We got to the hospital around 6am and went to day surgery (which, we will remember next time, doesn't even open until 7am.) So much for those reminder letters that firmly state to arrive by 6. While Clark was being checked in, he was weighed in his old cast so that we could then weigh the cast once they sawed it off of him, and then reweigh him in his new cast SO we would have an accurate weight when we go to his RSV clinic every month.
So, we saw the day surgery nurse, then we saw the anesthesiology resident (cue menacing: dun dun DUNNNNN). A little bit later the anesthesiologist comes in, who I find out later, is the head of anesthesiology at the hospital. She scoops him up and carries him away to the OR. Surgery takes about 45 minutes & his doctor comes out to fill us in. His hip looks perfect, it didn't pop out when they "manipulated" (I'm thinking, in OR speak, that roughly translates as "brutalized") it. He's now in a shorter cast (cue angels singing) and provided all goes well, we should be done with this cast business by mid January. I'll be holding my breath until then, but I must say that things have been MUCH better since we got rid of the blue cast.
Ok, so you know there's a BUT coming, right? For starters, Clark came back from the OR screaming and looking like this:
Which, ok, I know...I'm his mother, and I will notice tiny differences. But just for the sake of explanation, and because I have the pictures, let me show you how he looked following his last two (invasive) surgeries. As a reminder, during this surgery all they did was replace the cast & inject dye into his hip socket, no scalpels.
On the left is his hernia surgery in March and on the right is from his hip surgery in October. Both pictures are immediately following recovery, just like the 1st one. He's normal colored in both and not screaming. So you can see where I might have sensed something was amiss.
It took me several minutes, but once I was able to calm him, I noticed some very red, angry looking scrapes beneath both ears behind his jaw. I've circled it in this picture:
Long, long story semi-short: I asked the nurse what the scrapes were and he said they looked like they were from a jaw thrust which they use to "get the baby to scream after surgery" (his words). I let it go at first because I'm like, well...ok, makes sense I guess. I asked the anesthesia resident if everything went ok during surgery. He said "oh, yeah." Then Clark started vomiting (which also has never happened post-op). He continued to vomit after every bottle on the way home and the following day. We went to see our dear friend, who is a chiropractor, and she said his neck was quite out of alignment. So, then I start thinking, ok...jaw thrust, neck problems...um....hmmmm.
Let me insert that I did use my google-fu to find out more about jaw thrusts, and from what I can tell, they're used when an infant patient isn't oxygenating well. Other methods used are foot or chest thumps (with which we are quite familiar.) But nothing mentioned using jaw thrusts to awaken a patient from surgery, or really anything other than using the method as a life saving technique.
So I got in touch with the head of anesthesiology (who, remember, was the attending during surgery). I was pretty hot at this point, but I laid it all out on the table. Q: Why the jaw thrust? A: "It's a very gentle procedure, but I'm looking back through the notes and I see there were no problems during surgery..." So again....WHY the jaw thrust & it's not very gentle if there are scrapes!? I never did get a definitive answer. Just that she left the resident holding the vent tube while she "charted". Oh..and said resident is going into a staff doctor position next week. Watch out kids...
I requested to get the anesthesiologist from our 1st surgery from here on out. Request granted. You better believe I'm going to hold them to it. And guys, get yourself to the chiropractor...they work magic. Clark's vomiting improved after 1 adjustment and has virtually ceased after 2. Better yet, if you're in central Texas, go see Dr Jessi at Isdale Chiropractic in Killeen...and yeah, tell her Clark sent you.
Ok, so, now that you've heard the extended version of our cast #2 saga.. I'll show you the cast.
Let me just tell you that Clark is *thrilled* to be in the shorter cast. He can snuggle closer, kick his feet around AND turn in a circle on the floor! That's big stuff for a baby in a body cast. The top of this one comes up pretty stinkin high, unfortunately. But, the faster he grows, the smaller the cast will seem. And January is just around the corner. We cannot wait for him to be cast-free!
`Tis the season..for photography, apparently. I'm crossing my fingers that Santa brings me a new lens. (Oh, and some much-needed photography lessons..heh.)
I know you probably get tired of hearing this, but I really do appreciate you caring enough to take the time to read about Clark. I don't post near as often as I once did, but rest assured, I don't plan on leaving the world of blogging any time soon. I hope this season finds you well and that you can enjoy it with the people who mean the most to you in this life. Please be in prayer, especially during this season, for the families who have lost someone. No one can bring comfort like God.
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