We made it through the surgeries and are now in recovery mode. Jonathan's surgery went very well. He has a wonderful doctor/surgeon who is extremely caring and very skilled in what she does. The surgery took about an hour and 15 minutes. It was hard to watch my baby being wheeled off and going under anesthesia for the very first time. He was a trooper, even though the fear of the unknown was there, he handled it like a man!! His starting nurse was extremely friendly and explained everything in great detail. I know that was a very big help to him. The only thing that bothered me in the whole process, was the nurse antithesis who wheeled him away from me before she administered any meds to relax him. Apparently, Jonathan had a nice conversation with all the people in the OR before they knocked him out. I was surprised that he remembered it but was able to recite the whole entire conversation to us.
Jonathan's friend Brandon took the day off of school to come with us and be a support to his friend. Jason and Brandon helped to keep Ellie entertained while we waited. Matthew, Grandma and Grandpa Baker were there too, to encourage Jonathan and show how much they loved him. Matthew was a big help to Jonathan as they inserted the IV. He kept Jonathan's mind on a shared love.....GUITARS!!!!! The most impressive part of everyone being there was that we were there by 5:45 am. That's true love when people come to see you that early in the morning.
The ride home was pretty quiet. We all slept the entire way! I woke up a few minutes before we got home and looked in the back seat. I wish I had my camera because Ellie was asleep in her car seat with her head resting toward Jonathan, Jonathan had his head on the car seat resting toward Ellie and Brandon had his head resting on Jonathan's shoulder, while Jason had the entire back seat to stretch out with his head resting on the window. Fortunately Scott had his eyes wide open and got us home safely!
Stephanie stayed home to go to school, she has already missed several days and can't afford to miss anymore. The night before the surgery she went up to Jonathan's room and cleaned it for him. She dusted, organized, vacuumed and washed his sheets! That was her way of supporting him and I was glad to see her care for him in that way.
He is now resting comfortably on the couch and has not complained at all about pain, which is a wonderful thing. He has a post-op visit on Friday. Then I can find out the most important question everyone asked me: How many stitches does he have??!!
I wish my surgery had gone as smoothly as Jonathan's. I guess if one was to go with a few bumps in it, I'm glad it was mine.
I was pretty nervous to start with and my blood pressure was higher than it had ever been. For some reason the nurse had a hard time getting the IV in my veins and stuck me several times before it would take. They were working in my mouth and had to insert the breathing tube in my nose rather than my mouth. When I woke up, my throat and nose were so incredibly sore and my mouth was so dry. I felt like I had been beaten with a baseball bat. The doctor came as I was waking up and told me everything went very well. He said the nerves were still in tact and looked good but were irritated. He also told me he found a piece of acrylic by the implant. All I remember saying to him was "oh....that's not good!" and he replied..."no!"
I thought that was going to be the worst part but I was wrong. The first 3 days were horrendous. The pain was excruciating and I really didn't know how I was going to get through it. I know we were not anticipating any of that and was very discouraged. Scott wound up taking the rest of the week off and doing all he could to get me calm. I think I was expecting to feel bad from the surgery but relief in my mouth from the pain I had been dealing with for almost 6 months. All I could do is cry and pray my way through the pain. Scott knew I was bad because I never ever ever take any form of pain medication but I was counting the hours to when I could take the next dose. I can't even remember the last time I took Tylenol or Advil. It had to be in my early 20's! This is Jonathan's 2nd day, I hope he doesn't experience anything close to what I went through. I think the reason the recovery was so hard for me is because of the pain I had endured for the past 6 months had worn me out and the surgery was the straw that broke the camel's back.
Today is the 6th day since my surgery and with all my medicine in me, and not excerting myself, it is actually tolerable. This is a huge blessing. I'm in hopes this is the first day toward relief.
We have had a very busy week and hope the worst is behind us. We are blessed with so many people who care so much about us. Dawn and Maria made us cookies, Scott's cousin Katie brought us dinner the night before Jonathan's surgery, Bertie brought us dinner last night, Marilyn made me potato soup the day of my surgery, and has been bringing us dishes periodically including her famous macaroni and cheese. Lenore came and cleaned my kitchen this morning and I'm blessed with a little girl who is so patient and understanding while I'm healing. Ellie has been a jewel....
We have received so many phone calls from family and friends checking on us to see if there is anything they can do to help. We are certainly blessed with such caring people.
I'm especially grateful for my little brother Chris. A few months ago he had undergone back surgery to remove debilitating pain that had robbed him of a normal life. He has cheered me on and encouraged me to not give up hope. I told him I wasn't sure if I regretted the surgery or not. He gently scolded me by telling me to give it at least 2 weeks before I could made that opinion, it was just too soon to know if it worked or not. This has been pain I never knew and much worse than what I had already experienced.
A wonderful gift God gave me, is in the form of those around me. You have all made me realize how much my family and I are loved by so many other people. I am very thankful for all of you!
Yesterday Jonathan fell while goofing off on the ice. He could barely make it in the house. Fortunately, Scott was outside after it happened and helped him hop in the house. His foot immediately began to swell and we put ice on it right away. It was still swollen and extremely painful this morning. I took him to the doctors to find out he has 3 broken toes. One is completely broke apart and separated with a pretty good size space in between. 
1 year ago
