case!  His Pedicatrician came to visit, and everyone brought him toys to play with in his crib.  He was kept on an IV through the night, in order to prevent dehydration.  The Pediatrition and I agreed that Luke's respiration improved with time that evening, and the progress was exactly correlated to the anesthesia leaving his body.  Luke's breathing became healthier and healthier as the anesthesia was wearing off.  The nurses kept a close eye on Luke, and everyone really loved him!  Everyone had been informed of what had happened in recovery, and Luke had quite a name for himself that night in the hospital!  Everyone knew what took place was extremely hard on him.  He slept pretty comfortably, and by evening he was more himself... playing and beginning to smile a bit.  He was very tired, of course!  Luke slept relatively well, and we went home the next afternoon.

Luke visited the Orthopedic Doctor on Monday, October 8, in order to be re-casted.  He did not enjoy that visit one bit, and I can't blame him.  His new casts fit him perfectly, and he is getting around the house just fine!  He scoots on his bottom at times, and crawls other times.  On October 29, we will remove his casts, and Luke will be fitted with his shoes and bar.  He'll wear them 23 hours a day for three months, then 18 hours for three months, etc.  Eventually, he will just wear his shoes and bar during nap and at bedtime.  He'll be well on his way by springtime!  We are very blessed!