Year 3, February 26th-27th, 2018: Justin's Surgery and Post Op

So exhausted!  From being told we'll go home in the afternoon, and then we weren't, and then we were, we were just ready to be done!  But within 24 hrs after injuring himself, Justin had surgery to place 4 pins into the bone of his upper arm right above the growth plate and was home resting on the pull out couch.  One and done.  That means his cast was cut open a smidge to allow for swelling and they will tape it back to together next week for the remainder 2-3 weeks before it can come off.  Then he can't use it for much over the 6 weeks after that. 

Jared had taken Justin from St. Francis to Riley Children's Hospital downtown around 11pm.  They went in through the emergency room, the van was parked by the valet, and they were settled in a room by 2:30 with a diagnosis of surgery at 7:30am to put 4 pins and maybe a clamp.  The surgery actually took place around 8:45am, and took under 30 minutes.  Of course the pre op and post op took longer, but it wasn't too long.  We decided for me to wait until he was out of surgery to be there when he woke up partly so I didn't have to get up so early because I was already hurting (from gluten on Friday, which was intentional, and again probably on Sunday, which was unintentional) and exhausted.  But since the surgery was delayed, I was hoping to leave about the same time and be there for pre op.  I wasn't ready when I should have been, so we left a bit later, AND there was a ton of traffic and then tons of potholes to get through which made the tip downtown twice as long.  Leah dropped me off and took the other kids to her house so she could prepare for dinner company.  Gary had already had plans to take Benaiah to school, and he picked him up later for us.  That way, we both weren't driving home later.  So, I got there just a bit after Justin's surgery had started.  We didn't even get a chance to settle before they called us back to say he was done.  He only needed the 4 pins and not the clamp, yeah!  With the pins, there wouldn't even be an incision!  Cool!  I can't wait to see how that all looks.  The pins are attached by wire I think, so when we go back to pull them out in 3-4 weeks, they take them out in the clinic.  The technology they have these days is amazing! 

Meanwhile, Jared said that most of the doctors and nurses he talked with were decent and knowledgable. But he is extra friendly and tries to remember all their names and have small talk with them, too.  I just sit and listen and wonder why it took him so long to be this way!  Just kidding!  Well, he wasn't the super friendly type when I met him, and I didn't expect him to change that much, but between going to seminar, living and working on PEI and now here, Jared definitely has changed a ton, in lots of great ways.  Partly to be selfish because I don't like talking to people, I had sent Jared with Justin because he would know what questions to ask and would remember more than I would.  We both are pretty calm in the crisis moment (at least I am until I get a breather and then I fall apart), so I knew that I could handle it, but I knew Jared would do it better.  And the other 3 needed me to get them settled, especially Abishai since he hadn't seen me most of the day already.  I knew what needed to be done at home to prepare for Justin's arrival, either that night before we knew he needed surgery, or when he came home after surgery.  Keturah did a great job getting everything ready with me and made coming home the next day, that much easier.  (Although I was mentally exhausted and cranky with all the changing of plans at every turn it seemed, so, yup, I fell apart and needed space.)

Let's see, back to post op.  My biggest concern was the anesthesia, not the surgery itself.  None of my kids have had it, and I've heard horror stories about it.  So I kept looking out for all the warning signs of sensitivity or allergic reactions.  Justin did sleep for more than 2 hrs post surgery, but I think that's because he hadn't had a good night before.  He also did have a flushed face with a tiny bit of rash, and the nurse said it could be from the anesthesia, but it wasn't enough to give him anything for it, and I agreed that we would just watch it and I would treat it at home.  I had in mind to treat it with essential oils, but Justin wasn't interested in that and it wasn't itchy, so we just keep watching it.  It's a bit less this evening.  When Justin did wake up, he watched Big Hero 6, while dozing of course.  He didn't eat or drink much until today (Tuesday) though, which is normal.  But he wasn't in pain either, or appear to be in pain.  Around 11am or 12pm we were told that he would be staying overnight so he could get 3 doses of antibiotics as a precaution.  That sent us to our phones to rearrange our schedules again.  Oh, that was fun!  Jared would update his parents and brother, and I would update my sister and about 8 or so people through private message on FB, particularly those who were part of the story the night before, our prayer warriors, and very close family friends.  Then I would update Facebook every so often when solid plans were in place, or not.  Jared and I didn't talk that much at the hospital because he was desperately behind on his regular work, some editing that was due on Sunday.  He would get up and converse with me and the nurse when she came in.  And that's fine.  I had just expected a bit more, well, emotion and hugging.  But whatever.  I was restless because I had no one to talk to and I didn't want to miss anything that happened in real life as well as online.  I wanted to finish my book, especially when I had heard that we were staying overnight, but I didn't even get a chapter done.  I was also very cold, which usually puts me on edge.

