Braden's Surgery May 27th

Braden skipped the second to the last day of school to go to the Outpatient Pavilion across from CHOC for his scheduled surgery where the orthopedic surgeon performed a tenotomy (a tendon was lengthened in his left hip to provide more mobility) and an arthrogram (dye was inserted in his left hip area to see the shape of the cartilage around the hip bone). Stu and I, along with Bailey, went with him while Grandma stayed home with the rest of the kids. Braden was really brave. When we were led into his room where he got ready for the surgery, there were toys laid out for him to play with and a magna doodle with his name on it. It was really nice and put him at ease. The anesthesiologist, surgeon, educator, and nurses all came in at separate times to talk to him, tell him what was going to happen, and help calm some nerves. He changed into a hospital gown and put on his party hat (which was the hat they all wear in surgery). He was a little nervous, but never cried and was really brave. I was a little less brave, especially when they wheeled him away from me to take him into the operating room. I just wish they could've put him out while I held his hand. But the surgery was really quick, only about 45 minutes. The surgeon came and got us when it was over and led us to Braden in his recovery room. He said that the surgery went really well, no problems at all. The arthrogram showed that the cartilage surrounding Braden's hip bone was nice and round and that the prognosis for Braden healing correctly was really good. When we saw Braden, he was a little out of it, not very happy, cried quite a bit, was in some pain, and really just emotional from the medicine. It took him an hour or so and a couple doses of some good pain medicines to feel well enough to go home. He didn't smile at all until we brought out the black teddy bear his sisters had made for him at Build-A-Bear, dressed in an Anaheim Ducks jersey complete with hockey skates and a helmet. The neat thing about this bear is that his sisters recorded a message to him that played back when you pushed on the bear's hand. That's what made Braden so happy. (Thanks for the idea, Trish!) We then took him home, laid him on the couch, where he rested until bedtime. Stu carried him to bed because he still couldn't walk and was in some pain. And he really wasn't used to wearing the brace, since he had only just worn it for a few hours. We were hoping he would feel well enough to attend his kindergarten promotion the following morning (see next post). Overall, Braden did really well and recovered pretty quickly. He's proud that he's made it through it.