Colton Surgery #2

This post will probably be a combination of all of our adventures today before I post it...

UPDATE #2 -
Heavenly Father sends many tender mercies - our day has been filled with them.

We were able to get here to the hospital with little problems (other than the crazy people on the freeway going way too fast) We were able to drop off our car to the valet parking that is available to patients. If we are later than the parking lot is open they promised to move the truck and the keys to the exit booth for us so we can just load up and go. We rode the tram up to the main building. That is always Colton's favorite part - he stares out the window and I make sure and keep my back to the window so I dont barf all over the other passengers :)

When we came up on Monday for Colton's post-op appt we stopped by the little snack shop and got doughnuts. They had Halloween ones already, but since I only had $1 we got one to share. Today we made a point to stop by again and got his orange Halloween doughnut to save for after his surgery.

Then we walked up the big hill to the day-patient building. All of the staff was great. They even had a cute gal who was an official greeter and escort for families to get through the hallways. We were taken back to get Colton all set up and ran into a couple of snags. The monitoring equipment was on the fritz, but the cute nurse was great and so patient. We pulled out Colton's homework to help fill the time. As we were working I overheard a nurse answer a phone call and heard him say "we are moving colton to the main hospital?" My ears perked up then, and I realized as I listened to the rest of the conversation that we were going to be moved. Shortly after that Dr Milzcuk came and found us and the conversation went something like this "Hey, bud, how are you? I wanted to let you know that we are going to move Colton back over to the main hospital. Without going into all the logistics and circumstances, just thought you would like to know and wanted to let you know that this is going to really work out for the best. Will meet you over there soon. K, bye" - This was a HUGE tender mercy for us as where we were at that time was going to make things a bit complicated to get back to the tram and car and such knowing that Colton would probably be unconscious...

We were met by another nurse who escorted us through the maze of hallways over to the main hospital. On our way we saw our cute little nurse who Colton had 3 weeks ago. She remembered us and was surprised to see us. She was on her way to her lunch break, but we found out just a bit later that she would be our nurse again for the afternoon. That was another tender mercy. Colton did so well with her last time that it was good to know that she would be with us again. We also got to chat about how things went last time. It was fun to laugh at her reaction as I told her what happened once we were home and how long Colton slept after the anesthesia.

We are still hanging out waiting for our turn and it is now 2pm. We were told that Dr Milzcuk is still in surgery for another case that is taking longer than expected (we were supposed to be in surgery 1 hr ago). We have met with the anesthesiologist, who seems really great too. She finished up and left, only to return about a minute later. She has informed us that because of Colton's loose tooth that he will most likely be visited by the tooth fairy during surgery....I told her to go for it since it is barely hanging on now. Colton will be excited that it is gone. He is looking forward to the tooth fairy bringing him more dimes to get more Hot Wheels cars from the store.

We were just visited by Dr Milzcuk's surgery assistant and another anesthesiologist. Looks like it shouldnt be too long now. Dr Milzcuk wasnt kidding when he told us earlier that we would be cared for with more staff to meet all of the needs for Colton's surgery. We just met ANOTHER nurse who will be with him for all of surgery. That is Dr Milzcuk, 2 anesthesioligists, at least 2 nurses, the surgery assistant, plus our cute floor nurse. WOW!

Well, they just came to get Colton - he was not quite under yet from the pre-surgery med, and he wanted me to carry him. They allowed me to and I took him down to the surgery room and then handed him off to them. It was harder this time for me to take him down there. I am going to try to go get something to eat and just read or walk for awhile. We are behind schedule quite a bit. It is almost 230pm. Will make sure and post again when Colton is back here with me.

UPDATE #3
More tender mercies - I just got back from the cafeteria where they are having Pasta Friday! I got a HUGE bowl of corkscrew pasta with sauce, chicken and shrimp AND fresh squash and veggies. I am pretty sure one of the squash chunks was pumpkin - just tasted like it to me...it added interesting flavor to the pasta. I also got fruit, juice and powerade to help me get through tomorrow. I didnt think I would eat the whole bowl, but I did. My body must know that I am trying to "bulk up" for the race tomorrow. Hoping I can still get more in me throughout the rest of the evening.
I did just get a short visit and have heard conversations going on that tell me that Colton's surgery is making better progress than expected. It may not be too much longer until he is actually out of surgery. I am hoping to get an update soon. Will be sure to post when I know more.