Staying in a hotel with a baby is never fun. We tried to keep him up and off of the dirty carpet as much as possible, but there is only so much you can do in a hotel room. To kill time and keep Brandt awake, we went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner. Most of the meal, I was holding, feeding, entertaining Brandt--in a desperate effort to keep him quiet. I was exhausted and sure glad when we finally left. We went back to the hotel and got everyone showered. When I finally tried to put Brandt down for the night, he was not having it. I ended up having to spend a good 45minutes rocking him. And then, about 10 minutes after I put him down, the front desk called to see if we needed anything--which, of course, woke Brandt up. I got to spend the next 2hours trying to get him back to sleep. Once he was finally down, I couldn't sleep because my head was pounding. And, before I knew it, it was 4:30, and time to wake Brandt up for his final drink.
We arrived at the hospital around 5:30am, and we managed to register before Patient Access began filling up around 6am. Our scheduled arrival time was 6:30, but we didn't get to pre-op until after 8am. Keeping a hungry baby distracted was quite a feat, but Darrin and I took turns passing Brandt off. We sat, stood, rocked, bounced, watched and played--how's that for "maintaining a lively pace?!?!"
Once we were in pre-op, it was another hour of juggling Brandt. Several nurses, as well as the anesthesiologist, came by to examine Brandt. We discussed his anemia and reviewed his most recent hemoglobin levels. They listened to his heart murmur and reviewed his recent echocardiogram. They heard his cough, and listened to his lungs.
Finally, we got the operation clearance. A nurse brought in some "baby valium" to help calm him down--and it definitely did. Within 15 minutes, he was drunk--wobbling and laughing, eyes drooping and glazed over. He was on cloud-nine!
And then came the hard part--the nurses came in and wheeled him away. Nothing can describe that feeling of sitting and not knowing, watching the minutes slowly pass by.
Finally, we met with the doctor, and then we were taken back to see Brandt. He was irritable and groggy, but he was doing well.
As we were taken to recovery, the attending nurse brought light to an already-forgotten condition--Brandt's heart. He mentioned the murmur, and then he told us that there was more. When Brandt cried before they put him down, the blood shunted away from his heart and he'd turn bluish.
I was taken back when they told me. How could that be possible? Why would the echocardiogram not show that? And what does that even mean? Is it something serious, or does it just need to be managed or watched closely?
So, in a couple of weeks when we go for a post-op with the ENT, we will be seeing a cardiologist, too. I guess I should at least be thankful that I have the summer to get all of these things taken care of.
Good grief, though! It just seems like the medical mess never ends...
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