James' Tongue Surgery

Tomorrow is the big day.  My son will undergo general anesthesia to have a mystery growth removed from his tongue. If this is the first you've heard of James' tongue thingy, you can read more about it here.

Today we had his pre-op appointment.  That was exciting, to say the least.  He cried almost non-stop while we were in the exam room waiting on the doctor.  He cried when they weighed him.  He cried when they took his temperature under his arm.  Even with nobody else in the room, he cried.  This makes me more than a little bit nervous for tomorrow, surgery day.  He didn't have anything painful done to him today and he was a total mess!  Poor, poor James...

We are to be at the hospital at 6:30 am for a 7:30 am surgery.  Thankfully, he's the first case for this surgeon.  I like that.  Nobody else to bump his procedure to a later time.  Hopefully he will hardly notice he hasn't eaten or had anything to drink before surgery.  (He usually eats breakfast around 7 am.)

It is still to be determined whether this will involve an overnight stay or not.  It depends on how he handles the anesthesia and whether or not he's willing to drink anything after the procedure.

Tonight I had to bathe him in this special antiseptic soap.  I have to bathe him again in the morning with the same stuff.  Weird.  The surgery will be in his mouth, but at least his skin will be germ-free.

As I was gathering stuff to take to the hospital with us tomorrow, I felt overwhelmed.  How do I pack a hospital bag for a one year old??  Toys, favorite foods, sippy cups, lovey blankets, videos to watch...  You'd think because I work in a hospital, being in one wouldn't be much of a big deal to me.  WRONG.  I only feel comfortable in the area I work in:  Special Care Nursery.  The rest of the hospital is scary to me!  And this isn't even taking place at my hospital.  We're headed down the road for James' surgery to completely unfamiliar territory.  It makes my heart break to think of all the parents that have really, really sick kids that spend days, weeks, and months inpatient in a hospital.  I'm thankful this isn't routine for our family.    

If you are the praying type, here are our specific requests:

• Restful night's sleep for James (and his parents!).  That's been quite elusive lately...
• Short, uneventful procedure.  No complications, difficulty intubating him, starting his IV, removing the tongue thingy.
• PEACE for James during this whole event.  Fear will not be a part of this!
• Smooth, uneventful recovery from anesthesia.
• James will be willing and eager to drink and eat after the procedure.
• No overnight stay!
• Good report from the pathology lab in about a week when they  tells us whatever this tongue thingy is.
• No infections or other post-op complications.
• No preterm labor for me because of this. :)

That's quite a list.  Thanks for thinking of us and our sweet boy during this time.  I will update this blog tomorrow as soon as I get a chance.