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.