First off, everything went like planned. The surgery was a complete success, Dr. Selden was very happy with what he found, and Luka is on his way to a full recovery. We arrived at the hospital 8:30 am on Monday and stayed with Luka until the nurse took him into the operating room. 'Grandma P' and 'Poppy' met us there and helped us hug and kiss Luka goodbye. That was the hardest thing to do- I was choking up the whole way down the hall- but Luka was brave and trusting and did not make one single peep. After an hour and a half they let us know that they were sewing him back up and that all went well. While we were waiting to see him Dr. Selden came out to report what was done. He did cut out a large amount of tissue and he believes that there is a 92-95% chance that his spine will remain untethered and Luka will not ever need this surgery again nor have any side effects from it. The scariest risk was nerve damage and Dr. Selden reassured us that all of his nerves were fine. What a relief.
Once Luka was awake we were able to see him in the recovery room. We then wheeled him up to his room on the 10th floor where he had to lay flat for 48 hours. That was a big worry for me since Luka is so active and in midst of his crawling and cruising stage, but it wasn't as hard as I thought partly because of the pain medications and soreness. The days and nights did drag but overall it went rather smoothly.
The final morning was the hardest I would say. Luka was no longer on morphine so he was ready to get going again and Eric had to leave and go back to work. Dr. Selden checked in and okayed him, so I immediately picked him up (even though he still had his catheter) and nervously squeezed him. From then on it was NOT OKAY for me to set him back down on his back. When the nurse took the catheter out we roamed the halls a bit, played in the school room, listened to a classical guitarist (part of the hospital's Musical rx program), and looked out the windows. We were both ready to go home but Luka had to fully empty his bladder twice before they would discharge us.
Patty, Scott, and Brooke met me there and drove us home when we were finally released. Luka was just so thrilled to be outside and in the car. He is back to crawling and standing, does not seem to be in much pain, and is sleeping a lot (it was hard getting rest when nurses were checking his vitals every 2 hours). Last night he slept from 10pm-5am which is the longest stretch of nightime sleep he (and I) have ever had!!!!!!!!!! That was amazingly nice. Today he is in the 3rd hour of his morning nap. Well, I have to say that this was hard and stressful, but we consider ourselves very lucky that Luka is healthy and strong unlike some of the other patients who roomed nearby. As one nurse exclaimed, "You look too healthy to be here". Eric and I have such a beautiful gift and are fortunate in EVERY possible way. To see the pictures CLICK HERE
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