And between nurse visits, the restlessness, getting lunch, taking pictures (because yes, bloggers can't help but think about recording events from every angle like a reporter, although I tried to not focus on it, promise!), and checking my phone a million times, I was definitely on overload.  We ate lunch at the Ronald McDonald "house" which is basically an area in the hospital that has a free meal and a place to stay to sleep overnight if necessary (or they even have times you can sign up for to take a nap in the afternoon, and shower!)  All of the food is donated and sometimes groups go in to help serve the meals or make it extra special.  In fact, Gary and Leah's small group, along with Benaiah, served a meal there once!  They make it feel more "homey" but it's not for the patients.  Meals are served at certain times buffet style and you aren't always sure what you'll get.  We ate mostly leftover breakfast foods like eggs, sausage, bacon, biscuits and gravy (well, Jared did), fruit sald, sandwhiches, a bit of soup, and there was a cake, too.  They had water to drink and you could buy a can of pop for cheap once a day.  Otherwise, your typical price for hospital cafeterias (you could get a guest tray brought to the room, too, for a price) and cafe's is your go to.  Because Riley is part of a big complex, there are a ton of options and I was looking forward to exploring those options (because I don't like to cook) later until we found out we were going home.

Speaking of, Justin had his first dose of antibiotics around 2:30 and then the doctor came in and said that 3 doses is the standard amount but because Justin looked to be doing well and the surgery was not complicated, that 1 dose would be fine and we could go home!  Ok, then, changing the plans again!  Here we go!  I was going to be the one to stay overnight and I was at first bummed that I couldn't have this little adventure (I'm strange, I know, but hear me out) because my kids are rarely (thank the Lord!) sick and I'm usually up for new experiences.  But once we got home later and I realized just how much pain I was in and grumpy, I knew God knew what was best for me.  I wouldn't have lasted in that very cold room.  So, we immediately got to work at getting Justin awake enough to go to the bathroom and get dressed.  He was very dizzy and sick to his stomach, so it took about an hour to get it all done.  He had had some pain medication, and I think that was making his stomach nauseous.  He didn't want the anti nausea medication, but after awhile, we insisted on it.  He self regulates very well, especially when he has a headache, so we tried to let him dictate what he wanted/needed.  And we reassure the nurse that we both have had narcotics before and are very, very careful with it.  In fact, today, I've given him a couple of half doses, just enough to keep the pain at bay, but not too overpowering.  I will say, I was a little nervous about even the antibiotics (I read way too much health stuff), so I immediately went to work on asking friends about what we can do at home to support/combat their use.  I wouldn't argue with a doctor about it, and I know that they do try to be careful with them, but I also wanted to support Justin's body.  So probiotics and essential oils to the rescue once we got home.  I've been diffusing lots of different things (not all at once) like frankincense, thieves, R.C., and Stress Away, if you are curious.  I try not to push the kids into topically applying them, but definitely diffusing oils is better than nothing.  And Justin has been next to the diffuser most of the day.

