The Big Day

© shoutingforha

Today was surgery day at the Ha house. The excitement began at the crack of dawn, a.k.a. 5:45, when we arrived at the hospital. After waiting a few minutes we were ushered into a private room.

The boy was asked to undress and put on a lovely hospital gown and bright blue socks that were grippy on the both sides. When the boy realized that the back of his gown was open, he declared that it was "just wrong." I told him he should be thankful that they let him wear his underwear. For some reason he didn't see the silver lining in that cloud.

© shoutingforha

After taking his temperature and blood pressure the nurse gave the boy something to help him relax. The medicine made him incredibly silly and giggly for about 3 minutes, but didn't seem to have any other effect. 
We were then moved to the holding room to wait a while longer. The anesthesiologist, nurses and the surgeon, Dr. W., came in to ask a few questions and tell us exactly what we could expect. Before we knew it they wheeled our boy down the corridor and off to surgery. The hubby and I settled into the room to wait.

Approximately an hour later, the doctor called to let us know that the surgery had been a success. Dr. W. informed us that not only had the boy completely severed his tendon, but he had sliced through the joint capsule and hit the bone. He inserted a pin into the boy's finger to immobilize the joint and put on a splint. The pin will be removed in six weeks.

After the boy awoke, he was feeling nauseated from the anesthesia. The little guy was just pitiful. The nurse gave him some medication and he promptly fell back to sleep for another 20 minutes.

Thankfully the medicine worked quickly and before we knew it the boy was back to his usual cheerful and goofy self. In fact, he felt so good that he proclaimed, "I could run a mile if I wasn't almost naked."

Once the boy felt well enough to eat, we were cleared to go home. I think I can speak for the entire family when I say that we've had our fill of doctor's offices and hospitals.

I cannot begin to tell you how proud I was of my little man. He endured his first IV, stint under anesthesia and surgical procedure (including his first stitches) all in one day. Through it all he was an absolute delight. Even the nurses were impressed by how brave he was.

He is my hero.