Max's Endoscopy

As you probably guessed by the title of this post, Max had has endoscopy last Thursday, and thank goodness we all made it through just fine. Actually, it was a lot less nerve wracking than Jayson's endoscopy/tonsil removal--probably because we took out the whole tonsil removal part, which was the awful side of Jayson's surgery.

The day before Max's endoscopy, they called and told us that he couldn't have any formula after midnight, and no clear liquids after 9 am (his procedure was scheduled for noon). After explaining that he was just 3 and a half months, they decided to let him have formula until 2 am. You gotta take any little victory that you can get. So around 1:30 am, Sam woke up Max and fed him. He woke up again at 6:15 (right after Sam had left for work), so I gave him a nice 5 ounce bottle of unflavored/clear Pedialyte. Luckily Pedialyte is primarily dextrose and has no sucrose, so we had something to give him! At any rate, Max didn't really care for the stuff--he gagged over it several times. I was a mean mommy though and made him drink it all because I didn't want him to get dehydrated and I also wanted his blood sugar to stay up. He fell back asleep after that with no trouble, and probably would have stayed asleep past 9 am if I had let him. However, I had to get him and Jayson ready to leave the house before 10, and he also needed to have one last bottle. I tried mixing in a tiny bit of white grape juice with the Pedialyte, but I don't think it was enough to appeal to him. I gave up after three ounces, and just got everyone ready. We got out of the house on time by some miracle, and Max decided to take a nap in his car seat, thank goodness.

Max and I arrived at Primary Children's right at 10:30 am, his scheduled check in time. The check in process was probably the worst part of the day. Sam wasn't there yet (he had to work a half day and couldn't get to the hospital until 11) and when I set Max down to fill out paperwork he freaked out. It might not have been so bad except the room was fairly small, and filled with kids who were nervous enough as it was (I really didn't want Max to set any of the other little kids off). We spent a lot of time outside the check-in room trying to calm down. Once daddy arrived at 11, Max became smiley and happy again. Go figure; maybe one day I will be the winner parent lol.

We had the pre-op exam stuff done not long after, and found out Max weighs 14 pounds and is 24 inches--what a little heffer! He even got the same patterned gown and pants that Jayson wore at his surgery (the smallest size they have in the pre-op clinic). As you can imagine, they really hung off of Max! The nurse freaked out when Sam washed off Max's binky and put it in his mouth, on the cause that even a few drops of water could delay his surgery. We just rolled our eyes a little when she left because he really got NOTHING from the binky. But it calmed him down and put him to sleep, thank goodness. The nurse came back and said everything would be okay to go ahead, even if he Max did manage to get a few tiny drops of water. DUH.

Dr. Patel came and visited us right before the surgery, and gave us some paperwork that he was faxing to CareCentrics (a medical supplier company) for Max's formula--hurray! He also gave us a copy of the form for the genetic blood test that he was going to draw during surgery, so in about six weeks we will know which mutation(s) for CSID that Max carries. And finally he gave us some paperwork for formula assistance if Cigna won't cover all of Max's food. Dr. Patel pretty much did all of that research for us, and I am so grateful to him! The anesthesiologist also came and talked to us about what she would be doing for Max. A few short minutes later, we walked Max almost all the way back to his procedure room and handed him over. He had just woken up from his nap, and was giving everyone big grins. It was super adorable.

After we handed him off, we went to the surgery waiting room. We felt so much less tense this time; I just knew Max was going to be okay. After 30 minutes or so, Dr. Patel came and talked to us. He apologized that it took so long (I thought it went quick). Max has a small stomach that was making it difficult to manuver, so it took a bit longer to get the tissue sample. Don't ask me where Max puts all the food he eats if he has such a small tummy!! They also had to poke him three times to get enough blood for the genetic test, so that took a bit longer than expected. As a result they had to briefly intubate him, but we had been prepared for that. A few minutes later, they called for a parent to go visit Max in recovery. I went because I was wearing all of the identification bands.

When I got there, Max was practicing his crying and screaming. His little voice was hoarse from being intubated; it was kind of cute sounding but I felt bad for him. I sat down with him in a rocker chair and fed him a few ounces of Pedialyte (which he had to keep down before getting a bottle) and he got Tylenol. He fell asleep pretty quick after that, due to the anesthetic still being in his system a little, and the narcotic they gave him for pain. After half an hour, a bed opened up in the secondary recovery area, and we headed over there. Sam got to join us, and fed Max his formula. After which Max promptly conked out again, no surprise. We got discharge information not too long after that and were released at 2:30. We had lunch after at the cafeteria, and then I headed out to work. I couldn't believe how quickly we were in and out of the hospital, and how well Max did. Sam only had to give him Tylenol once or twice the rest of the day, and since then he's been just fine. What a trooper!

My sinus surgery is in less than two weeks and I'm definitely starting to get really nervous. I just keep telling myself that both of my babies have made it through surgery and anesthesia just fine, and that if they managed to do it, I can be brave too! I am SO looking forward to feeling better though. I figure one month from now I ought to be doing loads better than I am now. Hopefully no more sinus headaches or infections for a long time. I also pray that this helps me get more restful sleep at night, and not be so exhausted when I wake up. Maybe this isn't what is causing my constant fatigue (more than I should be experiencing, even with work and kids) but I can hope because this is fixable, and chronic fatigue really isn't. Crossing my fingers.