Home Sweet Home

Today we made the drive home to Wenatchee. After Tyler was released Tuesday night around 9:30, we headed back to the hotel. Joey and I did not want to push Tyler too far and drive home. So, after a good night of sleep, we headed home this morning. We stopped a few times to break up the ride for Tyler, and that worked out well for us. He was sleepy and less active than we are used to, but that was expected. He had some pain, but we were able to manage it with Tylenol and Ibuprofen. It was obvious to us when the medicine started to wear off; Tyler began to look sleepy and slowed down significantly. Once the meds kicked in, he perked right up! He couldn't wait to get home to see his sister, Kaitlyn, and play with his toys. He is an amazing kid. He just keeps going, and his smile and energetic personality make us just want to smile with him. We are so blessed that Tyler is our son! I have some great pictures of him smiling in the hospital that I will post later.

Tyler is back

Tyler was pretty sleepy when he was wheeled into the room a little over an hour ago. His nurse took him off oxygen and he smiled for a few pictures. Nancy, one of the Child Life Specialists brought him a small LEGO set and that perked him up a little. His smile didn't last long. The anethesia is making him sick. Tyler has not been able to keep anything down, so his nurse just got him another dose of anti-nausea medicine. We are hoping that kicks in and he feels better soon. He can't be released until he is eating and drinking well, among other things.

Waiting for Ty

Today is about waiting. We arrived at the hospital on time and even went back to the surgery prep area on time, but then the waiting began. We talked to a nurse who told us that the doctor would be in shortly to see us. We waited. An hour and 15 minutes past the time his surgery was scheduled to begin I popped my head out of the room to see what was up. The nurse let us know that Dr. White's first surgery of the day was taking longer than expected and they would be with as soon as possible. My heart goes out to that family. I know I watch the clock closely when Ty is in survey, and I can imagine how scary it would be for surgery to go past the estimated time frame. We were getting concerned that Tyler was going to complain about being hungry, but he stayed busy with playing with the remote control car from Nana and Papa, books and youtube videos. He had a few rough patches emotionally as well, so I didn't want him getting worried again. Just before we left the hotel this morning Tyler got pretty emotional, telling us that he didn't need surgery, begging to just stay at the hotel all day. He has been a really strong kid leading up to today, which helps me keep it together. It makes it so hard to hide my feelings and put on my brave face when I see him scared. Anyways, the time eventually came for him to go and Joey walked him to the OR. That was really hard for me because I was the one to take him back for the other surgeries. He just hugged me and walked away for surgery, and I was left alone in the pep room with my thoughts and fears. We waited an hour and received the page that he was done. Dr. White met with us and said that everything went very well. He was able to get about a half of an inch expansion this time! He gave us the locking clip to about the size of a small 1 x 2 lego that he had just taken out of Tyler, and that was it. Now we are just waiting in his room for him to arrive. Tyler's nurse, Leslie, just let us know that he is doing well in recovery, but is still too sleepy to come to his room. They want him to be more awake and alert before he leaves the recovery room. Until then we wait.

Fun the day before surgery

Tyler was so excited to ride the train to Seattle! He loved it and watched out the window most of the trip.

Once we arrived in Seattle, we spent a few hours walking around downtown. We rode the monorail and sat in the very front next to the driver. She was very nice and even let Ty honk the horn. He had a permanant grin for the entire ride after that.

Tyler's pre-op appointments went well. His x-rays appear to confirm my opinion that he is not as straight as he was 6 months ago, but are not conclusive because he is standing in a slightly different posistion in the previous x-ray.

Surgery is scheduled for 9:30 today, and I will post updates later when I know how he did. Thanks for the prayers and well-wishes for a safe surgery!

All Aboard!

Tomorrow Tyler and I will catch the early morning train to Seattle for his pre-op appointments. He is so excited to ride the train that he actually told me that he is excited for his surgery. I know that he is actually not excited about the surgery. I'm not excited about it either but if he does as well as last time I will be happy. Tyler's surgery is Tuesday at 9:30, so I will post updates as we get them.

Last June...

     I realize that after Tyler's last surgery, I did not update his progress.  Here it is!

Tyler and Daddy walking out of the hospital.  Look how straight Ty looks!

     At home Tyler continued to recover quickly.  He needed Tylenol for pain, but he only needed it occasionally and for only the first few days following surgery.  His incision was about 2.5 inches long, and was glued instead of stitched.  Although he was making a quick recovery and he felt good enough to play as he did before surgery, he couldn't do what he wanted to do the most: swim.  Tyler was not allowed to be submerged in water for 3 weeks following surgery and he did not understand why.  It was very emotional for him because it was the beginning of summer and we usually spent most weekends at my sister's pool.  To help him through the tough situation, we bought large waterproof bandages and a friend sent us some dermabond.  We used those and allowed Tyler to float on pool floats and sit on the pool steps as long as he did not submerge his incision. 

Tyler sitting on the top step in Aunt Vanessa & Uncle Jim's pool just a few days after surgery.

               We immediately realized the error in our plan to schedule surgeries in the summer and winter.   We asked Tyler's surgeon, Dr. White to shift the schedule of future surgeries so they did not fall in the summer.  He was very understanding and assured us that it would not be a problem at all.  We felt good that Tyler's emotional well being was important to his doctor and planned to schedule the next one in late January or early Febuary.  That catches us up to thepresent! : )

     I'm sorry that it took me so long to update.  Tyler recovered so well that I just got caught up on the every day dealings of life, but I did feel that it was still important to post.