Our Little Patient

I had posted before that we had an appointment with the Pediatric Ophthalmologist about Jax's blocked tear ducts.  Well the Dr. confirmed that they had not cleared up on their own and recommended we go ahead with the procedure to open them up.  I would obviously like to wait longer, but around 15 months a child's tear ducts apparently close more, making the procedure more invasive.  Therefore, we wanted to get it done sooner rather than later.

The procedure is a relatively easy one and only takes about 15 minutes.  If an adult was having it done, it could be done with a few pain killers in the Dr.'s office.  Babies can't sit still for the procedure though, so it has to be under general anesthesia.  While I know the majority of kids do fine under anesthesia, this of course had me nervous.

Jax couldn't have anything to eat or drink after midnight.  The procedure was early in the morning and so this wasn't too bad.  Jax goes to sleep around 6 though so that is a long time for a baby to go without anything to drink.  I therefore, woke him up at 11:30 to give him a bottle of milk.  He was very confused, but didn't protest the bottle or the extra cuddle time, I didn't either.  This morning we were up and out of the house early and Jax was in a good mood in the waiting area at Kosair.  We took pictures on our phones throughout the day to share with our parents, so I thought I would post them here.      

Once we got back to the room to prep for the procedure, Jax started to get fussy.  He didn't like the blood pressure cuff.  He looked so little in his tiny hospital gown.

They kept this little device on his toe to track his oxygen intake.  It make his toe "glow" and reminded me of the bili light Jax had to have when he came home from the hospital with jaundice.  

After Jax was brought back for recovery, he was pretty out of it.  He looked like he was sleeping on the bed until he heard our voices and immediately wanted to be picked up and held for the rest of the time we were there.   

I would like to say that I was fine during the procedure, but that wouldn't be the truth.  I hated that I couldn't go back with him until he was put under and I cried more than once during the process.  It makes me realize how hard it was on my parents when I had surgery or a procedure done as a kid.  Things that I wouldn't think twice about were things I worried constantly about with Jax.  I can't imagine how hard it is to have a sick child and have to go through this process over and over.  I feel so lucky that Jax is so healthy.

Jax was very fussy the rest of the day (which was expected) but luckily slept for much of the day to make up for his interrupted sleep last night and this morning.  I am just glad today is over and hope that we are all feeling a little better tomorrow.