CHOP. Round 2.
- Ashley
- Sep 8, 2020
- 3 min read
Baby Brendan and I flew up to Philadelphia on Labor Day. The thought of coming back had me anxious and truly nauseated. I'm quite certain I have some type of trauma related issue when it comes to visiting the Children's Hospital in Pensacola or Philadelphia. I had to take Brendan to a sleep study in Pensacola last week and I was a nervous wreck the whole time we were there. Probably something for a therapist but getting it off my chest makes me feel better as I write this from Brendan's bedside in the hospital in Philly.
Luckily, Philly is a little more "open" than it was last time we were here. Restaurants have outdoor dining and the city seems a little more at rest. Hopefully, we'll get discharged in time to go enjoy dinner somewhere in the city tomorrow!
We arrived at the hospital this morning at 5:45am. We were immediately checked in and taken back for all of his pre-op procedures. First up, rapid COVID testing. I honestly hope out of all of the things I have to watch them do to my son, that is one thing he never has to have done again. It's like child abuse. Anyhow, we got his test results back, negative, (yay!) and they whisked him off to surgery at 8:40. Today's surgeries consisted of a bronchoscopy (airway study) a cleft-lip revision and distractor removal.
About thirty minutes into surgery the ENT performing the bronchoscopy came out to tell me that his airway looks great. A little narrow for his age, but still great. No more cysts and it's clear! YAY!! That's what I was the most nervous about! I was afraid that we were going to get bad news on his airway and further invasive procedures were going to have to be performed. Checked that box!!
Two hours after seeing his ENT his craniofacial doctor came to tell me they were finished and that everything looked great. Strong jaw bones and a seamless cleft revision. All such wonderful news!
When they took me to his recovery room he really looked great. Sleepy, but great. :) When he fully woke up they let me try to bottle feed him. They told me only 3 ounces and he sucked it right down! I was so happy I could cry!
As the meds have worn off this afternoon he's gotten a little fussier and not so interested in bottle feeding but he's doing all of the right things outside of that, so I'm hoping for discharge tomorrow! Much better than our last month long stay! If there's any concern he is a little bit hoarse but that is common for him after extubation as his airway tends to swell after they remove the breathing tube. They've given him some steroids to help the swelling decrease faster.
He's been sleeping all day and is currently snoring away. Thank you fo all of your prayers and texts! Pray for discharge tomorrow so we can come home Thursday! It's been a crazy first ten months of these boys lives but I could not be happier with how they are doing! God is so so so so so good!
I don't know why this song was playing over and over again in my head while he was in surgery today, but I thought I would share it with you!
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