Ben is doing well after a 7 1/2 hour surgery - he is stable and still asleep. He has been extubated and is breathing on his own. He did not require ICU, which is great - he has far less facial swelling than last time. Will update later. Thank you to everyone for all your [...]
Category: Shriner’s Hospital Stay 2020
This is a collection of all my blog posts leading up to, during, and after Ben’s cervical/Thorasic spine surgery 2020.
11B. Surgery Day Recap
We were up super early this morning. I woke up at 4:30, finished packing and got us ready. We will not be returning to our hospital room because when we arrive back at Shriners they will put us right across from the nursing unit. So...that means packing up, and it’s amazing how much crap you [...]
12. The Last 48 Hours
Despite my excitement over getting extubated in the OR, Ben had an awful first night. His oxygen sats dropped to the low 80’s, and he was visibly struggling to breathe. His heart rate and RESP rates were high, and it was apparent he was working hard to breathe. We used the oxygen mask for a [...]
13. Post Op Days 3 and 4
So over the past few days, it became clear that Ben has an effusion (fluid in his lung cavity). It’s likely that blood seeped out and collected there post-op, which is somewhat common. This compressed a portion of his lungs and made it more difficult to breathe. His hemoglobin level was a bit lower from [...]
14. Back to Shriners
Ben’s health has increased exponentially in the last 24 hours. We have been transferred back to Shriners, which does our hearts all good. It again feels like coming home - these are our friends, our family. I am still overwhelmed by the emotion of coming back - they take Ben in and gently wash the [...]
15. We’ve Been Shrinered
Things started moving very quickly once Ben was off oxygen. He started taking little walking trips and was able to go back to school. He is at the point where we just need to manage his pain and let him heal. He is also on iron to help him replenish the blood he lost. So...home [...]
Boy – it’s been a while! July 2, 2020
I certainly owe you guys an apology. I wanted to update you all when we arrived home and got back into routine, but....hmmm...that never happened. Instead we came home to a zombie apocalypse where toilet paper became its own currency and hand sanitizer became the new truffle. Anyways, we are home - we are safe, [...]
Quick Update… July 7, 2020
Alright...things have escalated quickly for us from a week ago. We noticed last night that Ben’s tiny red dot has become more prominent and it seems to be scabbing up a bit. I sent an email to our team in Montreal at bed-time last night, and I woke up with an answer this morning. I [...]
Post-Covid Travel July 12, 2020
We woke up this morning at 4:00 a.m. to get organized so we could head to the airport by 4:40. Most of the packing was already done - the tricky part was closing the suitcase. I normally take two suitcases, but we are usually here for a few months. I am thinking this will be [...]
The night before surgery – July 14, 2020
So today was a stay-in-the room day. Having given up on my dream of a decent cup of coffee in the morning (sniff...just a minute...I need to take a moment), I lowered myself to the shame of instant coffee. Anyways despite my somewhat dissatisfied start, I was willing to face a day of isolation, food [...]