Surgery was a success! (We think...)

We were out of the house by 5:40 am to drive to Seattle for Ty's cleft lip revision/repair. Check in was 8:15, surgery at 9:30. Of course, it didn't quite work that nicely, but I'll spare you the details. And the whole way there Ty said, "I'm hungry. I want to go home. I want my bed." Yep, totally normal for a 5 year old getting ready for surgery I would say! Here is Ty at the hospital waiting area, with his cleft buddy, TEDDY DUNCAN! Teddy Duncan was Ty's constant companion yesterday.

At the hospital as we walked back to the surgery area, he proclaimed to the world, "I AM NOT LAYING DOWN!" That is his patented response each time we go to the doctor. We just shook our head and laughed. Tyson charmed everyone who came into contact with him. At one point he was asked, "Why are you so cute?" and he replied, "Because I was a baby in China!" We all got a good laugh! I also told anyone who would listen that I needed to be in recovery as quickly as possible when he woke up. Everyone was receptive...but I heard that before at another hospital (ahem...Mary Bridge Hosp, that let Ty cry for me for 20 minutes in recovery after hernia surgery).

But when more than one doctor came in, that's when the nerves hit. The anesthesiologist walked in just in time to see him start crying and saying, "Mommy....Mommy I love you!" and hugging my neck tight. She left, and we got Ty calm pretty quickly. When she came back, she had the versed ready to go, which was great because I was going to request it anyway. After about 15 min, they took Ty back to the OR in the wheel chair, and he went compliantly without us. Later I learned about how he entertained everyone in the OR before going off to sleep. I guess he didn't like the pillow. He had to inspect it carefully, ask questions...and remember, this kid is a character anyway...I hope he never touches alcohol.

The surgery was around 2.5 hours, about what we expected. We knew he was having some muscles in his lip moved around so they would be even, and in turn the micro cleft would turn into a scar. When the surgeon came back, he told us he did something that we hadn't talked about, but he figured it would be OK. When Ty's big cleft lip was repaired in China, there was a fistula left, which allowed liquids, sauces, jellies, etc... to escape through his nose. It was really annoying. The surgeon really never got a good look at it during our appointments because Tyson refuses to lay on a bed, and we love our surgeon! He never pushes Ty beyond what is necessary. But this time, Ty was asleep so he got a good look. Evidently, there was a lot of food and junk stuck up in the fistula. They cleaned it out, and then the surgeon decided to FIX IT! We thanked him over and over. This procedure was supposed to happen when Ty has his bone graft in 3ish years. (If you'd like to see what Ty's cleft lip looked like in China, go here)

So I was paged to back to recovery. To my surprise, Tyson was not awake, but they said they wanted him to see me first when he woke up. Talk about responding to a parent's request, WOW! I just asked for after he woke up, but they REALLY went beyond. I did tell them about our Mary Bridge experience, so maybe that was part of it. Well, it was 12:40...and he wasn't budging. We tried to wake him around 1:00. Nope...1:15...nope. This boy was out! Between normal anesthesia and Ty just being tired, he was in a deep sleep. Add the versed, and you have one groggy boy.

So the nurses realized he may not wake for awhile, so we were about to just go back to the zone area where Dan was waiting, and let Ty sleep it off...then he woke up! Finally, at about 1:45. And you know what he wanted then...popsicles! Here he is, post surgery.

The ride home was challenging. He was bleeding out one nostril from where the fistula was repaired. He was also really nauseous. And of course, Friday night I-5 traffic on a holiday weekend. We got home at almost 7pm.

Ty slept great, and he is needing minimal pain meds today. In fact, I just heard a "Thud" and I asked him what he was doing, and he said he was practicing flying. Yep, back to normal...he just can't smile.

I feel like I got the best Christmas gift in the world. I was so worried about Tyson going off to Kindergarten next year and having issues with foods and liquids coming out of his nose and having other kids laugh at him and tease him. That is now no longer a worry. God just removed a huge ache from my heart. And, I didn't think this surgery was going to change his smile that much, but I think it will, and not that it was possible for him to be more adorable, I think he actually will be!

Thank you for all of your prayers and support. Tyson goes for post-surgery appointment Jan. 7th, and my husband will take him. As long as I can keep Ty calm, all should go well. Not sure how that will work out, but I'll try!