The Surgery
We headed back up to Chapel Hill (I think in a previous post I said Durham - It’s supposed to be Chapel Hill. My bad!) on Monday for the surgery that was scheduled for Tuesday. I tell you what, if you’ve never been to UNC Hospital, it’s crazy! It reminded me of going to the Social Security Administration building when James was born. You park in the parking deck, walk across the skywalk that is not enclosed (super windy - great place to fly a kite though…), then when you walk in, you have to take a number and wait for your number to be called. To be honest, they have it down to an art almost.
Anywho, we managed to get past the check-in and made it to the waiting room for surgery. Didn’t take long to call us back (only Cory and I went back) and have us wait to meet the team. They were really nice and James was even able to meet a cute puppy! (okay it was a full grown dog, but every dog or cat is a puppy or kitten). The surgeon explained everything in detail and was very patient with all of our questions that we bombarded him with.
Then it was time to take him back. I was allowed to put on a clean suit and carry James back to the OR so he wouldn’t be upset about leaving us. I can’t express how grateful I was for that. Once he was asleep, I went back to the waiting room and they started the surgery. All in all, it took about 35 minutes for the surgery, which surprised us, but we were excited to see our boy!
We stayed over night - so we got NO sleep - and James took pain meds as needed based on whether or not he was asleep. We asked the nurse not to wake him for medicine if he was sleeping well, so naturally, every time she came by at night, he got his acetaminophen because he was awake! We’re just glad this surgery is behind us now. In about 2 weeks-ish, he will start the infusions at Chapel Hill. His care team at UNC did an outstanding job caring for his every need and even going above and beyond to make up a wagon ride for him if he wanted one.
As of this afternoon, he is doing very well. We’re keeping an eye out for any indication of infections and watching his activity levels. They’re supposed to be low key, but keeping this little dude from running and jumping outside has its challenges, which I find to be a good thing.
For everyone curious: the catheter in his head will not limit him from doing anything such as swimming or running around. Once the incision has healed, he will be able to be his normal toddler self again - and we hope it lasts for as long as possible!