Alex and Maddy

Alex and Maddy

Friday, September 3, 2010

Even Worse!

If I thought yesterday was bad I had no idea what was in store for me today! After updating last night I went to bed still unsure of what the final plan was. At midnight I was woken up by the surgery resident to sign consent. It was a consent to replace his port. I let him know that this was not the plan I had discussed with Dr. Tsao and was he certain we were not going to TPA the port. I was assured that this is what Dr. Tsao wanted. So I went back to sleep thinking Alex was going into surgery this morning to have his Jtube replaced, scar tissue removed and port replaced.
I was once again awoken at 6:30 this morning by the surgery team. I reiterated my concerns with the plan as it was not what I had discussed with Dr. Tsao. They agreed to call and double check. Less then 30 minutes later we were headed to pre-op. Alex cried the whole way down. He finally settled down when our favorite anesthesiologist came in and said she would be in the OR. We waited about 45 minutes and then someone came in and told us that we were going back upstairs. They had cancelled the surgery because Dr. tsao wanted to try TPAing the port. I was obviously frustrated.
We got up to the floor and immediately I asked how we were going to address his Jtube problems if we weren't going to the OR. We were told by the surgery resident that they were going to sedate him bedside and do it. That was the final straw for me. Alex is damn near impossible to sedate. The anesthesiologists frequently comment that "it takes enough to kill 3 grown men" to sedate him. That can not safely be done without the ability to intubate. On top of that I didn't want Buggy to be only half asleep and be in pain while they cut off tissue. The final thing is that Alex is VERY afraid of "going to sleep" (anesthesia). Right now he loves our normal unit of the hospital. I did not want to do anything to make him afraid of being here with as many days as we are here.
Since the nurses and I weren't getting anywhere, I decided to email Dr. K. She came to the rescue and got in touch with Dr. Tsao. She let me know not to let them do anything. That Dr. Tsao would be up to see us when he was out of surgery. In the meantine we TPAed the port and were able to get blood! Woohoo!
I waited and waited and Dr. Tsao finally made it up here around 1:00. He made the decision that it was best to head to the OR to remove the scar tissue and replace the Jtube. Less then 10 min later they were here to take us back to pre-op. So off we went with Alex crying again. Luckily, our child life specialist came down with us and helped me distract Alex. We had an anesthesiologist we know and his fave came by to check on us again and make sure they knew the ins and outs of taking care of buggy. Alex's was taken back around 3. Dr. Tsao was pretty quick, however, he came out of the OR telling me that the port had given them some issues. I am somewhat concerned at this point that we made the wrong choice by not replacing the port. So far it is working okay since we have been in the room. I am hoping that it will continue to work ok without any further problems.
Alex was as sweet as possible coming out of anesthesia. The first thing he did in recovery was pull me close and tell me that he loves me. He is doing really well. He is saying his belly doesn't hurt at all. He is also tolerating the oxygen (that he is always on after surgery) better then he ever has. He is tired and getting ready to crash for the night.
I continue to struggle with the care Alex is getting on the surgery team. They are not use to having to deal with the complexity of his issues. They don't know us and the way we do things. I feel like I am having to fight to get him cared for correctly. I am tired of putting out fires because they don't know us well. I am hoping they will listen to me and the nurses and that tomorrow things will improve.
Thank you for all the prayers today.
Ali

3 comments:

  1. Ali,
    I'm so sorry that you had such a hard day and that you have to fight for the proper care. I hope that tomorrow will be a better day for all of you and that the port will keep.

    Hugs,
    Yael

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  2. (((HUGS Ali))) Sorry things are difficult with the surgery team, that has to be so frustrating for you--and Alex, poor kiddo. Im glad the child life specialist made things a little easier. Alex sounds like such a sweety, giving you loves when he woke up, always amazing me that boy :) Praying things improve and Alex has a better day tomorrow. Thinking about your family tonight and your brave boy-
    Heidi & Jack.

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  3. OH, forgot to mention how much I LOVE this pic of him, wow! The site looks great! hugs-

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