Pre-Op
Today Finn had his pre-op appointments at Vanderbilt. First we went to visit Dr. Kelly. While in the waiting room I met a really nice woman named Anna and her daughter Lillian. I noticed that Lillian had a scar on her head that looked like what the plastic surgeon said Finn's incision would look like. Anna confirmed that Lillian had the same surgery three (3) months prior and that she was doing great. They had come in today because Lillian had a bit on fluid on her brain and Dr. Kelly wanted to check it out. Anna also showed me post op pictures of Lillian - I almost cried and I felt a little nauseated. I knew that Finn would look rough after the surgery, but I certainly wasn't prepared for what I saw. I now know to expect that Finn will look like he has gone the distance in a heavy weight fight. This fact didn't seem to bother Finn in the slightest. He was in a great mood waiting for Dr. Kelly.
Once we got back into the room Finn went straight for the paper on the patient mat. I have never seen a child love paper as much as Finn does. Then Dr. Kelly;s nurse took a full history and looked in Finn's ears and down his throat. He hated that.
Next, Dr. Kelly's nurse walked us through the surgery. We are to arrive at the hospital between 5:30 and 6:00. When we get there they will give Finn something to make him drowsy. Once he is asleep they will give anesthetize him, intubate, put in 3 to 4 IVs, put in a foley catheter and start a heart monitor. They will also shave his head and give his hair back to us in a plastic bag. The nurse also told us that they will start antibiotics immediately.
The surgery is scheduled to start at 7:30. Dr. Tulipan, Finn's neuro surgeon will make the incision and will cut into Finn's skull. He will then place a drain tube into the side of Finn's head to help drain the fluid. Dr. Tulipan's part should last approximately 45 minutes. After he is finished Dr. Kelly will start. Dr. Kelly will then start repositioning the plates in Finn's head. After he has placed the sagittal sutures in the correct place he will place dissolvable spacers between them. Next, Dr. Kelly will reshape Finn's skull to allow maximum brain growth. We learned that there are eight plates in Finn's head and Dr. Kelly ensure that each on is in the perfect spot. Afterwards Dr. Kelly will close Finn up and put a large bandage on his head. The surgery should take between 3 and 6 hours. That sure narrows it down :)
After surgery Finn will go to the recovery room where Michael and I will be able to see him. Next they will move him to the PICU. Finn will stay in the PICU until his drain is ready to be removed and he can open his eyes. We were warned that Finn's head will swell for up to 48 hours after the surgery. They told us that his eyes would probably swell shut. They said that we will need to talk to him and touch him a lot that he knows we are nearby. While in the PICU Finn will be fairly sedated. He will also be sitting in a carseat the entire time to help with the drainage. We are not allowed to pick him up the entire time he is in the PICU.
Once Finn leaves the PICU he will go to a regular floor room. This is when we will start taking care of Finn. I will be able to nurse him again and we will be able to play with and hold him. After resting for a few days on the floor, Finn will be released home.
Our next appointment was with Dr. Tulipan (Finn's neurosurgeon). Before meeting with Dr. Tulipan Finn ate a huge bowl of oatmeal in the waiting room. After going back to the room we kept Finn entertained by swiveling in Dr. Tulipan's chair. Unfortunately he caught us and I don't think that he was all that happy about it either. He specifically asked for his chair back.
Dr. Tulipan was not extremely personable and we only spent about 5 minutes with him.
On our way to the PATCH clinic we stopped to look at the trains.
Our next appointment was at the PATCH clinic or the pain clinic. PATCH sounds way better. Finn was exhausted by this time and I took a nice nap. When he woke up the nurse practitioner was standing over him with her stethoscope. He looked so scared. When we turned his head and saw us he started to cry.
Our last appointment of the day was with the phlebotomy department where Finn had some blood drawn. That was easily the worst part of the day. I had to hold Finn's arms, Michael had his legs and the nurse was checking for a vain. Since Finn is so fat it took her a while to find a vain. Finn's poor little fingers were turning blue. Finn was furious. He was screaming and squirming and he had huge tears rolling down his face.
Finn was back to his old self once he got him in the car. Overall Finn was pretty impressive. We arrived at Vanderbilt at 8:00 and didn't leave until 1:00ish. When we arrived home Grandad came to visit and sat with Finn while I went to work for a few minutes. After Michael got home the three of us ate dinner together. Finn was so good tonight. He ate his cereal with ease and he fell asleep cuddled up next to me.
