Vacation days

My sister (JV) was in town after her seven month journey around the world. She was in "The States" for about three weeks and spent part of that time with me. D offered to take a few days off of work so I could spend time with JV and so he could get a few things done around the house. Last Sunday I road the train to "The City" to meet JV. We stayed there over night and got home later in the evening Monday night. The train ride was nice and quiet. I really enjoyed the quietness, the time to read magazines, and the music I loaded on my phone. I even got my own seat of the majority of the ride. JV met me at the train station and drove me to our hotel. She drove a rental car and had a rental navigation system. That was very handy! I'd never used a navigation system before. ( I think it was a Garmin). JV chose the preprogrammed woman with the British accent to guide us through town. We jokingly called her Eleanor. Our hotel was really close to great shopping, so we parked the car and walked everywhere. We enjoyed window shopping and eating out at The Cheesecake Factory. We shared a delicious salad and a pear, feta (or was it gouda?), onion and greens pizza. We then shared two pieces of cake. We barely put a dent in the cake, so we figured out a way to take it home with us. We walked along Lakeshore Drive the next morning. We had gorgeous weather and blue skies. I really enjoyed walking by the water, seeing the skyline and visiting with JV. Then we headed to the burbs to hit an outlet mall and Trader Joes. I found a few new things at TJ's that I like (dark choc covered cranberries, chewy choc chip cookies, mango chicken sausages, pretzel hoagie buns, etc). It was a wonderful day. It was the break I really needed. I felt rejuvinated and ready to head home to take care of the boys.

(Sorry if the next part bores you. I'm writing it out mostly for my memories of JV's visit.)

It's a good thing we slept in and had fun in The City while we did because we did a lot of fun stuff the rest of the week. Tuesday was a pretty morning so we went for a long walk and let the boys play at a nearby park. I honestly can't remember what we did the rest of the day other than make homemade pizzas. (Darn, I can't believe I'm already forgetting what we did!) N's orientation for preschool was on Wednesday. JV went shopping that morning during the orientation, D watched L. N and I met up with JV and ate lunch with her at Panera. We then headed to local farm/park to play. That was fun. N really likes that place. There's just enough to do and see w/o being overwhelming. JV headed to our parents' house that night for a fish fry. D kept L on Thursday while JV, Grandpa and I took N to the local Children's Museum. Friday was another girls' day. My mom kept both boys because D left town for a tractor show. JV and I did a little last minute shopping before meeting a college friend for lunch then we went to the spa for some spa treatments. JV and my mom were nice enough to stay the night at our house. The next morning JV did some final shopping, I took a nap (L was up three times the night before. Ugh!) I can't remember what we did that day, but that night my family all came over to out for pizza. JV headed out Saturday night with my parents. She spent a day and half with our other sister and her family Sunday and Monday and flew home Monday afternoon. We always look forward to JV's visits! We enjoy the time we get to spend with her and are always sad that it goes by so quickly!

A couple funnies

We went out to eat at our local Mexican restaurant tonight. At the end of the meal the waiter said to N, "Are you done, Amigo?" N responded,"Yes, thanks." D and I looked at each other and were impressed. I asked N what Amigo meant and he said, "Can I take your plate." We had to laugh because every time we go out to eat the waiter calls N Amigo at the end of the meal when it's time to clear his plate, so N thinks that means "Can I take your plate?"

The other day D, N, L and I returned to the house after running a couple errands. I was coming in and out of the garage putting groceries away. I thought D was inside watching the kids, so I wasn't really paying attention to them. When I rounded the corner to put something on the steps I noticed the gate to the steps was open and I didn't see L anywhere.. My heart sank. I thought. "Oh no! I bet L has climbed half way up the steps!" I yelled to D to see if he had L. He said no. Eek! I look around for a minute and couldn't find him. I noticed the door to the bathroom had been left open ( a no, no in our house).....and there I found L having a great time splish splashing in the toilet like a little puppy! He gave me a big smile like he was happy as could be. Yuck!!

