One Down, One To Go

I got 3 hours of sleep.  At 6am Heidi shook me awake to get Aaron out the door.  We arrived a 15 minutes late to the hospital and checked in.  Aaron slept for a few minutes in the car and then hugged me tightly as we walked through the hospital and into the surgery center.  He didn't cry until one of the nurses asked him to change into a hospital gown and he started to feel like something unusual was happening.  The nurses gave him superhero stickers because we told the team yesterday he likes superheros; they also gave him a truck and a green surgery bear, and had him choose the smell he wanted in his anesthesia (he breathes it in through a mask).  He chose bubble gum.

When he left for the surgery room, the staff allowed Heidi to go back with him and I told her she could only go if she didn't cry since that might worry him more.  She agreed although neither of us believed her and as she went to pick him up to take him, he reached for me and said in a worried voice, "I will miss you Daddy".  Then I lost it and broke the rule I just gave to Heidi and cried.  Dad's get to do that sometimes too.

After about 90 minutes Aaron returned looking tired but good.  The nurse said she asked him if he hurt and he said, "yes, my knee hurts. I hurt it 2 days ago" and then showed her the knee he skinned a few days ago.  She asked us if she could keep him.

For the next few hours Aaron recovered by watching cartoons on netflix, eating popsicles for fluid and having doctors and nurses tell him how brave he is.  His arm still had the IV and he had leads on his chest from the monitors and he didn't even try to remove any of it, because 4 year-olds seem to believe that whatever is, is; and so they just go with the flow.

Before letting him leave, the nurse asked Aaron if he felt dizzy or angry since those are some of the side effects of anesthesia.  He told her he did not feel dizzy and that "I feel angry when my parents get mad at me."  She then told him not to run and jump today to which he made a face but said nothing--until we left the room.  As soon as I wheeled him out, Aaron turned to me and said, "I am NOT going to listen to her."  I asked him, "Why?".  "Because", Aaron responded indignantly, "She is NOT the boss of me."  All I could do was chuckle.

Aaron and I visited Jordan in his room before heading back to the Ronald McDonald house for a much needed nap.  He looked good and expects to start the infusion in a few hours.  Glad this one is over and that all went so well; that is one big sigh of relief.