Friday, November 25, 2011
On the tele
Well I finally have the app for blogger... Makes blogging even easier! We had a great thanksgiving, were able to see both sides of our family. Chris was at work but now has 5 days off to hang out. Owen had a blast with his cousins, and even got to see his cousin Mat who was in town from AZ. Owen dipped his veggie stick in some gravy, but most of it got on his shirt. His small incision is healing up very well. Just wanted to do a quick post on the tele:).
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Wired
Owen's chest has been irritated over the last month or so. We had visited our regular MD who said to just watch it. We all agreed that it was irritated over one of his sternal wires. Everything is at the same height as his chest-the fireplace where he pushes his cars, the benches at our kitchen table. The status changed drastically in just a few hours on Monday. It appeared as if the wires were trying to come through his chest that night. I was on hold in putting Owen to sleep, as Chris was trying to call UCSF as well as our regular cardiologist. We decided to put Owen down, get some good sleep, as we both knew nothing was probably going to happen that night. Also, Owen wasn't showing any signs of pain. When we heard back from our cardiologist we had a chest xray at 8am and an appointment at 830. We didn't know what to expect so we packed for SF as well!
The Xray confirmed that the wire had broken...And it needed to come out. We held tight while he paged the surgeon to see when we could get in. He told us to sit tight and he would let us know as soon as the surgeon got back to him. We thought we may be waiting a while...But only 10minutes later there was a plan! Come back at 4 for admitting, and surgery will be around 5. You will be the 7th case... WOW! Guess he had a busy day... We were used to being first case, but those surgeries have a few more things going on.
So we packed up all Owen's toys, drove home, took naps, and went for a beautiful walk. Chris and I joke about us always sleeping when Owen has surgery/ surgery day, but it really is a nice stress reliever, re-charger, and way to pass the time! We headed back down the hill, checked in, and were hanging out in the pre-op area in no time. Owen was having a ball. He hadn't had any real food since 0645, and then he was allowed clears until 2. He doesn't like apple juice, so I haven't really given it to him in the tube. But that's what he got. His hunger/confusion/what's going on? attitude didn't really kick in until about 515 which was when they took a case instead of us. It was no biggie to us, Owen was being entertained by the staff, playing with their toys, and driving his car up the side of the crib. When we took the dressing off of his chest right before surgery the wire had poked through. Good thing they were taking him in.
The whole procedure from IV lines, sedation, airway, and surgery was about 90 minutes. We went into recovery, and there was our little chunky cherub, asleep with a Oxygen mask on, and satting 100%. I know that he isn't supposed to be doing that, but it was kinda fun to see. I don't think I have ever seen that before. I saw a 98% when he was in for his gtube. Of course both times he was on high amounts of mask oxygen. (Earlier that day, when crying and a little cold, he was 77-81 on the pulse-ox machine, and when the oxygen was turned off after recovery, he was about 85-88%. Our B-B+ kid!!) He slept for a little while and then the surgeon came around and showed us the incision. I could barely see it! Probably about 10mm. He said that there was a lot of scar tissue so it was hard to navigate through the muscle, and that they finally could retrieve both parts of the wire after doing an xray with fluroscopy to aid in the process. He showed us the foreign body, very similar to a smaller paperclip in size and width. We got to keep it:). Owen recovered very well, and drank a cup of water! And ate a WHOLE graham cracker! This is BIG for him, had never seen him do either of these in one sitting. As soon as the IV was pulled out we were getting ready to leave. We left about 830. It was a long 12+ hours but so different from his other procedures. Everything went so smoothly.
Upon returning home, Owen wouldn't stop running around pushing his train. He even figured out how to turn it instead of getting stuck when he would push it into walls. Maybe the anesthesia helped him put 2 and 2 together. We laughed at him, enjoyed watching how good he felt, and then Chris put him down. We all slept about 10 hours straight, with a few check ins on Owen.
Hopefully the other wires will stay put. Who knows what lead to this one breaking, but this kid is pretty darn tough! Will post photos of Owen's chest, xray, and foreign body when we get the pics of the xray in december.
The Xray confirmed that the wire had broken...And it needed to come out. We held tight while he paged the surgeon to see when we could get in. He told us to sit tight and he would let us know as soon as the surgeon got back to him. We thought we may be waiting a while...But only 10minutes later there was a plan! Come back at 4 for admitting, and surgery will be around 5. You will be the 7th case... WOW! Guess he had a busy day... We were used to being first case, but those surgeries have a few more things going on.