I must be honest I don't want to do this tomorrow. I am not prepared to give Finn over to the surgeons. I was told to envision that instead of the phyisicans I giving him to God. Before going to bed Michael and I spent some time in prayer. My friend Regina sent me a next message right before I started blogging and it said, "trust Jesus when your heart is afraid." I will do just that.
Once we got back into the room Finn went straight for the paper on the patient mat. I have never seen a child love paper as much as Finn does. Then Dr. Kelly;s nurse took a full history and looked in Finn's ears and down his throat. He hated that.
Next, Dr. Kelly's nurse walked us through the surgery. We are to arrive at the hospital between 5:30 and 6:00. When we get there they will give Finn something to make him drowsy. Once he is asleep they will give anesthetize him, intubate, put in 3 to 4 IVs, put in a foley catheter and start a heart monitor. They will also shave his head and give his hair back to us in a plastic bag. The nurse also told us that they will start antibiotics immediately.The surgery is scheduled to start at 7:30. Dr. Tulipan, Finn's neuro surgeon will make the incision and will cut into Finn's skull. He will then place a drain tube into the side of Finn's head to help drain the fluid. Dr. Tulipan's part should last approximately 45 minutes. After he is finished Dr. Kelly will start. Dr. Kelly will then start repositioning the plates in Finn's head. After he has placed the sagittal sutures in the correct place he will place dissolvable spacers between them. Next, Dr. Kelly will reshape Finn's skull to allow maximum brain growth. We learned that there are eight plates in Finn's head and Dr. Kelly ensure that each on is in the perfect spot. Afterwards Dr. Kelly will close Finn up and put a large bandage on his head. The surgery should take between 3 and 6 hours. That sure narrows it down :)
After surgery Finn will go to the recovery room where Michael and I will be able to see him. Next they will move him to the PICU. Finn will stay in the PICU until his drain is ready to be removed and he can open his eyes. We were warned that Finn's head will swell for up to 48 hours after the surgery. They told us that his eyes would probably swell shut. They said that we will need to talk to him and touch him a lot that he knows we are nearby. While in the PICU Finn will be fairly sedated. He will also be sitting in a carseat the entire time to help with the drainage. We are not allowed to pick him up the entire time he is in the PICU.
Once Finn leaves the PICU he will go to a regular floor room. This is when we will start taking care of Finn. I will be able to nurse him again and we will be able to play with and hold him. After resting for a few days on the floor, Finn will be released home.
Our next appointment was with Dr. Tulipan (Finn's neurosurgeon). Before meeting with Dr. Tulipan Finn ate a huge bowl of oatmeal in the waiting room. After going back to the room we kept Finn entertained by swiveling in Dr. Tulipan's chair. Unfortunately he caught us and I don't think that he was all that happy about it either. He specifically asked for his chair back. 
Dr. Tulipan was not extremely personable and we only spent about 5 minutes with him.
On our way to the PATCH clinic we stopped to look at the trains.
Our next appointment was at the PATCH clinic or the pain clinic. PATCH sounds way better. Finn was exhausted by this time and I took a nice nap. When he woke up the nurse practitioner was standing over him with her stethoscope. He looked so scared. When we turned his head and saw us he started to cry.Our last appointment of the day was with the phlebotomy department where Finn had some blood drawn. That was easily the worst part of the day. I had to hold Finn's arms, Michael had his legs and the nurse was checking for a vain. Since Finn is so fat it took her a while to find a vain. Finn's poor little fingers were turning blue. Finn was furious. He was screaming and squirming and he had huge tears rolling down his face.
Finn was back to his old self once he got him in the car. Overall Finn was pretty impressive. We arrived at Vanderbilt at 8:00 and didn't leave until 1:00ish. When we arrived home Grandad came to visit and sat with Finn while I went to work for a few minutes. After Michael got home the three of us ate dinner together. Finn was so good tonight. He ate his cereal with ease and he fell asleep cuddled up next to me. I must be honest I don't want to do this tomorrow. I am not prepared to give Finn over to the surgeons. I was told to envision that instead of the phyisicans I giving him to God. Before going to bed Michael and I spent some time in prayer. My friend Regina sent me a next message right before I started blogging and it said, "trust Jesus when your heart is afraid." I will do just that.
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