A Vacation in Hospitals (Mar.18, 2011)

First it was April, then Nana. Now Cameron has his turn. So, to re-cap, Wednesday (3/16) Cameron is vomiting at 5am. Fever all day, then it breaks about 11pm. Wakes up Thursday morning able to eat a little, but that evening is c/o abdominal pain again. Joyce asked if it could be his appendix. I thought, not likely. But he did have some rebound pain. Re-bound pain is a classic sign of appendicitis. When you slowly press down on the person's lower right abdominal area, then quickly remove your hand, the sudden pain is severe. It was late at night at this point, and although he claimed the pain was an 8 out of 10, his wasn't crying, or unable to focus, etc. So I felt it was safe enough to wait until the morning, and then take him to the Urgent Care. I had him sleep in my bed, so if he got worse, I'd know quickly, and could take him to the ED. In the morning I called the local Urgent Care Clinic to see if they felt they could diagnose or rule out appendicitis. Some of these clinics have on-site CT Scans which is really the definitive test for this situation. They didn't, and recommended he be taken to the ED. So I called my insurance company to see which ER was in our network. I wake Cameron up, and didn't let him eat or drink anything, just in case. On the drive over I explain the he will likely get and IV, and the CT Scan, etc. I felt impressed to tell him that if he does need surgery, it will be okay, just like when I had my appendix removed a few years ago. He remains calm, but is very solemn and quiet. Sure enough, the ED physician orders the IV and CT scan. A male RN comes into to start his IV, and they discuss Nike shoes. Cameron found the inserting of the IV to be quite painful, but he survived. They have him start on cup of contrast to drink, and before he could finish, they were wheeling him on the stretcher to radiology. The contrast is a radio-active liquid that is added to a beverage. It makes the digestive tract more easily visible on the CT scan. The ED doc came back in and said sure enough, appendicitis, and he'd need surgery. Cameron went pale, but stayed calm. I explained that I had already warned him of the possibility. She wasn't sure when they could take him back, depending on when he last ate, and when a general surgeon would be available. Since I hadn't fed him, it would be as soon as a surgeon and Operating Room were available. The staff did think it strange that I had the forethought not to feed him. I insisted I was surprised as anyone that my always healthy child was actually needing surgery. But that because his symptoms were so similar to the ones I'd had, I knew it wouldn't hurt to have him not eat. I felt a little like they thought I had Munchausen by Proxy . I'm a CNA who takes care of surgical patients. I think I know the drill!
Anyway, I had barely had time to tell Justin (who was still in FL of course) and Brent, what was going on. Next thing I know they were taking us to Pre-Op. I signed consents, as they went over all the risks, of the surgery and anaesthesia in front of both of us. I could only imagine what Cameron was thinking as he watched his mom give permission for something that could possibly kill him. The surgeon was very kind. He explained that he had done the surgery many, many times, and there is usual EBL (estimated blood loss) is only a table spoon. Cameron had no allergy history, was otherwise healthy, he would be fine. I asked if I could please say a prayer with him before they took him back (I had hoped Brent would make it there to give him a blessing first, but things started happening too fast). I said that I was grateful to have a competent staff that were skilled and kind to us, and I asked a blessing on the doctors and RN's and techs to be able to do their jobs effectively. And especially I wanted Cameron to know how much his mommy and daddy love him, and that everything was going to be okay. I asked the Lord the help him not be scared. It still makes me tearful, just writing it. I had tried so hard to be brave for him, so he wouldn't freak out. After the prayer, he tearing up. I kissed him and they whisked him away. One of the RN's gave me a hug, then said she knows it's different when it's "your baby", but assured me again, it was a common surgery, and he'd be fine. About 20 mins later Brent met me in the waiting room. We talked about life, and church, and things for about 45 more mins. Then surgeon gave us the good news, that all had went well. After another hour or so, a nurse got us and took us (me, Brent & Cameron) up to his room.

Just out of recovery.

 He would need to have several doses of IV antibiotics for a 24 hr period. Once we were settled Dad went home and got me my toothbrush, change of clothes, and my yarn so I could crochet. After an hour or so, Cameron woke up. It was a liquid diet for dinner. This hospital fed me for each meal since I was staying with a child. That was nice.

Ice cream cures everything!

I had to sleep in a crappy recliner though. Now I sympathize w/the visitors at my hospital that get in bed with the patients. I was too afraid I'd bump Cameron's tummy though. The next morning Cameron got solid, regular food. He would trade me for stuff he didn't like. They hep locked his IV, so he could take his walks in the hall, as is protocol for a post-op surgical patient. He found the walks boring, and took away from his TV time. I couldn't wait for his last dose of antibiotics, I couldn't take anymore Sponge Bob! We were on a Critical Care unit, and actually healthier than most of the other patients I'm sure. All the staff called him The Little Man. Around 3pm on Saturday, we got to go home. I had originally planned to drive home to FL that day, as I had to be back to work on Tuesday. But the surgeon didn't think he should ride in a care for such a long period so soon. So we made the plan to drive home Monday, I called my boss, and she had someone cover my shift for Tuesday. Once we got back home to Nana & Papa's and rested a bit, Julie called to see if Cameron wanted to spend the night with Carter, since they missed out on a lot of time together with him being sick for several days and the stay in the hospital. At first I was like, "no way, he just had surgery." But she said if we met half way, and she gave me Brayden, to spend to night with Cody, that she could promise Cameron and Carter would just relax and hang out, no rough housing or over-doing it. And she promised to make sure he took his meds, and call me if he didn't seem well. Cameron really wanted to go, so I agreed. I found out the next day, Julie had the better end of the stick on that. She had the calm, quiet kids, who stayed inside playing video games. While I had to 2 loud, crazy kids:)  She drove him back to Nashville and brought Carter w/her. So we took a few minutes to get photos of all the boys.

                                                  

Finally we made the long drive home Monday morning. We left around 9:30am and made good time the whole way. We stopped every few hours to let Cameron get out and walk around. After surgery you are at risk for blood clots. Staying somewhat active can help prevent it. We got home about 10:30 or 11pm, EST. I was so beat. Tuesday, I spent the day unpacking, and going to Cameron's school getting his assignments he was scheduled to do that week. He gets an extra week off from school, and 6 weeks of no contact sports in PE class. Also, Rikki came up from Dade City, so she could be home with Cameron during the day, to make sure he ate, took his meds, did some school work, etc. I'm so thankful she lives close enough to help out on short notice, and that she is always so willing to do so. We love you aunt, Rikki!