The night before surgery

It is the night before surgery and Tyler is now sleeping.  We drove over to Seattle this afternoon and had to stop at Children's to get Tyler's bloodwork done.  That was not easy.  It took 2 nurses and Joey & I to get it done.  At least it was quick and the pain was minimal.  I was able to get a hold of a Child Life Specialst and she left a package of stuff for Tyler to look at that will hopefully help him understand what is going on tomorrow.  We were able to get a room at the Ronald McDonald House right next to the Hospital.  It is such a great resource for families who have to be here away from home for long periods of time, and it is certianly a fun place for kids.  There was even a gift for Tyler waiting in the room for him.  He thought that was really great and I am touched by the generosity of this place.  They really try hard to make this experience as easy as possible for families.

We had to give Tyler a bath tonight and wash him with a special soap called Hipiclens to help lessen the chance of infection.  Then we used the kit from the Child Life Specialist and played doctor.  Tyler seemed to be comfortable seeing and using the medical stuff.  I guess we will see tomorrow how it really worked.  Before bed I took some "before" pictures.  I am anxious to see how he will feel and look "after".

 

This is Tyler's traction x-ray from August 2011

We are checking in tomorrow at 7:15 and the surgery is scheduled to begin at 8:30 am.  We hope the anesthisiologist will give Tyler an anti-anxiety medication before he goes back.  We have heard that it works really well for kids, especially those who have fears. I'm sure every kid who comes in for surgery is scared and could use some! 

Thank you to all who have given support, prayers, hugs, advice and time.  We appreciate everyone so much.  I will try to post again tomorrow during the surgery with updates.  Maybe it will give me something to do other than worry about Tyler.