Surgery update

The one thing I have learned this past couple days is that Gavyn is one tough little man! He has amazed me. Curtis, me, and Gavyn rode down to SLC on Sunday night and we ended up staying in a hotel. Gavyn had a tough day on Sunday because he knew what was coming and he was not looking forward to it.

We were at Primary Children's Hospital by 6:30 a.m. Gavyn would not talk to anyone there. Everytime he was asked a question he would look at me to answer it for him. During the initial exam he sat quietly and followed directions. When it was time to put the IV in he did great. It took them what felt like 5 full minutes to get the IV in. They had to turn off the lights and put a flashlight in the palm of his hand to finally get it in. Gavyn did good through half of it, but about the time the lights went off he no longer was happy. He laid perfectly still, but he kept crying that it hurt. Curtis and I were crying by that point too. Seeing him in so much pain was unbearable.

We then went to a waiting area and was met by the anesthesiologist and then Dr. Brockmeyer, his surgeon. Dr. B said that Gavyn was going to have a cranioplasty and that it would be fairly simple. We were going to be able to go home that night. Then, we had to wait for two hours before it was his turn to go back. Gavyn rocked with Curtis and I and eventually fell asleep so we put him in a little wagon to wait. I think it was his own comfort measure falling asleep so that the anticipation would not get to him. When the anesthesiologist came to give him medicine Gavyn was still asleep. He opened his eyes a couple of times and said "Mommy, I want you!" Then, they wheeled him away to the operating room.

Curtis and I went to the parents waiting room. It was going to be an hour before he was to be done. About an hour later we got a call from the nurse letting us know that it was taking longer than expected. Another hour after that Dr. B finally came in to let us know how the surgery went.

When Gavyn was born he had no soft spots. His head was growing hammer-headed and at 2 months of age he had a craniectomy to remove skull so that there was room for his brain to grow. The skull was supposed to grow in eventually, but Gavyn's never grew back all the way. This surgery was supposed to have been to fix what we thought were two quarter-sized soft spots on the upper back of Gavyn's head. When Dr. B cut his head open he found that Gavyn had one huge soft spot that was about the size of a dollar bill folded in half length ways.

The doctor went ahead with the planned surgery as best he could. He sanded down and cleaned the sides of Gavyn's skull, put plastic plates in Gavyn's head, put on bone putty and stitched him up. There was one problem - the plastic plates usually only work on smaller areas and because Gavyn's was much worse than originally expected they don't know if it would work. Within six months we will know. His head may soften again and he will have to go back in for another surgery. Gavyn, however, was doing well and we were anticipating seeing him.

About 10 minutes later I got called back to the recovery area. Coming off of anesthesia Gavyn can get quite mean. He was given a little bit of Morphine to calm down then he was sent to his room. We had to stay a minimum of one night because his surgery ended up being more extensive. In his room, Gavyn started feeling better and after a couple of hours the anesthesia had worn off most of the way. He was his old self again! It was amazing. He never once complained of pain. The only pain medicine he has had is Motrin and Tylenol. Within a couple of hours he was walking/running down the halway looking for the toy room, diving off the bed, playing on the floor mats with toys, and talking happily to everyone around. By about 6 hours after the surgery Gavyn was off of all the equipment and no longer needing the IV fluid. The nurses were amazed and so was Curtis and I.

Aunt Jennifer and Uncle James came down with the kids to check on Gavyn and to let Curtis and I go out and get dinner. They brought a bunch of goodies, Gavyn's favorite being the dart gun. It was a much needed out from a stressful day and we greatly appreciated it! They were great company and we were sad when they left. Later, Gavyn went to bed and slept through the night.

Dr. B came by the next morning and was amazed at Gavyn as well. He released us from the hospital and we came home. Gavyn has only complained of his head hurting once and that was when he hit it on the piano. You would never know he had just had a surgery other than the fact that he has 40+ stitches on the top of his head. What a trooper!

We returned home and visited all the grandparents so they could see for themselves that Gavyn was okay. My parents had kept Cayden and Bryce for us while we were gone and they were happy and spoiled. My mom had bought some button down shirts for Gavyn since he cannot pull normal shirts over his head very easily, which was great because I had forgotten about doing that. Curtis' parents met us with big hugs of appreciation. It was so nice to be home again! I could not ever imagine living far away from our families. We are so lucky to have so many close by us.

I am so proud of Gavyn for his bravery. He is back to his sweet-personality self. Thank you to everyone who has helped us. We have received so much love and support from everyone through this and I am so greatful to everyone! I am so grateful for doctors with the knowledge they have so that they can help my sweet Gavyn and I am also grateful for a loving heavenly father who has sent us so much comfort and love this past year. I know he is aware of our needs and I know that he loves us!

I am having trouble downloading the pictures from my camera, but when Curtis gets home tonight I will post pictures from Gavyn's trip to Primary Children's.