We got Justin dressed and he asked for a wheelchair.  It was a good thing that I had brought his minecraft zip up hoodie with me because it would have been difficult to get his tshirt on him again when he was feeling so ill.  It was chilly outside, but we weren't outside but two minutes before getting to the van, so he, my hot blooded one, would be just fine.  We left with prescriptions for tylenol with codone and zofran and filled them at CVS before we got home.  CVS was super busy but SUPER quick last night!  I was thoroughly impressed and thanked them profusely for their efforts.  I hadn't told them to hurry up and usually they are pretty quick, but she said it would take 10-15 minutes and it took like 5.  And medicaid covered the whole cost, too.  Getting home took a long time, like twice it normally takes, because it was 4:30-5pm, typical rush hour stuff.  We winded our way through the city streets instead of taking our chances on the highway.  Our highways aren't that bad as far as rush hrs go.  I mean a couple of spots slow down to a crawl for they quickly open back up.  One of those spots is downtown, right where we would have gotten on the high way, and one is on the northeast side, where I used to work and I traveled through it enough to know it typically wasn't horrible like other big cities.  I was grateful Jared was doing the driving though, of course.

One of the points that added to my frustration, was the timing of everything.  Justin's youth leader was going to come to the hospital to visit, but we thought we had more time for him to get there.  He didn't know where to park, so he got lost and actually turned around right after we had left the room.  I was kind of excited to surprise Justin with a visitor, because again, we have never gone through this, and I know how much Luke means to him.  And because only parents and clergy were allowed to visit anyway because the hospitals have been on flu lockdown for 2 months.  Not even siblings under 18 can come in, and usually they can.  They are always given a health screening first though.  That also meant that Grandpa couldn't flash his clergy badge and visit either.  Oh well, maybe I was looking forward to the visitors more than Justin probably because we didn't have visitors when Abishai was born and I enjoyed the attention?  I don't know, but these thoughts go through my head and affect my mood, which affects everyone at home, which it most certainly did when we got home.  Luke did talk to Justin on the phone as we were leaving though, so that helped.

I tried to stay sane on the ride home and Justin slept.  Jared was being his typical "these people don't know how to drive" self, which I was trying to ignore, but did bug me a bit.  We got home and then Gary brought the other 3 home.  No one had eaten, and now I had to prepare something for us and it was already 5:30pm.  I sort of planned dinner, but then was excited that I didn't have cook dinner because we were going to stay overnight, but now I do have to put something in front of them.  Nice.  Not.  And the hustle and bustle of everybody coming in and Justin not wanting to be pounced on and Abishai being somewhat sick sent me over the edge.  We pulled together some food, got chores done, put away our bags of stuff for the day and went our separate ways.  I went to bed way earlier than usual because I was so tired and cranky.  I gave Justin a full dose of pain medication and anti nausea and he slept like a log all night on the pull out couch.  Even Benaiah went to bed early.  The day was done.

Today dawned much better, and although I had some frustrating moments with a cranky sick preschooler, an unmotivated 4th grader, and a whiny 12 yr old patient, oh yeah, and the not so helpful big brother, we overall did better than I had anticipated.  Justin has been awake for a good portion of today, so he's been quite bored.  He's been dizzy so he can only watch stuff on his iPod or tablet and lay mostly down.  His index finger has been numb and a bit tingly and he's had the "growing pain" sensations as well.  Jared says those are all typical of the nerves being jostled around and through trauma.  I totally agree.  But Justin gets very weepy, poor sensitive guy.  Thankfully, Keturah and Abishai have left him mostly alone.  Abishai has been lower key than usual because he's sick and I threatened to take his bike away if he ran around with it.  We did get outside for about 20 minutes, which I'm sure helped all of us, giving Justin some quiet time to rest inside.  I spent most of the day puttering and keeping Abishai quieter, especially since he refused to nap again.  However, about 5:15pm, Benaiah turned around in his computer chair and found Abishai asleep on the living room floor!  Benaiah then picked him up and took him to his bed.  We did wake him up around 6:15 though.  Abishai has a bad headcold and it's in his chest, too.  I've been using oils during the day (no oils, Mommy! he says) and then just gave him medication to help him sleep tonight instead of the oils.  He even tried to rub the oils off. The kids are just not used to the high potency of these essential oils yet.  Even Jared will complain sometimes.  It does take time to get used to the real stuff if you've lived with the fake scents all your life (or lack of scent period).  Sidenote: real essential oils are supposed to make your body react strongly, so sometimes you do get a slight headache at first.  But just like any medication, your body adjusts.  And they say, if you don't like the scent of an oil, then usually it's what your body needs and over time you come to love it!  Oils aren't just about scents, but about how it makes changes in your body chemistry as well.  I could go on forever about it, but I won't.

