Our day started early we had to be at the hospital at 7:15 am. Dang the one day that I could sleep in, and I have to get up super early. Oh well I guess the other kids had school anyways. So I told Rhett to get ready to leave since he had to leave our house about 6:30 am just to be on the safe side. He took his own sweet time getting ready which was frustrating since I really didn't want to be late. I hate being late to things hence I have the clocks in my house set ahead at least 10 minutes. LOL! Oh well. As he was finishing I figured I would start with the pictures. This was before we left to head to the hospital. How is it my kids are this happy in the morning? I just don't get it.
Gosh they look happy. Gavin didn't want to participate since he had just gotten up he was kinda grumpy. Oh well missed out on a cute photo. Nikole and Dylan are sure cute! After that we were headed to the hospital. Daddy said that he was going to stay home and make sure all the kids got out the door for school and then come up to the hospital. Great! I do that everyday and sometimes it really sucks. So I got to the hospital with Rhett on time I was surprised since we were running late according to my clocks. LOL! It is a good thing that they are at least 10 minutes early. So I check Rhett in and as I did that this is what Rhett did. Look at that concentration. LOL!
He clams that this is the only thing he comes to the hospital for and the best part of it too. What a funny boy. Well I checked him in and then gave him the buzzer. You can see it on the arm of the chair. I told him that when it buzzes it is time to get all the vitals and get ready for the surgery. He said ok and put it in his pocket. The funny thing was that the nurse called his name before the buzzer went off. LOL! Oh well this was what followed.
After that we found out he is heavy and for the first time in his life he is over 4 feet tall!!! He smiled so big when he heard that. LOL! I cannot believe that he is finally over 4 feet tall. He is getting so big. We were then taken to a room where he really gets prepped for surgery. He is so goofy when he knows what is going to happen.
And now he has a band! See that smile? What a funny boy. I was teasing him. I like to tease him since I can and he understands that I am not making fun of him I am trying to get him to smile and it works every time. Now it is time to change.
I asked him if he wanted me to leave and it took him a while for him to answer. He said yes and I left and really wanted to take a picture of the nurses station but didn't want to get in trouble. I stood there and waited for Rhett to open the door and let us all know that he was dressed and ready for people in the room. When he did we had fun with the camera while we waited to be moved to another holding cell, oh I mean waiting room. LOL!
Really like this picture! It is cute! My first cute self portrait. LOL
Than we are off the the next waiting room. There are at least 3 waiting rooms for pre op here at PCMC. There is one where you wait before you check in for surgery, then there is on right before they go back for surgery and finally there is one for the parents to wait while their child is in surgery. Rhett sure knows his way around here like no one else.
This is the hall way looking back to the post op area. We walk down that hall toward the OR when they take Rhett back.
This is the last hall way to the OR. Past the post op area and waiting rooms. This is where it gets emotional and you know soon your child will be with doctors and nurses. At least the Lord is watching since they don't allow parents in there.
This is the last hall way to the OR. Past the post op area and waiting rooms. This is where it gets emotional and you know soon your child will be with doctors and nurses. At least the Lord is watching since they don't allow parents in there.
This is the door to the OR. We walk up to this door and let him go with the doctor.
As you can see the first thing that Rhett does when he gets there is get the game. He tried to stand as long as he could but it is a long wait and he decided that he should sit. LOL! This last picture is the anesthesiologist talking with Rhett about his game. He is such a great doctor! He really cares for my boys, since he has worked on both of them. He has a gift and I am glad that he shares it with our family. When the doctors start coming out that means they are almost ready to take him back.
OK so this hardly ever happens. We see both the surgeon and the anesthesiologist at the same time. So here is Dr. Smith our surgeon and Orthopedic doctor and Dr. Hannon our anesthesiologist. They are really good guys!
Dr. Smith had just marked up Rhett so that way they get the correct sides, since there has been a mix up before.
This is the last picture before surgery. He had taken some meds so he was a little loopy and he was still playing games. LOL!
