We arrived at Riley, after a sleepless night, at 5:30, registered, and was given a room for preparation... Graden was taken back right at 7:30, and the waiting began.
Watching him leave us was challenging. Of course, he did great and was busy making friends with the anethesiologist. We just wanted to be with him, too.
At 9:20 am, we got our first update... All the IVs and lines were in, he had responded well to the anesthesia, and was "funny" before he finally fell asleep. Apparently, he told them about his brother and school.
At 10:25 am, we got our second update... All was well, and the Doc was officially "in the brain."
At the third and final update, at 11:30 am, the nurse reported that the Doc was closing the brain and all was still well.
Around 12:30, Graden was in recovery, and we were called to see him.
The Doc came to tell us all went great. She was successful in completing the surgery and even cleaned out a "web" from around the brain stem, which should also help in relieving pressure off the flow of spinal fluid. We can't wait to tell G he is a real live Spider Man!
...the walk from the waiting area to Grado seemed to take an hour...
He was asleep in recovery and had his back towards us. The first thing we saw, then, was the bandage. And, I can't sugarcoat it -- it was breathtaking. Literally.
It's almost the length of the back of his head and had blood all around it. Tears immediately welled in both of our eyes. Thankfully, the nurse was quick to tell us that not all the blood was from the incision. Instead, some of blood came from two pokes on each side of his head that held the halo-like brace that held him still during surgery. One poke had come close to an artery and bled a lot - so much, in fact, that he got one stitch on the side.
While we waited to be moved to his room, the nurse updated us on Graden's recovery since coming out of the operating room. She said he was responsive to her and had done all that she asked, but he was extremely tired from all the anesthesia.
By 1 pm, we were transferred to our room in the burn unit at Riley. This is a typical placement because the nurses are familiar with keeping sterile environments. The ICU team visited us frequently, and it took us a few hours to get situated and caught up with what we should do and expect.
Eventually, he woke up and acknowledged us... A feeling I will always remember.
He was awake off and on for the evening. He even told Aunt Rachael he loved her before she left, which was incredibly sweet.
Throughout the night, he caught a few hours of sleep. He was awake from 1 am until 2:30 am, so we watched Hotel Transylvania. He did a great job, and all the nurses complimented him on how great of a patient he was... We are so proud of him.
Today, our second day, but his first day post-op, has been up and down. After a great night and morning, we had a bit of a scare and possible set-back. To sum it up, we believe Graden may have had a series of seizures, causing him complications with breathing. Between 12:30 and 3:30, we were focused on figuring out what was going on, and our Doc came in during that time.
Eventually, G came around and perked up... He even asked to play the Wii. He tried for a bit, but he is extremely sore and wore out... Although, he has yet to complain!
Our parents left for home around 4:30, and wouldn't you know, they came to notify us at 5:30 pm that he was being placed back under the care of ICU (he was released around noon -- 24 hours post-op) and that the Neurologist on call would be in to talk to us. They had also ordered a 30-minute EEG, which was just completed in our room...
Now, we are back to waiting...
As soon as we know more, I will share. But, I can't promise it will be anytime soon... This Momma and Daddy are nervous and exhausted - both emotionally and physically. I will do my best to blog tomorrow at the latest.
We appreciate each and every one of you... Thoughts, prayers, texts, Facebook likes... All of them make us stronger. From the bottom of our hearts -- thank you. This has been the most challenging few days of our lives.
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