Keturah and I managed Justin's chores, and we picked up the toys for the most part.  I had a virtual/online Pampered Chef party I was hosting (not leading), so I had to be on the computer for the rest of the evening attending to that.  Abishai was pitiful and Benaiah got homework done.  They watched a bit of Pink Panther and then off to bed.  Tomorrow is your typical Wednesday with a twist.  Leah will come watch the boys, while I use her car to take Keturah to gymnastics.  Jared will have the van because the truck is still in the shop.  The new mechanic is good old fashioned grease monkey who will do his best to patch it up little by little instead of overcharging for a repair that might not be needed.  They were going to work on it today.  Gary will do Benaiah's transportation runs again.  He likes having that one on one time with Benaiah, plus he often goes to the gym after the morning run.  We have Bible Bowl in the evening, but I kind of doubt Justin will go.  There's nothing going on on Thursday or Friday, but Saturday is a Bible Bowl competition.  Leah will watch the younger two kids, and maybe Justin if he's not up to go, while I go with Benaiah because the guys will be gone to Chicago overnight on Friday for an event.  And then it's back to Sunday again.  Justin didn't do any school work yesterday or today, but I'm still counting the days so we can stay on track.  "Real life lessons" happened, that's for sure.  Keturah did her basics, but because we can't work with Justin, we will probably skip history, Latin, IEW (writing), and science this week.  There's no rush to finish those because we either are ahead or were already going to carry them over until next year anyway.  Oh the beauty of homeschooling!  If he's up to it, we might continue our read alouds, but even those can easily be pushed.  I just want to keep Keturah occupied though.  Otherwise, she spends her days rearranging her room a million times, which includes her Barbies' rooms and her Joanna doll's room/stuff.  Or she's begging for food or screen time because she's bored.  She reads sometimes, too.

Phew, that's a lot, but I think I got all the details to this story written down well this time.  Sometimes I write and want to paint this great picture, but don't have the mental energy to do it, but you always get the basics.  I'm glad I waited to write this one out though.  It's an important story to tell.

I asked Jared to take pictures, but he didn't when they were at St. Francis.  He did however capture the view outside Justin's room at Riley and what a view he has of downtown!  And I mean ALL of downtown from the football stadium to the capitol building to the skyscrapers and the other hospitals.  WOW!

Sunrise!!!  WOW!!!!

What I posted on Instagram right after we spoke with the doctor while Justin was in recovery.

#Truth.

View out Justin's window at 10am.

Sleeping after surgery.  Yes, I did need to get a picture.  Poor guy.

This one's for Abishai.  Excavator!!!  It's amazing the things you notice when you have kids.  All the trains, all the cars and planes and buses, all the trucks, (ok, it's mostly boys that notice this stuff, but girls can, too), all the bodily noises, and so many other things.

Trying to read my book in the sunshine where it was warmer on the windowsill facing southeast.  What a view!

I took this picture with the panoramic function on my phone.  Hey, at least I only brought my phone and not the big DSLR to capture the experience!  Anyway, what a view!

Around 1:30 pm.  The Lucas Oil Stadium is to your right, and the Bank One, or whatever it's called now, tower and monument circle is on the left.

Keturah wanted to actually see Justin and ask questions.  I think she missed him.  She's been very motherly, too, getting whatever he wants and checking on him.  But she was bored at Grandma's house, even when I told her she could help Grandma get ready for their special dinner.

