Surgery Day

Surgery Day
November 3, 2012

Everything went perfect!  We got there early and Ryan gave Jordan a blessing.  He was bright eyed and looking good.  It was pretty cute, he watched closely as the nurses attached and detached things and watched intently as the bed lid lowered.  I hadn't seen him that bright eyed where he noticed so much before.

The surgery took almost 2 hours from start to finish.  The Ears Nose and Throat Doctor met us back up in his room and shared with us the following:  During the initial part when they sent a scope down through his trachea and down to his lungs they noticed that Jordan's vocal chords are working really well now but also noticed that half of his tongue is paralyzed.  That is part of why he cannot swallow food or his secretions.  So, the hope is that eventually, the tongue and other swallowing muscles will start working like the vocal chords dd.  There is no guarantee so all we can do is wait and see.  I don't know that I can explain it correctly but between the issue with the tongue, the pooling of his secretions, vocal chords protecting themselves, and the way babies breath all work against him band cause him to stop breathing for a moment.  So, getting the GI tube and the tracheotomy will help him breath clearer and not have to worry about eating food through his mouth allowing him time to hopefully let his body repair itself.  This answer and the procedure feel like a big step forward.  It is nice to have an answer that tells us why something is happening.  If his body does not repair itself, the doctor believes he may still be able to swallow using the half of his tongue that is working.  This of course will also make it hard for speech.  Either way I am sure we will have some speech therapy.  

We are so hopeful.  If all of this is truly the case as to the cause of Jordan's desats then he should be prepared to go home within 3 weeks.  He should be slowly taken off the ventilator this weekend and breathing on his own through his trach by the first of the week.  Then the training for Ryan and me will begin.  

I can't even begin to explain and tell you exciting and nice it is to see Jordan without tubes on his face.  Once the ventilator is taken off his trachea tube we will be down to the tracheotomy, heart monitor, and GI Tube--and 2 of the three can be covered by clothes.  He will look so good!

After spending several hours with Jordan post surgery to make sure he was okay, the doctor encouraged us go home and be with our other kids since Jordan would be highly sedated.  Thanks to some friends, my kids were taken care of, dinner brought in, and tickets donated to Time Out For Women in Portland for my Mom and I.  This turned out to be a nice break and extremely uplifting.  Thank you!  Since the family was taken care of, Ryan was even able to take Brooklyn out on a Daddy-daughter date, which he hasn't been able to do for months.  Overall, it was a good day.

Here is just another post operation picture with the tracheotomy tube connected to the ventilator: