Toe, Part 2 (really long, but possibly interesting!)

So the Mr had his left big toe bones fused like he had done with his right big toe. Man, those people at the outpatient surgery center really need to get their act together and schedule better. Or maybe it was the surgeon, who is consistently way behind on appointments. Or the people that do his scheduling. Anyway. The surgery was scheduled for 2 pm, They told us to get there at 1 for paperwork, not realizing that the same excruciatingly detailed questionnaire had already been done the last time. So we sat in the lobby and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited. Finally got called back to the 'gown room' as I shall call it. This is where the anesthesiologist and surgeon come to discuss the procedure with the patient prior and go over any last minute questions, and also where the patient changes into a gown. This time we had the boys with us the whole time, and we waited and waited and waited and waited. We took goofy pics of B looking like a pregnant mom in her gown about to have a baby (again!), played emesis basin ball (I put one of those little pink puke trays in the corner, gave each of the boys a paper towel to ball up, and see who could make their ball stay in the tray). (I think I could be persuaded to sell that picture for the right price! lol)

Finally, when the little boys couldn't handle the waiting, we bid adieu to B and left to go eat. This was at 3:15 or so. I stopped the nurse in the hallway and asked about when he would go back (30-45 minutes, and how long the surgery would be (I swear she said an hour) so we calculated that we should be back at 4:30. So we went to eat and then went to Kmart to do some pics in the old school photo booth they have, as well as look at school supplies. We got back to the hospital at about 4:50-ish. He was just barely going into recovery part one. It's a good thing his dr is incredibly hot (at least I think so) or this scheduling thing would be a lot worse. ;) We met with the dr to go over the surgery and stuff.

We were literally the last people there. They had actually locked the lobby. Well, why not? It was 5:30. So the nurse took us back to the recovery part two area and set us up with some cold beverages and about 20 minutes later B came out, barfing. Bleh. The dr told me that the regular sedation they use for that procedure (as they used last time) didn't quite work, and B kept kicking and resisting, so they unexpectedly had to put him under a general instead. Hence the barfing.

All the while P is messing with this damn wheelchair, making this clanking sound that was irritating the hell out of me. E kept changing the channel on the tv and making weird sounds. I was snapping at them, P kept getting upset and crying and running into the other room. Ugh! Such a different experience from the last time! B is barfing and I'm trying to keep the boys from seeing that, only they won't mind and kept going around to watch, therefore getting nearly ill themselves. Kids!!!

So we finally get B in the car, and partway home, he says he's going to barf. I realized the puke tray we took from the place was in the trunk, and told him to just wait, I'd pull over. But he couldn't. So as B is barfing, P is screaming in HORROR and I'm screaming P's name over and over to chill. I pull over, get P out of the car and tell him to sit on the grass, open the trunk, dump all the crap out of B's plastic clothes bag, and run over with it. The 7-11 hot dog box B grabbed to catch the stuff wasn't up to the task. He let loose in the bag.

Ok, back on the road. B has his bag, P is calm. We pull into the driveway and B starts hurling again. Luckily P was asleep and woke up as we pulled in, I jumped out, pulled open his door, told him to hop out quick (which he actually did!) so we wouldn't have another screaming fit. Finally got B into the house.

Now let me tell you about the first time (right toe). Went to the surgery center, filled out the paperwork, promptly called back to the gown room, took goofy pics of B in gown looking pregnant, met with anesthesiologist and surgeon, they took him back, I drove home to get the boys from school, came back to the surgery center where we were promptly called back to the recovery part two room, sat for about 20 minutes, drove him home, and settled in.

WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED??? I guess when you're having the same procedure twice, you have certain expectations for the second one. My advice: don't. Assume each thing will have its own problems or lack thereof, and go with the flow.

And once again, the photo has nothing to do with the post. :D
Peace out!