House of Swick: Drew's Recovery

Well, we made it through the surgery! The procedure itself only took about 45 minutes, so it was a rather quick process. I only got choked up as he was being wheeled away in a cute, little wagon because he started crying for us. And then, of course, I started thinking about what exactly was happening to him. Although he had no idea what was about to happen to him, being such a young toddler, the scariest part about surgery - I think - is being carted back into the surgery room. I remember when I had my surgery back in college: the worst part was walking back to the surgery room. You're in the hospital gown and slippers, pushing your own saline drip, walking into an extremely cold and sterile room. It's at that moment that everything comes rushing at you, like "Ohmyholyhell, what am I about to do? Is this really worth it? Do I really want to do this to myself? Why the hell is it so cold in here? Who are all these people in this room, looking at me through there masks? What the HELL am I doing?!?"

But like I said, I know those thoughts never entered his mind. But all I could think about was my little baby being carted off, to complete strangers.

So, anyway.....to keep my mind off the surgery itself, I made a Starbucks run, read up on some of my gossip blogs, and before I knew it, the surgeon was walking out to tell us everything went as plan and that Drew did great! Whew, such a relief! About 15 minutes later, we were able to go back to the waiting room to be with him as he woke up. And let me just tell you: that was the sweetest, yet saddest thing. Holding my little man, who was completely out of it, dazed and confused. There was no screaming, no fits, no outrageous behavior from coming out of the anesthesia. (I had heard horror stories of babies who went crazy in the hospital rooms, as a reaction to coming out of the anesthesia.) But not my little man. He would just look up, scratch his nose (as a result of the morphine), then lay his sweet little head back on my shoulder.

After about 30 minutes of "wake-up" time, we took our "drugged-up" little man and headed home. By the time we reached our house, he was awake and ready to go! Immediately he wanted to do his usual stuff: grab the remote, asking for "Gabba Gabba," play some basketball, and tear up the house. So I knew from that, that he was fine and ready to roll. So far, about 6 days after surgery, he hasn't had any problems or pain. The area is just tender to the touch, slightly bruised and swollen....but all in all, things are looking good and most importantly, Drew is doing wonderfully!

Pre-surgery, hanging out in the waiting room.