The Anticipation is Finally Over!!

I am sitting in my son's ICU room as he peacefully sleeps. Today has felt like it lasted forever! We woke up around 4:30 this morning in order to be at the hospital by 6am. Well, in typical Moore fashion, we were of course, late. We got here at 6:30, but no one seemed to care and we still sat around and waited quite a bit, so I guess the arrival time was more of a guideline.......

Anyway, we eventually ended up in the pre-op area where things finally got going. We spent a ton of time talking to anesthesiology in an attempt to prevent "emergence delirium" which has occurred both the last two times. The doctors always try to make me feel better by telling me he doesn't remember it and is not aware of what is going on, but unless the doctors can give me medication so that I don't remember it either, they need to fix it.....and I have been very proactive in communicating with anesthesiology, repeatedly. Well, he finally left for surgery and I when I say left, I mean he left us....the doctors did not have to take him away. He went racing down the hallways of pre-op in a little cozy coupe car. The last things Ben and I heard Lil Ben say as we walked out was, I want to go faster!! 

We recieved two updates during surgery, all very positve. Then the doctor came out and talked to us, again very positive and then around 1:00 we were finally able to see him. As we walked through the recovery room I kept listening for a screaming kid- because that is how I found him the last two times. Nothing, peace and quiet. As I rounded the final corner he was laying there with his eyes open looking right at me. He started to cry a little, but he was very reasonable and I could communicate with him.....nothing like that the last times. I was so happy that he was not scared and not screaming and thrashing about. He just looked so pitiful. We spent about an hour waiting on an ICU bed to come open and then we moved from the 3rd floor surgical wind to the 5th floor, PICU. 

After we arrived on the 5th floor, we spent some time getting settled. He has moments of clarity where he wants to talk non-stop....but it is hard because he is hoarse from the surgery and he is hard to understand. I swear I think he rolled his eyes at me when I didn't understand him at one point! 

Then, the highlight of the day....Santa came by to visit!! How awesome is that??!! We were told he was coming before he showed up, so we practiced what he was going to ask for! (We saw Santa at Brunch this past weekend and when LB saw him, he forgot what he wanted and asked for his default request: a train set!) We had to seize this opportunity to correct that mistake. Santa came in, and little Ben gave his request without a single error and even though he is really hoarse Santa understood exactly what LB wanted!!

After an upset stomach and some zofran, he now sleeping peacefully again. Every so often he pops up so that he is sitting straight and up wants to know where something or someone is....it is often a different request! He must be dreaming and waking up still thinking about whatever was in the dream. He is such a little trooper and I am in such awe of his bravery! I don't know that I would be laying in a bed calmly with bandages all over my head and tubes coming out of everywhere! 

My little man amazes. Here is to praying that his eyes don't swell shut this time!! The less swelling the sooner we get to go home!!