Post-Op Day 4: We're Home!

Sorry about the lack of updates! Day 3 was just fine. Being in our own private room was SO nice. We showered and felt like normal people, then got to start catching up on some sleep. Ryan was pretty comfortable even though they took him off the morphine and had him on just Tylenol. The whole day went by quickly and we were shocked when Ryan pulled off his bandages. The results after just a few days were so evident. The night went super smoothly (he slept on my chest for part of the night) other than a minor glitch when he pulled off his heart monitor and the nurses came running in because the alarms went off. Other than that, we all got some good rest in.

He was ready to break free! 

Already the shape of his head is rounder!

Surprisingly happy for having part of his skull removed!

The next morning we were seen by Dr. Keating around 7. He said that Ryan looked great and we could be discharged! He warned us though that the third day is often the hardest in terms of pain. Included in the directions were to wash and bathe his incision daily and to not worry about him bumping his head. Dr. K said that basically, he will hit his head because he's a baby and that we shouldn't be too concerned. We have to schedule an appointment to see him again in a month to check in. It is shocking to feel and see his head now. He has actual soft spots! The top part of the pi is two inches thick and the legs down the back are each an inch thick.

Our hero, Dr. Keating! 

Ryan was so sleepy that the whole ride home he slept, then slept even more when we got home (for about 2 hours). When he got up we were worried because he had a fever of 101.9 and Dr. K said that we should be alarmed if it goes over 101. We called Children's and they said that we may need to go back. We were instructed to keep an eye on his lethargy and fever. We got a little (a lottle) scared when they were having us check for signs of meningitis (seeing if he winced when we pushed his head towards his chest). Thank goodness we got his fever to go down and he seemed content (although super sleepy). He did not want to be put down all day - understandable for what he's been through. His swelling had been going down a lot and was slightly uneven (he slept on his right side so the swelling was pretty bad on that side, making him look fairly lop-sided). We fed him dinner late and gave him a bath then put him in bed with us. There was no way that he was sleeping in his crib alone, we were just too worried for that!

The night was pretty rough. He woke up hysterical every few hours and was hard to console. While I'm sure he was in pain, I think it was also that he was scared that something would happen. From his point of view, the past few nights have been pretty hellish and full of unpleasant surprises. Every time he woke up, somebody was poking or prodding him. And he didn't like it :(

4 Days After

His incision has been cleaned and looks so much better!

Today has been so much better. He got to eat his first solid food since Tuesday and was very happy! We figured out that it was easier to slip his medicine to him through his apple juice and life has been a lot easier since then! He is happily playing with his toys and sitting up nicely. We are working on staying ahead of the pain so that he is comfortable.