Mason's Recovery

I thought I'd give a little update on Mason's recovery. The day after surgery Mason was playing, jumping, laughing and up to his normal self for the most part. He was in some pain but we'd give him his pain medication and I think it was probably working a little too well. We had to try to make him relax so he wasn't overdoing things.

Here's the bandage that was put over Mason's belly button after his surgery. It's called a Tegaderm. It's a bandage that after 48 hours we were able to bathe Mason and water wouldn't leak into it. It also was tamper proof but Mason was playing with it the day after surgery so we decided to keep a onesie on him just in case. The Tegaderm peels itself away and after two weeks we could remove it unless it came off on its own after one week. If you notice the corners were peeling away, especially the top right.

Since it was peeling away this last Saturday, which was a week and a day after surgery, I decided to pull it off. For curiosity sake and also being a little paranoid that water could get into it since it was peeling so much. I took it off right after his bath and I thought it looked really good. The incision seemed nice a clean and it was healing really well.

This photo is from last Saturday...

...and this one is from today. The surgeon said there is a little excess skin but during surgery she decided wasn't enough to cut away. She said that as he grows it will become a little more natural looking. Sorry if these are a little graphic but I wanted to document them.

Just a random photo. I went in at about midnight last Sunday to check on the kids before going to bed and this is how I found them. I thought it was cute that they had fallen asleep next to each other on the floor.

I love my kids and I'm thankful that they are healthy and I'm especially thankful today, that Mason is doing really well. I knew I was probably stressing for nothing leading up to his surgery and the few days after, but it was worth it to see the outcome so much better then I expected. Thanks again for the many prayers and words of comfort. I know that without them I wouldn't have been able to get through these last few weeks and I know they benefited Mason in his recovery.

The Dreaded Day...

...actually went really smoothly. We arrived at the hospital a little before 8 am and got Mason checked in and about 5 minutes later the nurse came to get the process started.

We knew Mason was already a little scared so we had a drug called Versed administered to him to relieve his anxiety. It definitely put him in a happy state! We then spoke to the surgeon and then the anesthesiologist.

When it was time for him to be wheeled away, he didn't even have a bit of hesitation. I on the other hand shed some tears but for the most part I was a little more relaxed that morning than I had been the weeks prior.

Now for the pictures after the surgery. This is Mason right after. I really think he thought he was smiling. We have a few pictures and every time Tom took a picture and told Mason to smile he'd make this face.

The surgery went really quickly. We went to the cafeteria and had breakfast and then went back to the Pediatrics Surgery Center and it seemed we were only there for about 10 minutes before they came to get Tom and I when the surgery was done.

Mason seemed pretty out of it at first but then when I was holding him he started fussing and wiggling and so the nurse gave him some morphine. I think that what he really wanted was to have his IV taken out because he kept grabbing at it. She tried to administer another dose of morphine but Tom stopped her because he thought that was the problem too. The shift changed shortly after that and the other nurse took out the IV and he finally fell asleep. We then were discharged and on the road back to home by noon. I thought that was pretty good considering they took him away for surgery about 9:30 am.

Things went so much better than I expected. The night before I had a hard time because Mason was in bed with us and I believe he knew something was going on because he kept clinging his arms around my neck and saying mommy. Once he fell asleep I said a prayer and felt calmer but of course I didn't hardly sleep a wink.

Thanks to Chris and Lisa for allowing us to stay at their house the night before. We really appreciate your friendship and love you guys! Also thanks to my mommy, my mother in law Sharalyn, and Aunt Christi (Tom's sister) for making the drive over so early in the morning and spending time with us. It definitely helped calm our nerves! We love you all very much. Oh, and thank you Mom, for taking Jayni home with you and bringing her back on Saturday. It helped a bunch!! Also, thank you to all of you who checked on us and for all the many prayers, emails and phone calls. We truly are blessed with amazing family and friends!! We love you all!

The Day is Almost Here

So Mason's surgery is on Friday and I'm SO nervous. Last week I completely shutdown and didn't do anything around the house. I slept a lot and was pretty down thinking too much about the surgery and aftermath. This week I've kept myself busy so I don't think about it so much and have tried to prepare myself as much as possible. I'm scared though and hope everything goes smoothly.

Please keep us (especially Mason) in your prayers. He's my sweet boy and I can't imagine my life without him. He's brought me so much joy and I love him so very much.

I'm assuming the above picture was taken by Jayni. I found Mason with camera in hand one day last month and put it away. When I downloaded pictures onto my computer a few weeks later, I found pictures of Mason and lots of shots around the room.