Surgery by the Real Doctors

Yesterday was the scheduled day for Nathan to go to the Shriner's Hospital for a surgical procedure to correct his curly toes. We took Josiah and Noah to Grandma's house to visit for the day while Nathan, John, and I headed to the hospital. I had been nervous about having this procedure since Nathan would be put out for the duration and I wondered if it was too risky but the concerns soon dissipated. Nathan was very excited to go see the doctors. He called them the "real" doctors. I'm not sure what that means to him. Anyway, checking in was easy and Nathan was very impressed with the bed waiting for him. He climbed in right away and made himself at home.

He loved trying all the buttons on the bed and getting his very own bright yellow hospital socks.

The Diego sheets were impressive too. He amused the nurses by claiming the bed pad was his blanket.

We were able to bring some toys to the room while we were waiting.

He had a lot of fun with the double-decker car carrier.

It's almost time and Nathan is still excited.

Grandpa came to wait with John and I too. Thanks, Dad.

Now we're in the ready room where we get to talk to the anesthesiologist and the surgeon.

There are more toys here!

I told Nathan that it was almost time for the doctor to fix his toes and that they would put a mask over his face and he would go to sleep and when he wakes up his toes will be done. By this time he was even starting to warm up to the nurses instead of being so shy with them.

When they took Nathan into the operating room, my dad, John and I went to the cafeteria for lunch. At registration the nurse had given us a $15 food coupon for lunch and I had a delicious bowl of bourbon steak chili and a refreshing bowl of fruit. The men chose the grilled chicken sandwich platter. It wasn't long after we finished our lunch that the phone rang in the surgical waiting room and we learned that Nathan was in recovery and waking up. I think it was only 45 minutes after we saw him enter the O.R.

Here he is! He is barely awake but not wanting to go back to sleep.
The first thing the nurse offered was a popsicle which he ate in record time. He really likes his blue and green bandages!

Then he showed me his blue tongue before he ate an orange popsicle then a green popsicle followed by chocolate pudding and chocolate graham crackers. I think his appetite was coming back.

After all the snacks we went to the play room and played there for a little while. He even started walking a little on the heels of his feet. Nathan was able to choose a new toy to take home too! He chose a bubble mower. I'm pretty sure it will be his favorite toy for quite a while.

Then Nathan ate an early dinner of chicken nuggets and fries just before we left.

It was a very pleasant day made possible by the caring, helpful, and friendly staff, the cheerful decor, and the generosity of the Shriner's Hospital.

Nathan is feeling great today. He's running and skipping and climbing! If he didn't have bandages on his feet it would be very hard to tell he had surgery yesterday.