Little guy just wanted to watch his TV show, but he did say hi.

Last look downtown around 4pm.  Such a gorgeous and slightly warmer day!  50 degrees!

So over it and ready to go home.

Again, for Abishai, a huge crane!  And the moon in the upper right hand corner!

Medication makes you sleepy.

Aw, Justin's home!  Abishai was just checking things out.  He actually wants as curious as we thought he would be.

Very concerned doggy.  Justin has called for Socks several times.  He loves that dog more than anyone in our family.  Sweet!

Yes, it's a lime green cast, Justin's favorite color, NOT because it's the same color as e2 marketing materials.  There's a line down the middle because they allow it to breathe a little at first to let the swelling go down.  Then in a week, they will either redo it tighter or somehow tighten this one.  I'd say we should hold off on signatures until next week, lol.  Justin is already complaining about how it bothers his armpit.  It's not itchy yet though.

Sweet puppy snuggles!

But hey, about 10 hrs before the incident, Justin was having a grand time with his friends at Crave.  He made the weekly video again!

I just thought this was an interesting thing to note between the two hospital tags.  And, they do use scanners for the bar code or the little square box thing (I forget what those are called) that you sometimes see on products or brochures that link to a website for more information about the product.  In this case, it's the patient's info, but still, pretty neat!

Some irises are starting to peak through in the front flower bed!  Time to think about cleaning up the flower bed!

Who put these here?  We didn't move the brick border on the outside when we put in the new sidewalk, so to my surprise, these daffodils or tulips are coming up through the grass that we mowed over last year.  I'm thinking they were done by the time we moved in and we didn't notice them.  I put some extra bricks around the area so we would be careful not to mow them when the time comes.  Who knew?!  And yes, they are flowers on them, I see buds.

Um, when did Abishai get so big that he wants to climb the tree?  Actually, I did help him to stand on a branch and he reached up to grab other branches and tempted to go up before he panicked.  And he had reached for a higher branch and tried to put his feet up on the trunk of the tree to climb all by himself, too.

Help me swing, Mom!  No, kid, I think you are doing just fine by himself.  I bet he'll be the next one who needs the E.R.

OOOOO, these look like pussy willows!  I know they are not because I know this tree is something else, and they are huge!  Cool!

Sun is shining for at least two days straight!  Time to get outside and clean it up a bit!  I swept and picked up the Christmas lights. I also cleaned out the lint trap.  I had no idea it was getting clogged.  I guess I should start thinking about hanging clothes on the line again.  In Charlottetown, we wouldn't be doing that until June.  It's not even March yet.  60 degrees F here today.

Justin was able to eat a bit of cereal, this yogurt, some juice, a couple of crackers, and a couple of other things he can't remember.  He doesn't want anything soft he says, like bread, or pancakes, or too crunchy/dry, like the cereal.  He was complaining that his throat was dry, but I think that's a side effect of dry air and medication.  Oh, he did eat the mint chocolate chip ice cream Grandpa brought over.  I don't know if he'll get to the huge chocolate cupcake (twice as big as mine was) that Grandpa also brought.  During Grandpa's visit to Kroger, with Benaiah in tow, they talked with the store manager as well as the front line manager about a job for Benaiah.  It wasn't intentional, but I guess they were near each other.  Benaiah is pretty excited about it and it sounds like they are more than willing to hire him when the time comes.  They told him about the off site/in the classroom training, and how to apply.  I vaguely remember watching some videos when I was a cashier one summer.  Cool!  Anyway, at least Justin sat up for a bit today, and did most of his normal hygiene by himself (he needed help with the toothpaste tube.)  He never did put a shirt on though.

Yeah!  Sitting up and reading!  Poor guy, though!  And I'm glad it's his left arm because I will probably have him to more written school work next week when the initial pain and shock wears off.  Thank goodness we have this pull out couch so he doesn't have to try and climb into his bunk bed!  Oh, and I didn't know this but the head area can lift up a bit and lock into place!  Nice!