Luka's surgery

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

Florida

Luka and I will flying to Florida November 17th to spend Thanksgiving with our families this year.  Eric will be joining us on the 26th, and then the three of us will be returning home December 3.  I'm looking super forward to this!

Big Stuff

I know I've been talking a lot about Luka's upcoming surgery in the recent posts- and I just want to add that he is really being tough about it all (very strong).  On Wednesday we spent almost 4 hours at OHSU hospital meeting with Dr. Selden and his Nurse Practioner, riding the sky tram to the top of this hill (picture), getting blood drawn, and touring Doerbechers Childrens Hospital's pediatric surgery area where Luka will have his surgery this Monday morning.  He absolutely did not mind any of it (except for getting his blood drawn, of course, but even then he immediately stopped crying when it was over).  He actually enjoyed playing in the waiting areas and looking at the other children.  So, Luka is our brave boy and we can't wait for next week to fly by and for us all to be back home doing things as normal.  

A bit of honesty

...I have to say that sometimes I really do feel like I'm going to go nuts.  How in the world did I not know how time consuming, demanding, irritating, and tiring motherhood could be.  And why do I feel like sometimes I'm the only one who thinks that way.  I have about a half a dozen friends who are also mothers and I NEVER hear them complain.  I feel like I complain all the time.  Either it's my lack of sleep, or still having to share a bed, the whining, the crying every time I must change a diaper- on mornings like these I wish I could just walk away.  One child will be enough for me, thanks.  And I hope I'm not coming off as insensitive or irrational- but I just can't see how some women go through this two or three more times.  I've heard the old "Oh, you'll forget.  By the time the first turns 2 you'll be wanting another."  PLEASE DON'T LET ME FORGET!! Seriously, one is enough!!

Second MRI

Yesterday was Luka's second MRI.  I can't even say how nerve-wracking it is to take him to Pediatric Sedation.  It's the anticipation that is the worst.  And one would think since we had already gone through this once before it would have been easier for this time- but it wasn't.  Luka screamed much more, which was hard on us.  Mainly because the nurse had trouble finding a vein and after about 20 minutes of this they finally got him off to sleep.  I almost wanted to complain about a nurse who was obviously peeved that we chose not to give Luka a sedative.  I rather him carry on and fuss than be dopey.  That must have been wearing on her nerves.  This MRI went much quicker and he was awake by the time we reunited with him.  It took only an hour or two and he was back to his same little self: crawling, climbing, standing, being busy... Dr. Selden will be looking at the pictures and and in a week we will meet with him to hear what he plans to do in the operating room.

New Pictures

Here is the most recent album on our picasa website: Oma & Opa visit Sept '08 And whoops... mom missed her flight.  She was actually supposed to fly out this morning and not tomorrow.  So instead she will be leaving this Sunday and meeting dad at Chicago's O'Hare. They had planned a visit with Dale and a day trip to Chicago anyway, so in a way it works out.  It will be nice to have her here a little longer, but Dad was not thrilled.  He's stuck in Columbus for the next few days freezing loads of tomatoes.

Appointments

So, here is what he have: 

• Thurs. Sept. 25th MRI of spine 
• Thurs. Oct. 9th Pre-op visit
  
• Mon. Oct. 13th Surgery
  
• Tues. Oct. 14th or Wed. Oct 15th discharge from hospital
  
• Fri. Oct. 29th Post-op visit