The Caleb Blog

Today was Caleb’s surgery.

I realized this morning that I had NO popsicles in the house. I had NO jello made. I meant to do all of that last night so it would be ready for him this morning. I did wind up making the jello this morning and we put it in the freezer in order for it to firm up. It was ready at 11am – 15 minutes before he couldn’t have anything more to eat or drink. He ate about 1/4 of it and he was fine with that.

He had his bath at noon, and we were out the door at 12:30. Got out the door on time, and when I was about 5 minutes from home, realized that I had forgotten my purse, so I had to turn around and go get it. It wouldn’t have been a big deal, but CMH requires that everyone be checked in and show an ID.

We got there at 1:05, checked in, and we were taken back at 1:20 on the nose. I have never been in a hospital/doctor’s setting where they are on time! Just as we were called back, our pastor, Brian Phipps, came in and sat with Jordan while I was taking Caleb to get prepped.

Caleb having his vitals taken

After vitals, we went back to his holding room, and he was talked to by a child life technician where she talked about what he was going to see during his time at the hospital.

Being told what to expect

He got to choose his sleepy air flavor (he chose Bubble Gum), and he was able to see what the operating room was going to look like (through pictures).

Also during this time, he got to meet his Anesthetist. His name was Dr. Peters, and he was super nice. Caleb was a little cautious, but he opened up a little bit with him. Jordan texted me and asked how long I was going to be and if I was doing ok. He asked if I wanted Brian to pray with me and Caleb and I said yes.

So, Caleb and I got up and we got Pastor Brian and Jordan and showed them to the room. Brian talked to Caleb a little bit, then the operating nurse came in to talk with Caleb, then Dr. Murphy his surgeon came in and talked to him. After he left, the nurse said that they were about ready to take them back, and I asked her if we could say a quick prayer. So, Brian, Jordan, Caleb and I prayed before they took him back.

Caleb gave us hugs and kisses, then he walked to the operating room. We went to the waiting room, and I saw that my friend from church was there. Brian left at that point, and Maria stayed through most of his surgery time. She left about 3:30, and they came and told us they were through at 4:15. Dr. Murphy told us he did great, everything went well, his meatotomy was doing great. He gave us what we should expect over the course of the next week.

After he left, we went down to the cafe to eat. We didn’t want to eat in front of Caleb, and we were STARVED. We were on our way up at 4:30 when the nurse was coming down to tell us that Caleb was ready to see us.

I was so glad that we were able to see him earlier than they predicted. He was out of it.

First image of Caleb

Up close and personal

He looked awful there for awhile. He was pale, pale, pale and his heart rate was increased. He wanted to lay on mommy’s lap, so they got him up and we snuggled in the rocking chair. I loved it. We sat that way for a good 20 minutes. We thought at one point he was going to get sick, but he never did.

Snuggly

Jordan helped me get him dressed, we got him in the wagon and rolled him out the door and into the car.

On the drive home, he started to look rather green again, but he fell asleep in the car and rested a bit.

Little Man totally passed out

During that time, I called my mom and let her know how he did. I knew they were going to the park with Zoe, so since he was asleep, I thought I would drop by so they could see him and kiss him while he was sleeping. The moment I put my gear into park, the locks unlocked and he shot awake. My mom came over, kissed him, talked to him, and we were gone in 5 minutes time.

Now, we’re laying in our room, watching TV and just snuggling, or as best as I can while I’m blogging.

He’s doing well, and I’m glad for that.

Now, to make him some dinner and hopefully, he doesn’t bring it back up.

Oh the worries of a mother.

Jordan is totally fine with him going into surgery, or at least he appears to me.

Me, on the other hand, I already have knots in my stomach. And his surgery isn’t until tomorrow!! I can’t imagine what I will be like tomorrow.

It is totally a routine surgery, and they do it all the time at Children’s Mercy, but you still always have worry. He will be under general anesthesia, but thankfully, he’s had it once before and he tolerated it just fine, so we’ll be just fine tomorrow. Now it’s all about the waiting game.

I will need to feed this boy a lot of food today, because he can’t have anything to eat after midnight and we’re not sure when his surgery is tomorrow. They are supposed to call some time today to let us know when we are to be there and when his surgery is.

I love how this hospital in Pittsburgh tells you about what to expect in the surgery. I wish Children’s Mercy did something like that. It definitely has eased some of my anxiety about the whole thing.

Caleb will not be attending school tomorrow, obviously, and we won’t be going to church on Thursday. We’re leaving school on Friday up in the air to see how he is feeling. Being a five year old boy, he’s probably going to be back to his normal self by Friday. We’ll have to see what the doctor says about everything.

Little man has started his last month of preschool before he goes on to big boy school.

He’s excited, and so am I.

It’s a new venture and one I think he’s really going to enjoy. Can’t believe my little man is going to be in kindergarten in the fall!

We will have two months off before paying for preschool fees for Zoe. She will be attending the same preschool as Caleb did, but for two years. She’s looking forward to it and is already calling it her school.

Caleb is literally asking every day when he gets to go to kindergarten. I need to make him a count down calendar so that he can mark off and see how close it is. For him, it’s probably going to take forever.

Wednesday, Caleb will be having surgery. He is having a inguinal hernia repair. The latter part of next week will be an interesting one for sure.

For those who read this blog, prayers are definitely appreciated.

Saturday, we all went to the library.

At the Kindergarten enrollment they gave us a sheet that gave us 100 books to read before Kindergarten. It isn’t required, but recommended. So, we started our venture to reading those 100 books. Most of them we already have in our collection. Caleb loves books, so most of them we’ve read already, but it will be good to re-read them.

He got his first library card. He was excited that he was able to look around the library. We picked out the books for him, but he was looking around the aisles and looking for things. I’m guessing that once he learns that he can pick out his own books, he’ll be more interested. But, his first day at the library was an exciting one for him.

Caleb got six books, and Zoe got five books.

They have some summer programs there too, so hoping to be able to take the kids to some of those during the summer. Especially on days in which we won’t be going to the waterpark.

I do have a picture and will post that a little later.

Today, Jordan and I attended Caleb’s final preschool parent/teacher conference. Bittersweet moment for sure.

First off, his teachers really enjoy him. He’s improved on a lot of items from his first conference in November. That’s just 5 months ago.

We went through all the assessments that they did with him, and there were a couple of things that he needed to improve on. He still doesn’t get the concept of rhyming very well. We’ll need to work with him on that. By the time kindergarten roles around, he’ll have it down. He also has some trouble with 1-1 correspondance (grouping things).

I’ve never laughed so hard at a conference in my life. His teacher were telling us some stories, and we told her one that he’s been doing, and we all had a good laugh. I laughed so hard, I cried, and couldn’t really settle down enough to ask any questions. LOL.

Good thing is that he really was loved in that classroom. They love his outlook on life, they love the joy that he brings to the class, and they especially love when he laughs because it brightens everyone’s day.

I really hope that he continues this outlook. He’s got tremendous self-worth, self-confidence, and self-determination. And his outlook on life is one that I wish everyone could have. He has such joy and is so happy. It’s obvious other people see it.

I couldn’t be prouder of my little man.