Another medical moment

L was scheduled for an eye "probe and irrigation" earlier this month, but we had to reschedule it due to his emergency TT surgery. Now that his TT has healed we rescheduled his P&I surgery for this past Tuesday. The surgery went well. Waiting in the pre-op area was the longest part of it as the surgery took less than fifteen minutes. L recovered quickly and is back to his bubbly, curious self!

Update

D and I took L to the doctor for his follow up visit this morning. (Thanks again for watching N, Baba.) The visit went well. Doctor removed a drain from L's surgery site, answered our questions and scheduled our six month follow up visit.

D and I have encountered quite the spectrum of doctors and nurses throughout this process. L had great care and we are happy with our experience, but we can't help but notice the "cornucopia" (as D said) of people who crossed our path.

The doctor who performed L's surgery was very professional, clean cut, very factual and as friendly as most people would be at 12:45 at night. When he dropped into check on L the morning after the surgery he looked more rested and was a bit more friendly, but he was the white dress shirt, tie and white coat kind of doctor who had a team of nurses/doctors following him down the hallways. I looked this doctor up online yesterday and, from what I can tell, he's a very successful, accomplished doctor. Glad he treated my kid!

The doctor we saw today was a little more "colorful." He was less formal in "presentation" and a little less polished in appearance. He was wearing camouflage Crocs , blue scrubs and a red

bandana/cap and about five o'clock....no wait...a ten o'clock shadow if there is such a thing. But, despite his outward appearance he was very approachable, he answered all our questions and he knew our case very well.

D and I agreed that the nurse who got us settled in to L's room when we entered the ped's floor pretty much knew everything about everything. It was very evident that the other nurses on the floor did the best they could to tolerate this girl. I will say, she took good care of L and got us everything we needed, but at times it seemed as though she thought she knew more about my kid than I did...

Then there was the OVERLY chipper, bubbly nurse. I still laugh at the thought of her fluttering..err...bouncing into our room. She talked to us about a couple things, answered a couple questions, then twirled out of the room never to be seen again. That's when D and I looked at each other like, "Seriously?? Did you just see that? Did that just happen?" Then we both busted out laughing. She may not know it, but she was the comic relief we needed.

Then there was the smoky nurse....need I say more? No, she was nice. She might have been my favorite because she was even-keeled, friendly and empathetic. She mentioned that she has a ten month old, so she was able to relate to L and D and I. I appreciated that about her.

And last, but not least was Chatty Patty. (I don't think her name was really Patty.) Wow, did her voice carry at one o clock in the morning of the deserted wing of the hospital! (Deserted because all the furniture was moved to the new building set to open soon.) She did a wonderful job of keeping us updated on L while he was in surgery. She kept us calm with humorous stories about her kids and grandkids. She really could take "her show on the road" some day if she gets tired of the nursing gig.

With all that said, I believe it takes a special person to be a nurse/doctor especially in the Pediatric wing. We appreciate the people who cared for L and are grateful to have that kind of hospital so close to our home.

Unexpected Surgery

Well, things have been eventful around our house lately. L was sick and throwing up Saturday morning and afternoon. He didn't have a fever or any other symptoms other than what appeared to be a diaper rash. I called pediatric after hours to talk to them about his symptoms. The phone nurse and I agreed that he probably had a stomach flu or ate something that upset his stomach. At about 3:00 Saturday afternoon L perked up, he stopped throwing up and he was almost back to his usual playful self. He slept really well Saturday night. Sunday we went to D's family reunion. L was a little crabby but we thought it was because he was out of his normal routine. Later that night at bath time I noticed his diaper rash was still there, so I applied some more cream. I noticed some swelling in the diaper area and one side was considerably larger than the other. I asked D what he thought of the situation and he said it was probably just a diaper rash and that he'd be okay. After thinking about it more, I called Pediatric after hours. I told the phone nurse the situation and she said that we needed to head directly to the emergency room immediately. I thought she was over reacting a little bit, so I asked her if we could see someone at Ped's afterhours before heading to the ER. The nurse said Ped's after hours would not see a patient for such symptoms and would send us directly to the ER. So to the ER we headed. We dropped N off at a friend's house on our way there. (Thanks again, T! And thanks to my mom who stayed with N while we were gone.) When we got to the ER we encountered quite the assortment of people!

