Mason had his detether surgery on June 30th. He got bumped from being the first surgery in the morning to later that morning. He ALWAYS gets bumped at that hospital. It's frustrating. Anyway, after waiting for several hours after being admitted, Malone and I had to hand off our baby to a nurse to go to surgery. That was hard. I worry so much about if he is going to be scared and cry with all these strangers. Luckily they gave him some medicine to help him relax before we had to hand him off.
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| Waiting to go to surgery |
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| Scar before sugery |
The surgery lasted about 4 hours. His neurosurgeon felt good about the surgery and said it was successful. Mason had to be on oxygen the rest of that day and night because he couldn't keep his oxygen up on his own. The doctors felt he should spend the night in the NICU so they could keep a closer eye on him for the first 24 hours of recovery. Mason had to lay on his sides only and not on his back or tummy. We couldn't hold him for those first 24 hours. The good news Mason was okay with laying there and didn't want to be touched anyway. His body was very stiff. And he didn't love the nurses. He cried every time they entered the room because he knew they'd bother him and touch him. Poor kid. The first 24 hours went okay. Eventually they took him off oxygen and took out his catheter. After that they finally moved him to the recovery floor in neuro and out of NICU. I was finally able to hold my baby!
Mason was in the hospital for about 3 days. He had a lot of pain and we had to stay on top of his pain medicine. He was still stiff. Every time I moved him to hold him he'd cry. We had to have him on muscle relaxers to help with the stiffness. His incision looked really good. It was right where his other one was on his back, about 5 inches long. I stayed with him the three days in the hospital. I didn't want to leave his side. We had friends who were nice enough to bring us dinner one night and it fed us for a couple days for lunch and dinner so I didn't have to leave Mason at all while we were there. Malone had to go to work for a couple of the days but was able to stay with us on surgery day and the day we checked out. After I was told I could hold Mason I held him a lot and just snuggled him as he slept. Even though it was a tough time for all of us, I will cherish those moments when he wanted me to just hold him.
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| Finally getting to hold my baby! |
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| On our way home |
After we got home that night we were discharged members of our ward reached out to us and brought us meals for the next few days which was nice. It felt good to have someone care about us when we were so far from family. I am glad we have a ward "family".
It was a tough recovery the first week or so after we got home. Mason continued to be stiff and sore for a few days. I had a hard time transferring him and picking him up because he was uncomfortable. I kept on top of his pain medicine and muscle relaxers. It was almost two weeks after surgery when I finally felt like he wasn't in pain or stiff anymore. He eventually was able to start crawling again.
It has been a month now and he is slowly regaining his strength. He started crawling, then kneeling up to things. We had to encourage him to stand for just short moments at a time and he struggled with endurance. But this past weekend we had a breakthrough! Mason is standing up to things voluntarily on his own and is doing it more often. Sunday he walked holding Malone's hands and Monday he walked holding my hands. We are excited to see him progress. Eventually we will reintroduce his walker. Today the therapist put kenisio tape on his legs to see if it could help him activate the weak muscles. When she did this he stood so much better! Hoping that putting this kenisio tape on from time to time will help Mason be able to strengthen those weaker muscles.
We have been praying that he would be able to recover and get back to where he was before surgery. We are so thankful for those who have reached out to us during this time. We had been anxious about this surgery and Mason's recovery for weeks. We have felt the prayers and seen the blessings and miracles. This is yet another example to me of Heavenly Father's hand in our lives as He watched over Mason, Malone and me. I am so grateful for eternal perspective and for the power of the priesthood.
Mason was in the hospital for about 3 days. He had a lot of pain and we had to stay on top of his pain medicine. He was still stiff. Every time I moved him to hold him he'd cry. We had to have him on muscle relaxers to help with the stiffness. His incision looked really good. It was right where his other one was on his back, about 5 inches long. I stayed with him the three days in the hospital. I didn't want to leave his side. We had friends who were nice enough to bring us dinner one night and it fed us for a couple days for lunch and dinner so I didn't have to leave Mason at all while we were there. Malone had to go to work for a couple of the days but was able to stay with us on surgery day and the day we checked out. After I was told I could hold Mason I held him a lot and just snuggled him as he slept. Even though it was a tough time for all of us, I will cherish those moments when he wanted me to just hold him.
