Surgery is Under Way

Life has been a crazy whirlwind of commotion and preparation all leading up to right now! Right now David is in surgery and with God's grace....hopefully on the road to walking!

As a mom....this last week has been one of great emotion for me. After the last surgery and almost losing him and then almost losing him again in October after his seizure, it was all I could do not to have a complete breakdown thinking about this impending surgery. There was a part of me that wanted to grab hold of him and say...."No more! He's been through enough! We've been through enough!" Then I would remember the big picture and know that I couldn't see him in that wheelchair and look him in the face in the years to come if I didn't give him every possible chance at an independent life. So here we sit.

It feels as if I haven't slept in weeks. Truthfully....I haven't slept for more than a couple of hours at a time for a good two weeks and my mind and body are both starting to feel it. I am thinking that maybe towards the end of January I will get to have a night of complete, stress free and uninterrupted sleep, but until then......I will survive on coffee and mom adrenaline!

I think David knows that something has been up for awhile. I have not really talked to him much about it as I didn't want to raise his anxiety but the back and forth trips to St. Louis and the poking and prodding have definitely caused a change in his attitude.

Last night David could have nothing to eat or drink after midnight. He was asleep by 9 and when he woke up this morning he was more than a little thirsty. His lips became more and more chapped as the cold morning air hit them and he was not allowed a drink. Needless to say this did not put him in the best of moods and I was afraid we might have a knock down drag out fight when it came to IV placement. Irritated as he was....he just didn't have much of a brawling spirit and the IV stick was pretty much a non-issue.

We had a constant barrage of nurses, anesthesiologists, residents and the doctor in and out of his pre-op room. They decided to put in an epidural to help with pain management after the fact in hopes that this would keep his heart rate down. We don't need any off the chart heart rates after surgery. They are also anticipating some blood loss, so blood products are ready. The doctor is also leaning highly towards putting him in a cast from hips to feet to help insure a successful outcome after the fact. However....it will depend on what he finds during surgery.

They gave us an approximate surgery duration of 4-6 hours with no definites. It could be shorter or longer but their best guess is within those parameters. We were given our own private waiting room cubicle and are given updates every hour to hour and a half. Our first update was at 9ish (after going to surgery at 7:30). He had been put under, had been given the epidural and they were beginning on his right hip! After surgery he will either have the breathing tube removed and be taken to post op and then the floor OR....if his heart rate is too high or there is any kind of complication....the breathing tube will remain in and he will be taken to PICU. As you can well imagine....I am praying for option 1.

Finally....our hospital stay can be anywhere from overnight to 2 or 3 days. It all just depends on how well he does and how quickly he seems to recuperate. I am thinking best case scenario will be about 2 days.

So I am sitting here intellectually knowing that he will be fine...and trying not to vacation in the negative. David has worked too hard and waited too long for this surgery to be anything but a success.

Please keep my boy in your prayers and know that I will keep you all posted in the hours, days and weeks that follow!

Pushing Forward

It feels like literally eons since I last posted. Maybe because it has been. Life has been crazy busy and since they moved up the surgery from the 14th of January to the 31st of December.....we have been in hyper-drive!

I went ahead and did the Cheesecakes for David again! I wasn't going to but several talked me into it. It was amazing and overwhelming as I had about 310 orders. There was about 2 full weeks of baking 12-16 hours a day....but I was grateful for every second. It is up in the air as to what post operative things such as physical therapy will be covered....so every cent earned will help.

I finished my last cheesecake at 4 a.m. the 23rd. I did my Christmas shopping that afternoon, got my last cheesecake picked up/delivered on the 24th, wrapped gifts and greeted Santa with a smile come 1 a.m. Christmas morning. We had a nice though sleep deprived Christmas day and then yesterday at 5:30 a.m. we headed to St. Louis for Davids pre-surgery consult with his doctor and anesthesiologist.

I have to say that either I am just getting more proficient at making that St. Louis drive or yesterday's drive was just easier. The traffic was almost non-existant both coming and going and the trip although longer coming home than going....went very smoothly. This time instead of going to Shriners we went to St. Louis Children's hospital where our new Shriners doctor (Dr. Schenicker) has offices.

First we saw the anesthesiologist who will be working with David! He had obviously read David's chart from cover to cover as he knew every detail of his last surgery. He told me why he felt that David's heart rate had remained so high last time and why he felt that he aspirated. He had blood drawn on David yesterday as he said that since David had to be given blood transfusions during the last surgery he wanted to make sure that he hadn't developed any anti-bodies towards the blood. If he has...then they will have to go a different route with blood products. He didn't anticipate any anti-bodies but if there were some....he wanted to know now and not during surgery!

Then we saw the doctor. He and a resident checked David's legs and hips out thoroughly. What we came up with is that they will not be doing anything to his legs. They will be focused on his hips. They will go in and remove the plates and then adjust his hips and replate them. I asked the doctor about casting him as this is what I was told they would do last time. He said that it was a possibility but he wouldn't know for sure until he got in there and saw what he was working with. Basically if he feels that casting David is the best way to go he will do it and if not....then he won't. After doing these surgeries for about 50 years and being responsible for literally thousands of kids walking.....I trust him.

The best news was the fact that since they are doing only the hips....the surgery should be a much shorter one. They also seem to think that the recovery will not be as painful and if all goes as expected (please God let it!) then we should be home in a couple of days. I am good with that!

Thanks to some amazing people, David already has a wheelchair and a hospital bed. We are good to go and won't be scrambling at a distance this time. I also have a much better understanding of both his surgery and his recovery this time. While my stomach is still in knots and will remain that way until he is back home and recovering well, this time at least....I am not a basket case with no idea what we are walking into. Still....I am praying constantly that all goes as planned and we don't have any unexpected Elam wrenches thrown into the mix!!!!

After surgery, David will still be attending school....it will just be home bound where his para and his therapy teachers will be coming to visit. When and if he actually returns to school this year will be left in the air until we see how he feels and how physical therapy is going to fit into his life. Those are minor issues though that we will work out as we go.

With all the activity here in Davidtopia.....it has really been a blessing, as I have had no real time to fret and worry over things I have no control over. I have just had to put my head down and keep moving forward. The next few days will not change that at all as my dance card is full right up until the second we hit the road headed back to St. Louis. This is not a bad thing though as there is no time for me to dwell on the negative or vacation in the "what ifs." I have a feeling God planned it this way.

So you will likely not hear from me for a few days as laundry, house cleaning and last minute preparations will trump blogging, facebook and any other socialization's I might like to hide in. However....trust me.....come Tuesday you will be hearing from me almost daily for awhile!

I am grateful to all of you who love and care about David so much. Your good thoughts and prayers are invaluable to us and I have no doubt will be the key to helping us make sure that.... David walks. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

So now I leave you. If you happen to see me in the next few day with my head down looking very single sighted....not to worry. Just know that I am focusing on the big picture and keeping the Elam clan pushing forward to the next leg of David's journey!