Then we head down that lonely hall way about ready to give Rhett's life over to the Lord and in the hands of these men. Yes it is a little nerve racking but I know that the Lord is in control of everything. Even the things that are really hard to deal with but I know that the Lord will not give me more than I can handle. There was a time that I would just break down and cry after walking that short walk to the OR door, but now I say a quiet pray letting the Lord know that he is there and that I have faith everything will turn out the way it is suppose to no matter what the doctors do. I still have a lump in my throat and a urge to cry but I don't maybe because I know that it isn't going to help anything.
After we go and say good by at the OR doors to Rhett we head to the final waiting room. We check in and then let them know we are going do to eat since we never eat if our child is going into the OR. It just isn't fair if we ate but they didn't so we just don't eat until they are in the OR. We grab some food and head back to the waiting room. As we sit there and wait in the final waiting room my nerves are shot and my body finally relaxes and most of the time I collapse from exhaustion. I rest knowing that soon he will be out and I will have to be there for him no matter what. But the chairs suck to rest in just saying.
Finally the surgery is over and the Dr. Smith comes and talks to us about what he had done and let us know soon we will be able to see him in the PICU(Pediatric Intensive Care Unit). We actually watch the clock at that point since often the PICU doesn't call the waiting room to get the parents sent down there. After about 5 minutes Dr. Hannon walks in and also talked with us. He tells us that it is again a very difficult intubation like we had talk about before surgery. He let us know that the tube was out and he is in the PICU and we could see him again very soon. We gather everything and head down there. I cannot wait to see him knowing what the doctor had to do. I mean Rhett told the doctor yes I will have this surgery so me and daddy just enforced what Rhett had decided to do. Finally they were ready for us to be by Rhett's side in the PICU. We head in there and this is the first time he has a room right in front of the PICU doors! This is what we found when we got there.
My tired man! He was like this until Thursday night kinda late.
The little thing with the blue square is his pain button. He gets this from the pain team after surgery. That way they can give him some pain meds through his IV as needed and make sure he doesn't get too much. He was getting a sister drug to Morphine, I cannot remember the name of the med. But we had to convince him to push his button. Just shows he still hates medicine.
We found out that the right lung had collapsed a little and he was struggling. It was a good thing that he was on a c-pap already. There was some air trapped in the plural space and the JP drain that he normally has was filling up with air and so they hooked it up to the suction machine trying to get the air out and the fluid that it was suppose to get out anyways. Lucky for us right after the x-ray Dr. Hannon walked in to check on him. I told the nurse if they thought they needed to intubate him there was the doctor that could do it. Dr. Hannon did inform the nurse that he is a very difficult intubation. They finally got all the air out and he started to do better and wake up a little. Happy to have that little bit of drama over now on the the next drama.
He woke up for a little while and watched some tv but then it was right back to resting. What a good boy. LOL! At this point I realize that his home oxygen tank and regulator are missing. They were last seen heading into the OR with Rhett but they never made it out. I let the nurse know and they contacted the OR hoping that they could find it but yet to no avail nothing. :( Well we cannot leave without it so they better figure out something before we have to leave.
Right after this picture they found out that the lab work that he had done had dropped and so they decided that they needed to deal with the drain again. They hooked it up to a different suction machine but didn't realize that it was on a normal setting for suction. So when they turned it on pain shot through his body and it was very intense. That poor boy suffering like that. Not sure what I could do to help him since they had promised it would not hurt him and then it does. Oh man that sucks! So they got permission to give him more pain meds to help him sleep better, since he was in too much pain to sleep at all any ways. It was great to see the relief on his face to the point that he could relax and he finally fell asleep!
Then Friday comes along and it was a very long night. I was just glad I could finally sleep. Since I was interrupting for Rhett all day and night for him Thursday after surgery. I was exhausted and it was great to sleep even if it was in a reclining chair that sucked and was not comfortable at all. In the Morning the asked about playing video games since that is his favorite part about going to the hospital anyways. Then he had a great volunteer that came and played with him for a little while.
Not sure how he can pull of such a great smile in the condition he is in but I love this picture. I told him that I am documenting the whole thing and he just smiled. I told him that not everyone comes to see him through surgery but this is going to give them a good idea what we go through up here.
This sweet dog and owner were awesome. It made Rhett's day to be able to give the dog a treat and see the dog say a little prayer for him.