So we packed up all Owen's toys, drove home, took naps, and went for a beautiful walk. Chris and I joke about us always sleeping when Owen has surgery/ surgery day, but it really is a nice stress reliever, re-charger, and way to pass the time! We headed back down the hill, checked in, and were hanging out in the pre-op area in no time. Owen was having a ball. He hadn't had any real food since 0645, and then he was allowed clears until 2. He doesn't like apple juice, so I haven't really given it to him in the tube. But that's what he got. His hunger/confusion/what's going on? attitude didn't really kick in until about 515 which was when they took a case instead of us. It was no biggie to us, Owen was being entertained by the staff, playing with their toys, and driving his car up the side of the crib. When we took the dressing off of his chest right before surgery the wire had poked through. Good thing they were taking him in.
The whole procedure from IV lines, sedation, airway, and surgery was about 90 minutes. We went into recovery, and there was our little chunky cherub, asleep with a Oxygen mask on, and satting 100%. I know that he isn't supposed to be doing that, but it was kinda fun to see. I don't think I have ever seen that before. I saw a 98% when he was in for his gtube. Of course both times he was on high amounts of mask oxygen. (Earlier that day, when crying and a little cold, he was 77-81 on the pulse-ox machine, and when the oxygen was turned off after recovery, he was about 85-88%. Our B-B+ kid!!) He slept for a little while and then the surgeon came around and showed us the incision. I could barely see it! Probably about 10mm. He said that there was a lot of scar tissue so it was hard to navigate through the muscle, and that they finally could retrieve both parts of the wire after doing an xray with fluroscopy to aid in the process. He showed us the foreign body, very similar to a smaller paperclip in size and width. We got to keep it:). Owen recovered very well, and drank a cup of water! And ate a WHOLE graham cracker! This is BIG for him, had never seen him do either of these in one sitting. As soon as the IV was pulled out we were getting ready to leave. We left about 830. It was a long 12+ hours but so different from his other procedures. Everything went so smoothly.
Upon returning home, Owen wouldn't stop running around pushing his train. He even figured out how to turn it instead of getting stuck when he would push it into walls. Maybe the anesthesia helped him put 2 and 2 together. We laughed at him, enjoyed watching how good he felt, and then Chris put him down. We all slept about 10 hours straight, with a few check ins on Owen.
Hopefully the other wires will stay put. Who knows what lead to this one breaking, but this kid is pretty darn tough! Will post photos of Owen's chest, xray, and foreign body when we get the pics of the xray in december.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
GrAtiTuDe
I can't believe that there was a time that I never knew anyone with cancer. My grandfather died when I was very young from cancer secondary to some exposure in WW2. Other than that, it was so rare.
"Hey Owen, no one is looking, let's see what this fountain has to offer."
"Aw Owen, this is so neat. I think one of us should jump in."
"Evan, I love you man. I think you should go first...."
Fast forward a lifetime (er, 28 years) and I am frequently checking updates on Caring Bridge (a hub for blogs to update friends and family, more focused on treatment and plans and such, vs our family blog that addresses all topics). It started with one friend and BOTH of her children she updated on CB. Very rare, but not any the more comfortable having 2 children with different cancers. Then checking up on Baby Evan, whom I have mentioned many times on the blog. Him and Owen had a great play date a couple weeks back. Evan and Owen would take turns pushing each other on the tricycle! He is at the beginning of yet another round of chemo, lasting about 13 weeks. He has gained some weight and continues to amaze us. My cousin is battling a tumor after being cancer free for a few years. More recently another friend's father with ongoing digestive issues related to his cancer and long term on and off hospitalizations. And just tonight, another close friend's Dad's cancer is back and it has spread. There are too many I could even be leaving someone out just based on a long list....I am just speechless........
The point of this... The point of this blog is.... I just feel so helpless and so lucky at the same time. I feel so helpless for these families. The coping with treatment, outcomes, pain, and the constant fight is like nothing I have personally been through. I am reminded every day, every time I give Owen a bath, or change his clothes (multiple times per day!) that life is precious. His scar is the visual reminder if we needed it. That is why I'm sometimes flash happy with his scar. I feel it is a lesson to everyone (self included!) to let go of all the petty stuff and cherish our time we get here on this beautiful earth. It is so cheesy to say but SO TRUE! We are so blessed with our Owen, our marriage, family, friends, and our health that it is overwhelming sometimes.
"Here, I will give you a hand..."
These kids crack me up! They make me so happy!