Elliott's Surgery is a success

We were at the hospital at 07:00am for his 09:00 surgery, only to find that his name was misspelled on his paperwork and his date of birth listed him as a 10-year old.  So my stress level started out slightly above average.  It took about 45 minutes to get everything straightened out, and after that things went smoothly.  His pre-op nurse, his physician, his anesthesiologist, and his PACU nurse were all so sweet and gentle with him.  They even let me gown up and carry him back to the O.R. and hold him while he fell asleep with the happy gas.  To me, that was huge.  Not only am I a nervous wreck about handing over care to someone else (I am a nurse), but Elliott has stranger anxiety and I didn't want him to feel like I was abandoning him.  He went to sleep peacefully, and his doctor was able to pull five teeth, crown two molars, and rebuild several others.  The surgery took about 2 hours.  When he woke up in the PACU (post anesthesia care unit) we were brought in and he was sitting there, in the middle of his bed with his hands folded in his lap, not a single wrinkle in his blankets and sheets.  He didnt' look extremely relieved to see us, but instead had that kind-of 'shut off' look to him.  He was recovering well, so I was allowed to scoop him up and hold him in my lap in a chair by the bed.  That's when all of his emotions poured out.  He cried and cried for 45 minutes, even pushing me away at one point.  He was scared and betrayed and painful and he finally felt safe when Mommy and Daddy were there to let go and 'let it all hang out'.  On one hand, it was hard to deal with and troubling to see, but on the other hand, I was so relieved that he so obviously felt safe with us and could share his emotions with us.  For weeks when we first met him he was just such a people-pleaser and didn't show much emotion: neither happy nor sad.  I was relieved that having surgery and all of the experiences that go with it had not set us back in our bonding and trust.  Once we redosed his morphine and gave him a little more versed to take the edge off of his anxiety, he fell asleep quietly in my arms and I rocked him, back and forth, while we received our discharge instruction.

He rode home quietly, and even asked for lunch when we walked in the door.  I fed him some lukewarm soup, and he ate that and asked for more!  He proceeded to eat an entire banana, three soft crackers, and a can of lychees (my favorite Chinese fruit).  He protested when he saw me cutting up the lychees, saying "Mama, BIG!" over and over, which meant he wanted to eat them whole.  I watched cautiously as he manuvered the soft fruit around his mouth, finding his new chewing spots.  In 5 minutes, the lychees were gone!  After lunch, he napped in my arms, in the rocking chair, in front of the fireplace.  It was such a wonderful hour!  Just snuggled up in a blanket with his Mamma with the snap and crackle of the logs in the fire.  I loved it.

Elliott woke up this morning and ate a whole bowl of cereal, then proceeded to eat a whole blueberry waffle.  He's going to be just fine!  :o)