After seeing the dog he played games with Caleb(the name of the volunteer) and had a great time. It was cute to see them playing and Caleb letting Rhett win if he wasn't going to win. When Caleb had to leave I played with Rhett for a little while but then I told him that he needed to take a break and rest. He wasn't to happy about that but there was nothing that I could do but let him know that his body needed to rest in order to get better. After he took a break he had another visitor come and see him. She is a professor at the U of U named Hester Henderson. She is the director over U-fit and such a wonderful person! Rhett was so sad that he didn't see her Thursday night so he was glad that she came Friday. Soon after she left they had decided that Rhett could be moved to the floor which means out of the PICU! (happy dance) So as soon as we got a room number I called to let daddy know that he is being moved and that he can bring all the kids up to see Rhett.
We got to his new room and was happy to see there was somewhere for me to rest better than the chair that I rested in the night before. I let everyone that I knew that Rhett was out of the ICU and into a room. We had a couple who were waiting for their son to get out of surgery come by and brought him a balloon.
We have known this family for a while, they are with Angels Hand's Foundation like we are. You can see there site by going here: http://angelshands.org/ and you can see more at what this group is all about. They are such great people, anyways.
But after they came when their son came out of surgery he was placed in the bed space that Rhett just got out of in the PICU. What a surprise that was. We were happy to have a room where it was less noisy and more room. The rest of the kids came up with daddy and they we sure happy to see Rhett and know that he was ok and recovering. They sat there and watched movies with him and had such a fun time running around. It is really hard keeping all 4 kids contained in one room for a long period of time. Daddy's parents have come to visit a few times and Rhett seems to love having visitors. My parents have called a few times along with my brother since my parents are visiting my brother and his wife out of the country. They have Skyped with me several times since we have been here. They wish they could be here to support us but it is good that they are able to visit my brother too. I have an amazing family. Well we get all settled and then we were able to relax a little hoping that they will find the oxygen set soon.
Wide awake and playing video games already!
Nikole made this great poster for Rhett Thursday at the after school program. She called to tell me about it and I told her to bring it when she came to visit. That made her so excited.
Good night kids! They are headed home from their first visit. What cute kids!!!
At night I have been leaving the movie station on for kids that way when they come in and wake him up he actually falls asleep faster then he would otherwise. I think he really enjoys the noise and it is a comfort to him. I am good at letting him have those comforts.
Saturday finally get here and we get more visitors!! We had the Star family come visit, which was super nice of them. They brought him a game, some candy and a card. They stayed for a little bit and visited. They have got to be one of the most thoughtful families that I know of. After they left Rhett turned to me and said, "That was really nice that they came". I hope that he realizes that others do care for him besides family. He has never had so many visitors for a very long time. He has missed it. Most of the time it is just family, but having others come has been so good for him. After they left we waited for PT (Physical Therapy) to show up which they did around 2:45 pm and they worked with Rhett for 30 minutes. We didn't get too far it was stand, walk to the door, turn around and walk back to bed. But after that he was out of it for a few hours. While he was sleeping my family came and of course the kids all went a little wild, but as soon as they saw Rhett sleeping they were quiet and let him sleep. After they came my aunt Katre and uncle David along with their children Tolen and Lynea came to visit us. They were in town and stopped by to say hi. It was great to have everyone there at the same time.
What is he going to play today? Hummmm......
Lunch before PT. Not that good if you ask him. LOL!
Up and walking! Having a really hard time but at least there is someone here to help.
What it normally looks like at the hospital when we are there. Kids all here and watching things that they could never watch at home since we don't have cable. LOL! Happy that they love Rhett enough to come visit when they can.
After everyone left for the night we had a peaceful night with the nurses keeping on top of the pain. Yes he or I didn't enjoy being woken up in the middle of the night but I was glad that they stayed on top of the pain for his sake. But in order to leave the hospital we had to have him poop and need to find his oxygen.
Happy April Fool's Day! This is a lovely view that we saw from the hospital window.
