The appointment the day after surgery was pretty non-eventful. There was a lot of waiting (our appointment was at 8:30am and we didn't leave until 12:30pm!) and very little talking. We saw the ophthalmologist, the ophthalmology resident, an optician, and a nurse. The ophthalmologist looked at his eyes (after they dilated them, of course!) and said that the surgery aspect looked good and there was still too much swelling to tell how much the PHPV would affect Tommy's eye. Ugh, more waiting.
The optician and the nurse came and fitted Tommy for his contact. The ophthalmologist came back and decided on the strength. Then came the hard part: trying the contacts on!
We had a very nice nurse- he was funny, nice, and professional all in one. He brought a fitting contact and popped it into Tommy's eye like it was nothing. Tommy barely blinked. Then he taught us. When I say "us", I do mean that he taught Tommy's dad. Since Tommy's dad wears contacts, he was elected to be the contact guy. Interestingly enough, the nurse told us that in his experience, it is often the father's who put in and take out the contacts. I watched, and I will probably have to learn... but will do that in the safety of my own home! He then showed us how to "pop the contact out". When he did it, it looked easy- again, Tommy was unfazed. Now it was dad's turn to try to put the contact in while the nurse was there to help. He was nervous, but when he tried to put the contact in, it was as if he had been doing this forever! I was quite impressed. Getting it out was a different story. The nurse told us to "pull the eyelids open, push down, and the contact will pop out!" Sounds easy, right? It isn't. Tommy cried and dad felt bad, so we let the nurse take it out. After all, the poor guy had been through enough eye trauma with the surgery the day before! While I am describing what it was like, I realize that I was too chicken to do it. I am completely impressed at his willingness and ability to do this, and I do dread the day that I have to do it alone.
One of the scarier parts? The nurse told us that the contacts cost $500 each. FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS! And that some kids lost one contact a week. YIKES! I had half-heartedly tried to find out what our insurance covered before this visit- but now I am on a mission!
Showing posts with label cataract surgery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cataract surgery. Show all posts
Friday, April 15, 2011
Perspective
We were in a general pediatric surgery area for Tommy's surgery. Within minutes of checking in, we were humbled by what surrounded us. We have been stressing and worrying about Tommy and his surgery and diagnosis for weeks. We'd gone through the "poor baby" thing with a million people. There were a lot of people thinking about him and praying for his surgery to go well. Looking around, we realized how incredibly lucky we were to be worrying about this- which is a relatively small issue compared to what some people go through. While we don't know the stories of anyone there- we know at least two of them had cardiac issues. There was a family- there must have been a group of 10 people with shirts saying "Save Krystyn's Heart" or something like that. While I don't know that they were currently there for major cardiac surgery- I do know that they've had a much tougher road than Tommy. I also know that they weren't sent to the family waiting area, which likely meant that they were admitted to the hospital post-op.
In any case, this experience has given us a whole new appreciation for what people can endure. We realized that we have family members and close friends who had dealt (or are dealing with) medical issues with their children. Some with much more significant surgeries than Tommy. We can only hope that we were supportive enough, because as we learned, you really have no idea what it is like until you go through something yourself.
In any case, this experience has given us a whole new appreciation for what people can endure. We realized that we have family members and close friends who had dealt (or are dealing with) medical issues with their children. Some with much more significant surgeries than Tommy. We can only hope that we were supportive enough, because as we learned, you really have no idea what it is like until you go through something yourself.
The day of surgery
The day was finally here- surgery day. A day we both anticipated and dreaded.
Tommy's surgery was scheduled on a Monday- which appears to be "surgery day" for our ophthalmologist. Tommy couldn't eat for 4 hours prior to surgery- which I thought was going to be a DISASTER for this little baby would eat non-stop if he could. Check-in was at 6:30am, so he ate last at 2:30am. I got him ready and at about 4:30am he started crying- poor baby was hungry! We left the house at 5am (it was only a 30 minute drive- well, less at that time of day- but we didn't want to be late). Tommy fell asleep (thankfully) in the car and was an ANGEL the whole time.
We checked in at the appropriate place and waited for our names to be called..
He slept the entire time we waited. We finally got called back to pre-op for more waiting. A nurse came by to take his vitals (the chunky monkey was already 13 pounds!) and check him in. They gave him a hospital bracelet- and still he slept on! The anesthesia resident came by and asked his questions and gave his spiel. I asked him what they would be using and made him tell me drug names (we never open with "hi, we are pharmacists!" because we don't want to be those annoying people but we do insist on knowing what our kids will be getting.) I have to admit that he was a little scruffy and he made me nervous. I know that appearances mean very little, but he had the 3-day scruff going on and it made him look a little less professional, I like my doctors to be clean-shaven! (You should know that my husband thinks I am crazy for this thought!) The ophthalmologist resident came by and she marked his eye with a marker to make sure they operated on the correct eye. It was the strangest thing! There was a magic marker all wrapped up in sterile wrapping- I understand why, it was just weird to see. The attending anesthesiologist and another ophthalmologist resident came by- it seemed like a million people came and asked the same (or similar) questions... but we were at a teaching hospital, so it is common. I know people get annoyed by this, but I found it reassuring that so many people were thinking about my baby! At last it was time to take him- the attending anesthesiologist came and took him in her arms (which I am very grateful for, it was much less intimidating than wheeling him off in a big bed). I still cried, but it could've been worse. We were then lead back to the family waiting room. At the reception area we received a pager that would go off if they needed to talk with us.
FYI: In medical training, there are residents and fellows. Residents are licensed professionals (in this case physicians) who are in post-graduate training. This can be in general medicine or specialty areas (such as anesthesia or ophthalmology). Fellows are also in post-graduate training, but are also post-residency. They are specializing in an area and are undergoing more extensive clinical training as well as adding a research component to their training.
He slept the entire time we waited. We finally got called back to pre-op for more waiting. A nurse came by to take his vitals (the chunky monkey was already 13 pounds!) and check him in. They gave him a hospital bracelet- and still he slept on! The anesthesia resident came by and asked his questions and gave his spiel. I asked him what they would be using and made him tell me drug names (we never open with "hi, we are pharmacists!" because we don't want to be those annoying people but we do insist on knowing what our kids will be getting.) I have to admit that he was a little scruffy and he made me nervous. I know that appearances mean very little, but he had the 3-day scruff going on and it made him look a little less professional, I like my doctors to be clean-shaven! (You should know that my husband thinks I am crazy for this thought!) The ophthalmologist resident came by and she marked his eye with a marker to make sure they operated on the correct eye. It was the strangest thing! There was a magic marker all wrapped up in sterile wrapping- I understand why, it was just weird to see. The attending anesthesiologist and another ophthalmologist resident came by- it seemed like a million people came and asked the same (or similar) questions... but we were at a teaching hospital, so it is common. I know people get annoyed by this, but I found it reassuring that so many people were thinking about my baby! At last it was time to take him- the attending anesthesiologist came and took him in her arms (which I am very grateful for, it was much less intimidating than wheeling him off in a big bed). I still cried, but it could've been worse. We were then lead back to the family waiting room. At the reception area we received a pager that would go off if they needed to talk with us.FYI: In medical training, there are residents and fellows. Residents are licensed professionals (in this case physicians) who are in post-graduate training. This can be in general medicine or specialty areas (such as anesthesia or ophthalmology). Fellows are also in post-graduate training, but are also post-residency. They are specializing in an area and are undergoing more extensive clinical training as well as adding a research component to their training.
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