We didn't have to wait too terribly long to be admitted and got our own room and got to get away from the "characters" in the ER. A couple of doctors took a look at L and every time they peeled back his diaper they all said, "Oh, Wow!" Every doctor who looked at it suspected testicular torsion. A team of surgeons was called immediately and we were sent to the sonogram department for further examination. It took the surgeon a little while to decide to operate because L wasn't showing signs of being in the terrible amount of pain that is usally associated with TT. In the end, the sonogram showed a limited amount of blood flowing to the area, so the doctor decided to operate.

D and I waited from 12:45-1:45 while L was in surgery. No, we were not in the new facility set to open August 18th. We were waiting in what seemed like a ghost town that is left behind in the old building...Anyway...The doctor said the damage was more severe than he had anticipated. He said half of the right side was "dead" and about half is still alive. He said he debated on removing the right side all together, but decided to see if the half that was still alive would recover on its own. If it doesn't recover it will be absorbed by the body, so there's no harm in leaving it in.

L recovered as well as can be expected in the recovery room. He was able to relax a little more once we figured out a good pain medication for him. We were moved to a pediatric floor for the night. L wouldn't sleep in the hospital crib. I'm not sure if it was because of the unfamiliar people and the unfamiliar room or if it was because he was uncomfortable. D ended up holding him all night and the two of them slept that way the best they could. I attempted to sleep in a wooden dining room-like chair, but moved to a flip out chair in a waiting room and caught two hours of sleep. D and I took turns holding L in a reclined position for the duration of our stay at the hospital.

We were released from the hospital less than 24 hours after the operation. I had mixed emotions about brining L home. This was a pretty serious operation. His operation took place in very vunerable area. That makes it hard to hold him, hard to sit him up, and hard to keep clean. To say I was nervous to care for him at home was an understatement, but I was also excited to get him home could get some rest in his own bed. And rest he did. L slept for three hours when we got home. L has perked up a little more after each nap and each feeding. He has gotten better each day and is getting back to himself. I'd say he'd be running at 100% if he wasn't limited by his incisions. He has figured out new ways to sit, stand and lay down so that he's comfortable. I'd say standing is the most comfortable because he's doing an awful lot of it now. :) He may walk sooner than I thought he would because of all of this.

D and I take L back to the doctor tomorrow for his check up. We'll see how it goes. Everything seems to be healing pretty well. I've been doing the best I can to keep the area clean. They said the best thing to do it to give him baths, so that's what I've been doing. They recommended 2-3 bathes every day or more depending on how many dirty diapers he has. It's a good thing he loves baths because he's had about a weeks worth in the last two days.

N has done really well with the situation. In fact, I think he's gotten a little spoiled. Our parents have been great to help out!! (Thanks again!). My mom stayed with him the first night and morning, my Dad stayed with him part of that day and took him to McDonalds, then my mom returned to make brownie cookies and play at the neighbors with him. D's parents were here all day yesterday to play with him and take him to McDonalds. And I took him to McDonald's today. I usually try to limit him to one McDonald's trip per week, so this has been great for him. :)

In hindsight...What D and I learned later is that there is a small window of opportunity to operate in an effort to correct TT and to save the effected "side.". Now, looking back at the situation, if we had known some of the symptoms of TT, we would have gotten L to the hospital sooner and may have been able to avoid partial loss of the right side and may have been able to avoid the extensive surgery L went through....But, as they say, hindsight is 20/20, right?

I wouldn't normally go into such detail about a medical situation, especially one of this nature, but I did it as somewhat of a public service announcement for lack of a better word. The doctor said this can happen to any male at any age. He said it typically does not happen in children as young as L, but it can. He said this usually happens after an accident in which this area of the body is hit with significant force.. But, the doctor also said that some males are born with their parts detached, so they are more susceptible to TT happening to them, as in L's case. So, as I said above, if you notice swelling, redness, pain and/or enlargement in this area, call your doctor right away.