Friday, January 17, 2014
January 14, 15, 16 and 17, 2014
5:09 PM | 
Posted by
Veronica |
My 365...
I am back! My son Casey had double orthognathic surgery on Tuesday morning. They took him back to the operating room at 5:40 AM, and I was able to see him in recovery at 1:30 PM. Let me tell you...that was the longest day of my life. After surgery, I stayed with Casey through 6 AM on Thursday morning...so the blog was temporarily on hold.
Surgery went really well. The surgeon did an amazing job with Casey, and I can never thank him enough for his tender loving care. What we were not expecting was that a bone graft would be taken from Casey's hip. That has been very painful for him. He also suffered a corneal abrasion during surgery, so the first 36 hours post surgery were absolutely miserable for him. Between the nausea and vomiting through a wired jaw, and the pain itself, he was unable to open his eyes because of the painful scratch in his right cornea. Poor baby was an absolute mess. But he made it through like the rock star that he is!
Now the long road to recovery begins....
Things that touched my heart...
...how Casey cried for his big brother Garrett. "Mom, I want Garrett here." And when Garrett walked in the room, all of Casey's stress melted away, and he felt safe. I know he wanted a big Garrett bear hug, but instead, he offered Garrett a firm manly handshake.
...my daughter-in-law Amber came to the house and cleaned for me. She did not want me to come home to a mess left by the men folk. Then she took Blake overnight, to get his mind off of everything. Blake was pretty traumatized when he first saw Casey. It was very upsetting for him. But thanks to Amber and Brandon, he had an awesome time with my grandchildren, and it took a world of worry away from me. "Thank you Amber and Brandon."
...how much Blake wants to take care of Casey. He is following Casey around like a little puppy waiting for his next command. When Blake came to the hospital Tuesday night to see Casey, it was extremely traumatic for him. He tried so hard to hold back the tears, but he couldn't. He was so sad to see Casey in the condition he was in, that it literally knocked the wind out of my boy. It really broke my heart.
...a sweet lady Chaplain came to visit Casey in his room. She asked if she could pray with us. I said of course, so she took Casey's hand, then my hand, and I noticed she had tears streaming down her face. After the prayer she told me, that the mother's love that she felt from me, and the son's love of the mother that she felt from Casey, were so powerful and real that it made her cry. I had been feeling so guilty that Casey had to go through all this pain, and I could not make it all better, so her words were very comforting for me. It was an awesome moment for both of us. It made my heart happy.
...the day Casey came home from the hospital, Amber was here with the babies. Cooper was being precious, and baby Penny was so excited to see me. When it was time for everyone to leave the room so Casey could rest, I asked Cooper to close the door behind him. Once the door was closed, I said "Thank you Cooper." He opened the door back up and said with a sweet Cooper smile..."you're welcome" then promptly closed the door again. He gave me lots of hugs that day too. And let me tell you...grandma needed them. "Thank you Cooper."
Things that made me giggle...
...it was shortly after midnight, the night after surgery, and Casey became very agitated trying to tell me something. His mouth is wired closed, so understanding the words he is trying to say is very tricky. Finally, after throwing a couple of dozen words at him, I figured out that he was saying..."Mom, blog!" He was so worried about me missing my first blog post in over four years. I finally convinced him that it was no big deal, and he calmed down. I have to say though, it really touched my heart. It seems that all
of my family have been missing mama's daily blog posts.
.
...Casey had "Chair Recliner Radar. I spent the two nights and three days in a recliner next to Casey's bed. I would give him his water, his mouth wash, his lip balm, help him to the bathroom, refill his ice packs, give him his eye drops and get him settled into bed. Once I thought it was quiet, I would sit in the chair for about 10 minutes to see if he called for me, then try to recline into a resting position. The micro-second he heard the seat recline...I would hear..."Mom..." Let me tell you what, my legs had quite the work out this week. lol :)
...it was almost 3:00AM, the morning after surgery, and Casey started humming music. Then he tells me he needed to hear "Phil Collins, In the Air Tonight." Thank God for Wifi and Youtube.
...as soon as he could see clearly, Casey reached for his cell phone to call his friends. He completely forgot that he could not talk...but that did not slow him down. When that got frustrating for him, he decided to try Skype on my tablet. I told him, "Honey, your friends can't understand a word your are saying." But he did not care...he was calling them anyway.
We had so many thoughts and prayers, and well wishes from family and friends all over the world, and to all of you I say, "Thank You!" We only made it through these last four days with the love and support from all of you. I love you all with all my heart!! :)
Here are my daily photos from these long few days...
