Yesterday

We had our pre op appointment for Charlie on Tuesday and it was DISASTROUS!!!  We showed up and they sent us to surgical admitting to have a routine appointment (check vitals, listen to lungs, go over medical history, blood work.)  We met with the nurse first and then we waited FOREVER for a doctor to come in!!!  Finally someone came in and informed us that they had sent us to the wrong place and that we should have gone to the radiology department for the appointment since that is where the procedure was being done.  We needed to head over there and start all over.  While walking over there someone came running after us in the halls yelling at us to stop.  When we did she said there was another mistake.  They actually needed to admit us then!!! She said that there was a mistake in the system and that we were told about the appointment incorrectly.  This was actually the time for us to be admitted and not a pre-op.  We both panicked.  I needed to be back at work and so did Judson.  We needed to get Levi from school, finish packing, etc.  She took us to radiology to find out what was going on and they confirmed the plan.  I frantically called my mom to help.  Then they took us back to the admitting department to call the GI floor to get the bed ready and go over all of the instructions.  There was a lot of back and forth, explanations, etc.  Then they decided to take us back to radiology to go over everything and discuss the next steps and admit us.  When we walked in a lady said, "So today we are going to do your pre-op and then you can come back at 6:00 tomorrow morning." While this is going on a Jonas brothers look alike came in to the waiting room with his guitar to sing "Twinkle Twinkle"  Seriously, straight out of a movie.  If you are having a hard time following, welcome to our world, it was seriously that crazy and hectic!  At that point we were royally confused and pissed off.  No one knew what anyone else was doing.  We called the GI floor ourselves and got on the phone.  They confirmed that they decided we could go home but we needed to be back in the morning.  So, we went with it in hopes that it was actually the right thing to do.  We went ahead and did the pre-op and the blood draw.  She didn't even flinch.  Instead, each time they took a vile she said, "All done!"  Judson and I both left as fast as we could to get back to work so we could wrap up before checking in yesterday......

Yesterday was THE MOST TRAUMATIC yet!  We arrived at the hospital at 6:00 ready to go.  Charlie was in good spirits.  We went to admitting where they handed us the paperwork for the wrong child.  When we informed them that we were here for Charlie and not Tanya they straightened it out and sent us over to radiology to prep Charlie for her procedure.  It was a normal pre-op situation.  Sit and wait.  Vital signs, etc.  Doctors came in to explain everything, sign consent forms, etc.  Eventually it was time and they came to get us. Now let me preface this next part by saying that Charlie has been under general anesthesia several times before.  Each time they have given her a little something to calm her and they would take her from us after saying our goodbyes.  This time they had us take her to the OR.  It was just as you would picture, large sterile room, monitors everywhere, cold, people buzzing everywhere and she was instantly freaked out.  She was clutching me for dear life.  We were trying to calm her down until at one point the anesthesiologist asked me to lie her down.  She was pissed.  Flailing about and screaming.  They put a mask over her face and within seconds she was gone.  I'm not sure what I was thinking they were doing, but I was not mentally prepared to see her being put under.  It was hard to see the eyes rolling back and her gone.  We didn't get to kiss her goodbye and reassure her, etc.  We were asked to leave so they could intubate her, etc. and they would call us when they were done.  So, it began! 

We were called about an hour later to come to the recovery room.  When we got to the door you could hear this blood curdling scream.  She was beyond pissed.  The tubes they had placed were making her miserable, she was in pain.  It was rough.  She kept looking down at her hand and all of her IV's and would start to cry all over again.  At one point about an hour in she looked down at her hand and muttered her first words, "OH NO!"  We couldn't help but laugh.  

Eventually, they moved us up to our room and hooked up all of the sensors to start the testing.  It was pretty evident from the start that there was a problem.  They called in the doctor to come and take a look.  Of the 8 sensors placed from the esophagus down through the intestines, five were not reading.  They called for an X-ray to look at the placement (yay, for more radiation!)  At one point they thought they had it working and let it run for an hour so.  The doctor came back up to check and decided that they were indeed not working.  They needed to send us back down to the OR to have Charlie go back through the procedure again.  The sensors were not set right and they needed to be advanced down through her intestines further.  This would be her second general anesthetic of the day and she hadn't fully woken up from the first one.

They called down to prep the room, called for transport and took us right away.  We got down there and took us back in.  This time I was better prepared to be there when they put her out.  They told me how long it would be until she was unconscious, and then she was out.  This time the recovery room called the second they wheeled her out so we could be there when she opened her eyes.  It made for a much better recovery.  When she woke up they took us back to the room and did another XRAY to confirm everything was in place, which it was.  They then hooked her up to the machines to make sure the sensors were reading.  At this point it was too late to run the tests so we needed to wait to start until today.  It was about 5:00 and she had not had anything to eat or drink since dinner time on Tuesday night.  They decided to start IV fluids to prevent dehydration and run them through the night.  She would only be able to have clear liquids (but only water and juice) so that the tubes and sensors did not get disrupted or displaced again.  

Charlie was rather uncomfortable for the good part of the day yesterday and night last night.  She HATES the tube in her nose and is incredible lethargic.  She never made an attempt to go anywhere, move about her bed, get up, etc..  We sat her up briefly and that was really it.  It was very sad.  Crossing our fingers that today is a better day.  At this point, we are waiting for them to come in and get started for the day.  We will definitely be here for an extra night, which is a bummer on so many levels.  Another night being away from Levi, Judson is now having to miss his most important night of work for the year, and we are emotionally and physically exhausted.  Hoping to be home tomorrow evening! Another update will come soon.