Post Op #27 spinal fusion

It has been a rough 24 hours. The first few hours after surgery he had his pain pretty well under control.  The entire surgery lasted 8 hours from 7 past 3.  His team was extensive.  I saw a few of them rotating through the cafeteria as they were on break.

The good news is that he went from a near 90% curve to a 20% curve and balanced hips for his posture.  He has gained several inches in height and has more room for his lungs, ribs and digestion.

I love our team.  I have such confidence in them and they truly cared about Hayden and our family.

The incision looks great.  He is very swollen from his inflammatory response.  He was awake moaning and coughing all night.  He has been lying on his back and rotating with two nurses to his side.  He is on several strong pain medicines and muscle relaxers.  He will be on these a while.  They also cause him nausea. ICU is packed, loud and with constant interruptions.  Lots of little kids crying in pain.  We keep spa music on as a distraction and the suction matching to sound like rain.

Hayden had to have 2 blood transfusions as he has been loosing a notable amount of blood.  For the first time in his all of his surgeries, he has never required blood.  He went to into surgery a bit anemic at a 10.6 at 4pm and dropped to an 8.4 at 1 am. He required another transfusion of 300 ml at 6am and his hemoglobin went back up to 9.6.  He has lost 180ml of blood since then and dropped back to 8.6.  He has drainage tubes and his little body is fighting hard.  Fevers have been up and down as he fights.  He also required oxygen for the first time which he hatted. He has vomited and is fighting anesthesia/pain med nausea.

He has now been resting for a couple of hours at a time.  When he does wake up, the first thing he asks for is lets see what my messages are.  He loves them and especially the little videos and jokes.  Keep the texts coming trigghayden09@icloud.com.

I may not update everyday as I need to rest myself and have been up caring for Hayden.  Please know he appreciates the prayers and messages and especially the huge chocolate gift from Aunt Cate.  You have won the favorite aunt award by Hayden! He is so happy to share with all the people that come into his good fortune.  We will be in the ICU for a little while longer as we live moment to moment in recover.

Still the right decision with God blessing and watching over him.  The most profound statement that another friend in the hospital in Houston said yesterday was that the purpose of our children on this earth is to confound and humble the wise.

I feel humility in this process in every aspect from receiving service and depending on others when I have to rely on God’s will.