I stayed by his side from beginning to end. By day three I had not showered, brushed my teeth, or even eaten a solid meal, mama was looking a little pathetic...lol...so I called Jack at 6:00AM to come relieve me so I could go home, shower, and take a much needed nap. Jack stayed with Casey until he was discharged later that afternoon, and he and Garrett brought Casey home.
Who's loopy now? lol :)
"Take a profile pic of my old face mom."
Recovery room, immediately following surgery. Who is this? When I gave birth to my babies, and there was that first second my eyes saw my baby for the first time, I would take a sharp inhale...an incredibly happy gasp. Moms know what I am talking about...I am sure daddies do too. That was my reaction walking into the recovery room. It stopped me dead in my tracks, I dropped my bag, and just gasped...followed by inconsolable tears. I could not get over how handsome my son looked.
Then I saw his brothers. I could see Garrett, Brandon and Blake in his face. "He looks like his brothers now." I told the nurses. He still has the market cornered on long eyelashes, but he really looks like his brothers now. I will never forget that moment. :)
January 15, 2014 - Day 2
This was a tough day for Casey. He was still in and out lucidness, and the pain was coming on strong. The worse pain was from the corneal abrasion. He was completely unable to open his eyes, and it freaked him out. His face was still numb for the most part, so no pain there, but the bone graft site in his hip was excruciating for him. The worst part is that Casey fights his pain meds. He refused any morphine, so they did the best they could to keep him comfortable.
I was so missing his blue eyes about now. He could not open his eyes for most of the day.
He received an beautiful flower arrangement from his orthodontist, Dr. Tingy, and his staff. How awesome is that? It filled the room with beautiful, fresh flower smells, and brightened Casey's day.
January 16, 2014 - Day 3 - Time to go home!
Pain is a little better today, and he had his first taste of food...and little Ensure. The swelling is concentrated in his lower face now. He is a little traumatized by his huge double chin. I keep trying to reassure him that it is only swelling, and it is temporary.
And best of all, Ducati is reunited with his boy. Casey was so happy to see his Ducati, and Ducati was very happy to see him.
Nurse Blake at your service.
Peace.
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Love,
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I am back! My son Casey had double orthognathic surgery on Tuesday morning. They took him back to the operating room at 5:40 AM, and I was able to see him in recovery at 1:30 PM. Let me tell you...that was the longest day of my life. After surgery, I stayed with Casey through 6 AM on Thursday morning...so the blog was temporarily on hold.
Surgery went really well. The surgeon did an amazing job with Casey, and I can never thank him enough for his tender loving care. What we were not expecting was that a bone graft would be taken from Casey's hip. That has been very painful for him. He also suffered a corneal abrasion during surgery, so the first 36 hours post surgery were absolutely miserable for him. Between the nausea and vomiting through a wired jaw, and the pain itself, he was unable to open his eyes because of the painful scratch in his right cornea. Poor baby was an absolute mess. But he made it through like the rock star that he is!
Now the long road to recovery begins....
Things that touched my heart...
...how Casey cried for his big brother Garrett. "Mom, I want Garrett here." And when Garrett walked in the room, all of Casey's stress melted away, and he felt safe. I know he wanted a big Garrett bear hug, but instead, he offered Garrett a firm manly handshake.
...my daughter-in-law Amber came to the house and cleaned for me. She did not want me to come home to a mess left by the men folk. Then she took Blake overnight, to get his mind off of everything. Blake was pretty traumatized when he first saw Casey. It was very upsetting for him. But thanks to Amber and Brandon, he had an awesome time with my grandchildren, and it took a world of worry away from me. "Thank you Amber and Brandon."
...how much Blake wants to take care of Casey. He is following Casey around like a little puppy waiting for his next command. When Blake came to the hospital Tuesday night to see Casey, it was extremely traumatic for him. He tried so hard to hold back the tears, but he couldn't. He was so sad to see Casey in the condition he was in, that it literally knocked the wind out of my boy. It really broke my heart.
...a sweet lady Chaplain came to visit Casey in his room. She asked if she could pray with us. I said of course, so she took Casey's hand, then my hand, and I noticed she had tears streaming down her face. After the prayer she told me, that the mother's love that she felt from me, and the son's love of the mother that she felt from Casey, were so powerful and real that it made her cry. I had been feeling so guilty that Casey had to go through all this pain, and I could not make it all better, so her words were very comforting for me. It was an awesome moment for both of us. It made my heart happy.
...the day Casey came home from the hospital, Amber was here with the babies. Cooper was being precious, and baby Penny was so excited to see me. When it was time for everyone to leave the room so Casey could rest, I asked Cooper to close the door behind him. Once the door was closed, I said "Thank you Cooper." He opened the door back up and said with a sweet Cooper smile..."you're welcome" then promptly closed the door again. He gave me lots of hugs that day too. And let me tell you...grandma needed them. "Thank you Cooper."
