Warren's surgery went amazingly well. What a great God we serve! I met with the anesthesiologist several weeks before the surgery, and he discussed with me numerous complications from general anesthesia...especially with my history. Because of that, we were to expect Warren to need to spend the night. His plan was to administer general anesthesia thru the IV after Warren had been sedated and monitor his breathing to determine need for any breathing assistance if he was unable to maintain his oxygen/HR.
Well, we pushed Warren's surgery back a few weeks, so we had a different anesthesiologist. After reviewing Warren's history and our family history of allergic reactions to anesthesia, he opted for a different route. He sedated Warren as planned, and then immediately put him on a ventilator. This ensured Warren's oxygen and breathing would remain normal and prevented any need for emergency intubation mid-procedure. He also chose not to use general anesthesia at all, but to do an epidural. Warren was awake from the surgery by the time Andrew spoke to the doctor and made his way back to the recovery room. He was awake and feisty! After refusing his bottle, which I was a little surprised since it had been over 10 hours since he'd had any food, he gulped down some applesauce. He kept it down no problem and was released before 10AM. That's right, less than 3 hours after surgery started and he was on his way home! Praise God he did not have to stay in the hospital the full 23 hours, didn't have to be entertained in that little room while trying to keep him from putting any number of potentially contaminated items in his mouth. And here he is, looking mighty cute in his hospital gown.
The great thing about having the first surgery in the morning is that it is over relatively early as well. By the time Dean finished his morning oatmeal, Andrew had already called to report everything went as planned. And by the time Dean woke from his morning nap, he was reunited with brother! Dean was a bit lost without Warren here, wandering aimlessly around upstairs, not quite playing with anything, a bit unsure. Love that, how much they need each other already, even though they won't play together yet. God kept my weak heart fairly strong during the whole process, really right up until those final few minutes when I began to wonder why Andrew hadn't called yet. But, once again, God carried us through. And Warren is loving being home, playing alongside brother, and dancing to a little Under the Sea with Aerial. (which is so super cute...if the video I took wasn't about 5 minutes long I might think about posting that)
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