Surgery Six Under our Belt

We have been home for a few days nows from the Windy City and Aiden is doing great. You would never know that he just had surgery last week on August 15th,  if it wasn't for the bandage you can see coming out of his shirt. It's always nice to see him bounce back to normal but it's also a little difficult when he should be taking it easy for a couple of weeks. Try telling that to an almost three year old boy who feels great! Ha!

The one thing that I can say about these surgeries is that it never gets easier. I may be stronger and can fight back the tears but nothing about it, is easy. Each time we have had surgery for Aiden, it has been a different experience yet similar. Surgery number six was different in the sense that Aiden is much more aware and is very vocal about his emotions or what may be hurting/bothering him.

The morning of surgery,  I couldn't  believe that we were heading to the hospital for surgery for the second time on my birthday. Definitely not a fun place to be on your birthday but it was worth it so that I could attend my ten year high school reunion the weekend before we left. The only good thing was that at least this time on my birthday, we knew what to expect, we knew that he would be ok after a few days.

Aiden was third on the list, so we had to be at the hospital at 10am. We let Aiden stay up late so that he could sleep in and luckily that was a success. He woke up about 30 minutes before we had to leave for the hospital so there really was no time for him to ask for anything to eat. Which to be honest, he doesn't really care to eat anyways so I wasn't worried about it! Aiden was totally fine walking into the hospital with his superhero cape on but it was when we hit the nurses station that he said "I want to go back go the car."   Ugh! That hit me so hard that I'm not sure how tears didn't come but I refuseto let him see any weakness that I may be feeling. He was pretty attached to me while we waited for surgery time so I just sat with him and tried the best to distract. He cried and said "help me" while they took his temperature and blood pressure. Another moment that I felt tears welling up in my eyes. Then came time for the Versed, the medicine that makes them become a little loopy so they aren't so upset when they head back to surgery. Well, that didn't go so well and he probably spit half of it out. It still did its job for the most part though so that was good. Dr. Bauer came in shortly after the versed was given go talk the plan over with us. He said he would place two expanders, one in his back and one most likely in the shoulder area. I was surprised to hear that he would expand the back again but it made sense for him to also fix some of the scar tissue that needs some love.

Aiden showing Dr. Bauer his new toy!

Definitely a mommy's boy this trip!

 Shortly after we saw Dr. Bauer, they came to take him back for surgery and although he wasn't screaming, he was still reaching out for me and saying "help me." So hard go hear but the people who work at Highland Park hospital are amazing and they do everything they can to make them feel better about leaving mom and dad. The sad part for me is that this was the first time that he didn't wear his cape back to surgery. He didn't like it and we weren't going to force him. So then we went off to wait for surgery to be done. It seemed like it wasn't that long before Dr. Bauer came out in the waiting room to speak to us. He told us that everything went well and that he placed a 250cc expander with 25cc in already in his upper shoulder and a 750cc expander with 80cc in his back. I was surprised that he put in such a large expander in his back but the skin will be great!!!

Aiden was sleeping when we went back to see him which is good to let him rest but I couldn't wait go hold him. Eventually he woke up and wasn't that happy and definitely was uncomfortable. Took some time to convince him to eat a Popsicle but then we were on his third one! He eventually also ate some  Ritz cheese crackers which surprised me, because go usually takes a really long time to eat. Pain management was tough as usual for us and there was a lot of "owie" "I hurt" and tears while being moved but we were able to get a routine down that made it a little better. Definitely used a lot of shows on the iPad to distract. We wanted to leave the hospital so badly but he hasn't gone to the
bathroom yet and we had to make sure that his pain management was better. Luckily around six at night, he accomplished these things and off we went! Picked up some dinner for Michael and I on the way back and then my parents, Aunt Kate, and cousin Mallory met us at our hotel room. My grandma was there too but they had a long day of driving in from Michigan and she was wiped! Since it was my birthday and my dads too, they got an ice cream cake for us to celebrate. It was yummy! Aiden was doing better back at the hotel but was still bothered by too much movement so he stayed on the couch for a long time watching movies!

The night went ok but the morning was rough as Aiden was pretty sore. His arm was really bothering him. He has a port to one of the expander's in there so it was understandable why he was struggling so much. We headed off to see Mim for a dressing change. Everything looked good, minus a little bruising but Dr. Bauer had already warned us that could happen. The day was a little bit tough on Aiden but my the end of the night, he was coming back to himself and even wanting to walk around a little which was awesome.

Not a happy camper for 1st dressing change

That lump under his face is the upper shoulder expander

Back expander. This one is going to be huge!!!!

We spent the next few days doing some tourist things around the city to keep Aiden distracted. One of the new things we tried this time was the Museum of Science and Industry. If you haven't been there and are ever in Chicago, you should check it out. It was pretty cool. We even decided to become members so we can go back in November and the membership also gets us in to several places close to us back home as well!

One of the most amazing things while in Chicago is always meeting other nevus families. This trip, we were able to meet three. The Bellar family actually had surgery the same day as us but we didn't know that. They have a cute little boy named Branson who also got skin expander's placed for round two.  The Lynd Family was from Canada and their nevus owner is a sweet baby girl named Georgia. This was their first surgery so I was really glad to meet them and help guide them along for what to expect. Last but not least we met The Nolasco Family all the way from the Philippines and they have sweet baby Wade who is on round two of expansion. It was really great meeting them!!

On our last day in Chicago, we saw Mim one last time and I was really proud of how well Aiden did. He did cry for a minute but then was so sweet with her, telling her that she could bandage him back up. Mim has the best heart and we absolutely love her. She even picked up some foam buses that she saw at Target because we were telling her how Aiden was crying for a bus during surgery day, something that we didn't have for him. Susan was on vacation so we missed her but I really don't know how we would manage without these wonderful nurses. I know we would get through it but having them care so MUCH is way beyond any expectation we ever had going into this.

So now, the focus has shifted to filling those bubbles and keeping him healthy. We still have drains in and bandages but just for a few more days. Can't wait for bath time!!! Thank you to everyone who has reached out to us during this time! Stay tuned....