Things that made me giggle...
...it was shortly after midnight, the night after surgery, and Casey became very agitated trying to tell me something. His mouth is wired closed, so understanding the words he is trying to say is very tricky. Finally, after throwing a couple of dozen words at him, I figured out that he was saying..."Mom, blog!" He was so worried about me missing my first blog post in over four years. I finally convinced him that it was no big deal, and he calmed down. I have to say though, it really touched my heart. It seems that all
of my family have been missing mama's daily blog posts.
.
...Casey had "Chair Recliner Radar. I spent the two nights and three days in a recliner next to Casey's bed. I would give him his water, his mouth wash, his lip balm, help him to the bathroom, refill his ice packs, give him his eye drops and get him settled into bed. Once I thought it was quiet, I would sit in the chair for about 10 minutes to see if he called for me, then try to recline into a resting position. The micro-second he heard the seat recline...I would hear..."Mom..." Let me tell you what, my legs had quite the work out this week. lol :)
...it was almost 3:00AM, the morning after surgery, and Casey started humming music. Then he tells me he needed to hear "Phil Collins, In the Air Tonight." Thank God for Wifi and Youtube.
...as soon as he could see clearly, Casey reached for his cell phone to call his friends. He completely forgot that he could not talk...but that did not slow him down. When that got frustrating for him, he decided to try Skype on my tablet. I told him, "Honey, your friends can't understand a word your are saying." But he did not care...he was calling them anyway.
We had so many thoughts and prayers, and well wishes from family and friends all over the world, and to all of you I say, "Thank You!" We only made it through these last four days with the love and support from all of you. I love you all with all my heart!! :)
Here are my daily photos from these long few days...
January 14, 2014, Surgery Day.
Casey in Pre-Op.
Recovery room, immediately following surgery. Who is this? When I gave birth to my babies, and there was that first second my eyes saw my baby for the first time, I would take a sharp inhale...an incredibly happy gasp. Moms know what I am talking about...I am sure daddies do too. That was my reaction walking into the recovery room. It stopped me dead in my tracks, I dropped my bag, and just gasped...followed by inconsolable tears. I could not get over how handsome my son looked.
Then I saw his brothers. I could see Garrett, Brandon and Blake in his face. "He looks like his brothers now." I told the nurses. He still has the market cornered on long eyelashes, but he really looks like his brothers now. I will never forget that moment. :)
January 15, 2014 - Day 2
This was a tough day for Casey. He was still in and out lucidness, and the pain was coming on strong. The worse pain was from the corneal abrasion. He was completely unable to open his eyes, and it freaked him out. His face was still numb for the most part, so no pain there, but the bone graft site in his hip was excruciating for him. The worst part is that Casey fights his pain meds. He refused any morphine, so they did the best they could to keep him comfortable.
I was so missing his blue eyes about now. He could not open his eyes for most of the day.
Finally, early evening, he could start to focus out of his left eye a bit. And of course the first thing he asked for was his cell phone.
And my tablet to do a little Skyping with friends.
Then his big brother arrived, and all was right with the world. Casey asked for Garrett the most. He adores his big brother Garrett, and feels a strong sense of security from Garrett. When Garrett is there, everything will be okay. He could finally rest comfortably.
January 17, 2014 - Day 4 - Not so great.
Casey is really frustrated today. He is hungry, but he is nauseated. He is having a hard time swallowing, which in turn sends his anxiety through the roof. I try to reassure him that he is not drowning, but that just frustrates him more. Blake has been my savior for the last 24 hours. He has stayed home from school to help me care for Casey. I sometimes don't move fast enough for Casey, and he gets upset, so Blake rushes in to help out. It has been good for Blake too. He has been pretty upset for Casey over the whole ordeal, so being able to care for him has helped Blake cope. He is being such a trooper my Blake.
Finally late this afternoon, Casey was able to keep down some cream of chicken soup and Sprite. He can't suck on a straw because of the stitches in his mouth, so I use a tube and a large syringe to feed him. I feel like I am feeding a baby bird. He is feeling a little better this afternoon. Progress!
Day four, still lots of swelling in his lower face and chin.
Waiting for Casey to feel better.
Music I am listening to today...As requested by Casey...at 2:53am on day two, Phil Collins, In the Air Tonight.
The Daily V...
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Love,
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2 comments:
Awesome to read about the love all of you have for each other. The pain will subside in time, and the trauma will dissipate, but the love you share will always be there. Best wishes for all of you. Get well soon, Casey. Try to be a patient patient. Love always from Texas, Cynthia Q. :)
Thank you Cynthia, I feel very blessed. Love you!
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