Sunday they come and do a little PT but not a lot. We tried pushing liquids but Rhett was just not up to it very much. He only ordered some lunch and then he only ate half of it. Rhett conquered the stairs and darts in the PT room. He really doesn't like throwing with his right hand because the doctors had pulled on his shoulder blade more then they have done in the past to get to his ribs. We cannot leave just yet since they still cannot find his oxygen.
Time to wake up but not wanting to. It is a good thing he is getting his rest since he is going to be doing PT again.
This is my sleeping space. It is so much better than the recliner in the PICU.
Medicine before PT. Trying to make sure he isn't in too much pain while doing everything they want him to do.
One last drink before we head out walking.
Walking even better than he did yesterday.
Not sure if he can do it by himself. You can do it Rhett!
Asked him if he remembered Dave. He said no but Dave has been in that unit for years and remembers Rhett from the first time he was there in 2003. As he looks trying to see if he can see Dave. LOL! You need to be a little taller dude. :)
Dave is the Nurse Coordinator for the unit. He is an awesome person. He is great with kids!
They left this up all day long. It made me smile.
Headed to the PT room to work on all the things that he needs to work on.
I wonder if it a comfort having his hand next to his face?
Getting ready to throw the balls at the target. I told him that he had to use his right hand to throw and he looked at me like "WHAT!" LOL! yes Rhett you do need to use that arm to get it to work correctly again. I am sorry that they pulled on your shoulder to get to your ribs, but there is nothing that I can do about that now so just use your shoulder and make it work again.
Good job Rhett you hit the target with all the balls.
Here are the dart boards. You can do it Rhett!
Yes as you can see he did miss some of the time and they landed on the ground. But he threw them all and made sure he didn't stop until they are all on the target.
Last one Rhett. You can get it on there.
His score! Good Job Rhett!
Look at all the dents in the wall. LOL! Man these kids not know how to hit the target, I guess that is why it is called therapy huh? At least they are dents and not holes like they would be at my house. LOL I guess that it is why we no longer have a dart board at my house. he he he!
Walking back to his room after darts.
So nice to have pain killers and relax after working so hard in PT.
Having to change the bandages and make sure he is healing well.
Do I really have to get out of bed? I just want to stay here and play games.
I walked to the playroom with him since no one else came up to visit. He had to pushed a wheelchair as far as he could before I would let him sit down. LOL! I am just a mean mom. He pushed it down the hall around the corners in the elevator and then again down another hall to get to the playroom. I was amazed that he made it all the way there all by himself. Super proud mom right here!
There were a few kids in the playroom and they opened up to Rhett and let him play with them willingly. They were super nice.
I know a little blurry, but he wouldn't hold still. LOL! After being there for a little while daddy came with all the other kids and they had fun playing.
We were up there for a few hours, which was a surprise to me and the nurses. LOL! But when Rhett was ready to go back to his room he was really ready.
We walked all the way back to his room and he did it again on his own pushing the wheelchair . I cannot believe that he made it back to his room without sitting once in the chair! I was happy. It is great to see the progress. He pooped! Yes one step closer to going home!! I can't wait.
Checking out his leg to make sure that it is healing good.
Bed time FINALLY!
Monday is here and now it is time for some more PT!! Maybe we can go home if they find the oxygen tank that we brought to the hospital. I mean we cannot leave the hospital without oxygen.
Worked on trying to get up and down the stairs. Man that was painful to watch. :( But he did a great job and even wanted me to take a picture of the saying at the top of the stairs.
Here is the saying at the top of the stairs. I think it is very appropriate for all those that struggle every day. It puts everything in prospective.
Than it was time to shoot baskets. LOL He has a good left arm, oh wait we need to work on getting his right arm working correctly again. He is improving.
Last shot!
Look they found the oxygen tank! Oh good now we can leave! YEAH!!!
In the car finally headed home!
Now it is a wait and see if this surgery worked, but we won't find out until August when he has his next PFT. That will show to us if this surgery has helped or not.
Thanks for all the prayers that were said for our family during this time.
2 comments:
Your Family has been through so much. You are doing wonderful. Rhett keep feeling better it's great watching you grow. Yipee!! 4 Feet Tall.
I love your attitude Rhett! Keep fighting! We love you!
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