In surgery

We made it to the hospital on time this morning, but got very lost while trying to find the surgery unit again.  This hospital is super confusing to navigate, with several sets of elevators that each take you to different levels.  Especially difficult for someone as directionally challenged as me.  So I got as far along as I could while carrying all the luggage, but finally gave up and called the surgery unit to ask for someone to come help us.  They brought a red Radio Flyer wagon that fit all the luggage quite nicely.

Once we got into the pre-op area, things got much better.  Here's a photo of her in the pre-op room. 

I should have waited because a few minutes after I took this, she got all hooked up with a coloring book, stickers, Disney Channel on the TV, and a bed warmer that shot warm air into her gown that she could control with a little dial button on a remote.  Being the gadget- and button-obsessed child that she is, that was her favorite.  She also got a stuffed bear, and she gets to keep that pink fuzzy blanket.  She got to pick out a flavor of lip gloss that will be smeared onto the mask that they will use to anesthetize her with, so that it smells like watermelon instead of whatever anesthesia smells like.  She was visited by the nurses, another Child Life specialist, the anesthesiologist, and finally the surgeon, Dr. Mary Dunn.  Dr. Dunn was looking quite dapper in a smart silver-gray suit.  She told us it was her birthday today.  I think that's pretty lucky.

Suchitra went off to be watermelon-anesthetized around 7:40 am.  The Disney Channel put her in a really good mood and when they asked if she wanted me to come back with her while they put her to sleep, she said no.  I wasn't too upset about that because it means she was pretty comfortable with the situation.  I took the luggage up to our room on the Rehab Unit, then went to the cafeteria for some breakfast.  I'm now camped out in the surgery waiting room.  They have a big screen where your patient's name is displayed (in code to protect privacy) and some icons that light up to indicate what stage the patient is in, from pre-op to in-op to all done.  I also have a pager so they can get in touch with me as needed.  At about 9:10 I got a call from the anesthesia nurse who said that everything is going well and Dr. Dunn had just begun the procedure.  It is expected to last about 3.5 hours.  Once she is in the recovery room, they will let me know when she begins to wake up.  Last time she had surgery, she was really upset when she woke up and I wasn't right there, so I asked them to let me come and see her as soon as possible.  I got another call at around 10:15 saying her vital signs are good and all is going well.

Waiting kind of stinks, and I'd really like to take a nap, but I do have a good book to get me through the rest of the wait:  What Is the What by Dave Eggers.  It's a novel about the Lost Boys of Sudan.  Very good for perspective.  My ankle is hurting again (I sprained it a couple weeks ago) probably from carrying the luggage, so I have it propped up.  More later!