THE BIG DAY

Today's the day... surgery is scheduled for 2:00pm this afternoon. 

The last bottle with formula was at 6:00am. Alex can have Pedialyte or water until 10:00am and nothing to eat after 10:00. I'm hoping we can get him to sleep until we need to be at the surgery center at 1:00pm.

Last Bottle of the Day (Apple-Flavored Pedialyte, Yum!)

Alex did great this morning. He slept and played most of the morning and only fussed due to hunger for a few minutes before we arrived at the surgery center. We spent most of our time at Conway Park --  a park within walking distance of Mercy (under I-270). If you have other children with you, or if you're like us and have some time to fill before surgery, this is a beautiful park with a playground and walking trails around a central pond. 

We arrived at the surgery center at 12:45 and they brought us back to the pre-op room at 1:00. We met with the urologist's nurse, Deann (Dr. Marsh's nurse) and the anesthesiologist. We filled out paperwork, discussed his medical history, dressed Alex in his hospital gown and gave him kisses before the nurse walked him down the hall for surgery at 1:30pm.  


They use a nitrogen gas to put the little ones to sleep before starting the IV, so they are not in any pain before the procedure starts. Both procedures will take up to 4 1/2 hours (270 minutes). The tongue-reduction surgery only takes 1-1.5 hours to complete. 


Dr. Marsh does a "W" incision where he trims the sides of the tongue and takes a wedge piece out of the tip (looks like a snake tongue). He then sews the two front tips together. I'll include a copy of the drawing that Dr. Marsh made for us when I have a chance to scan it. 


We stayed in the pre-op room until Alex's surgery was underway and then we were sent to the main waiting area. We currently have a pager and a confidential number assigned to Alex so we can monitor his progress within the waiting area. 

It's now 3:13pm and Dr. Marsh just came by to tell us that his portion of the surgery is over. Dr. Palagiri, the urologist, is now starting his portion and so far Alex is doing great!!

Grandpa and "Buck" waiting for the anesthesiologist. Alex picked out this silly donkey at the dollar store on Monday and they have been best friends all week. Buck is very worried about his little buddy, so Grandpa is keeping him company!