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I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14

Carter's "BIG" Surgery 4/11/13



Yesterday, Carter had the surgery we have been waiting for since the day he was born. The surgery went great.  The surgery ended around 5 o'clock.  We waited for an hour and a half before I asked the receptionist to check on Carter.  She told me to wait 10 minutes and then we could go back to the PICU to see him.  We waited the longest 10 minutes that we have ever waited.  We anxiously walked through the PICU doors and started looking for room 30.  When we arrived to room 30, I was not sure if we were in the right room.  There were 5 nurses and a team of Doctors surrounding Carter's bed.  His face was red, he had tears pouring down his cheeks, and his arms were restrained down to the bed.  His legs were still in traction wrapped straight with the braces and then taped together so he could not bend them.  He still had his external fixators.  He was fighting the ventilator with all of his might.  When Brandon and I walked in, all eyes turned to us.  I immediately said "He is in pain! We need to do something about it!" They told me they had given him the maximum amount of Morphine they could give and they had given him almost the maximum amount of a lot of other sedatives and narcotics.  He was not responding to any of them.  I happily told them he was not going to stay like he was.  They agreed and asked me what I wanted to do.  They ended up giving Carter a lot more pain medication and I laid my face over the top of his face until he calmed down.  Carter stayed in pain for about another hour, he was calm but still in pain.  He was still fighting the ventilator and gagging over and over on the breathing tube.  They suctioned the breathing tube, and it caused him to gag again.  This led to him vomiting large amounts of old blood over and over.  I suctioned his mouth and even suctioned down his throat to make sure he was not going to aspirate again.  We all knew what needed to be done.  Carter had to come off the ventilator.  It was going to be a matter of time before he vomited and aspirated again.  So they got to work and started pushing Carter's lungs, they even gave him reversal drugs to help quickly reverse the paralytic drugs he had been given in surgery.  Around 3 am they took the breathing tube out.  Carter immediately stopped gagging and tried to relax.  It took all night to finally figure out what drugs would keep him sedated the best.  I think we are finally on the right track.  He is being given a lot of medication right now because they do not want him moving at all.  He has a lot of surgical incisions and any movement could cause them to come open and the surgery to fail.  The goal for the next few days is to keep him completely sedated, and to allow his body to rest and heal.

As you can imagine both Brandon and myself were ready to pick Carter up and take him out of the PICU.  The PICU here is really intense.  We are ready for him to go to the Urology floor.  The Urology floor is very familiar with children that have Carter's condition.  The nurses never have more than 2 patients, and they are well trained to take care of his needs. Carter is in a private room in the PICU now although there are several bright lights that must stay on 24/7, and it is extremely loud.  Thankfully Brandon and I were both able to stay overnight with Carter.  We are extremely thankful they have involved us in all of his care.  Neither one of us got much sleep, if any last night.  We have spent most of the day trying to nap and taking turns sitting by Carter's side.  He wants his hand held or his head rubbed.  He is scared and just wants to make sure we are there.  This has been the worst surgery yet.  Every inch of his body has a bruise, a dressing or a drain coming out of it.  My heart hurts so much to see him in so much pain.  He is sedated enough to not move or open his eyes, but he is here(coherent) enough to know exactly what we are saying.  I told him his puppies were ready to see him and he smiled and tried to open his eyes to look for them.  He is so sweet.  

The short-term plan is to get Carter comfortable and on a medicine(pain) regimen that can be continued on the Urology floor. We aren't sure if this will take another day, two days, or even weeks. We don't want to push him, but these are not ideal accommodations for any of us. Brandon and I have been at the bedside every second since the surgery. The nurses have trusted us enough to allow the restraints to come off of his hands along as one of us is sitting next to him. Brandon and I have traded off holding his hand and rubbing his head. There isn't much room for anything in this new "abode" because it is set up to handle any and every emergency situation. We are blessed to be here and the nurses have been great, but we are ready to move on. 

We are so thankful for each and every prayer for our family.  Carter is extremely sick, so please keep them coming! As with any situation our family encounters TO GOD BE THE GLORY! 

11 comments:

  1. Better Days Will Come, Hopefully the worst is over and on the mend.

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  2. My heart aches for you. Carter has been through so much in his short life (more than most of us will ever experience). God bless all of you for your faith and love that keeps you strong.

    I pray God grant Carter healing rest and relief from pain. That He give you comfort and rest also. And that He continues to guide Carter's doctors and caregivers. Amen

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  3. The Hatcher Family - Dandridge, TNApril 11, 2013 at 10:34 PM

    I'm continuously amazed at your faith and strength, I look forward to your posts and send prayers and well wishes for your precious boy! God Bless.

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  4. May the good Lord guide you through this journey and keep you strong. May he watch over Carter and keep him safe.

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  5. Praying for healing and no pain for your sweet baby. And rest for you and Brandon. I know this is hard on You and Brandon. I am so inspired by your continued strength and faith. God has a plan for sweet Carter. Thoughts & prayers and BIG HUGS for all of you!!

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  6. Praying so much for sweet baby Carter to be healed and to be pain free. He is so sweet and it makes me cry to know he is hurting so much. I hope today will be a better day. I pray for strengh and peace for you and Brandon as I know ya'll are exhausted. May God's love and peace surround ya'll today. Sending Love to ya'll from MS.

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  7. Praying for a restful day for Carter and you all. Praying that God keeps Carter in his arms all day so he does not feel any pain.

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  8. God bless your family, I cannot imagine going through the heartache of seeing my child in such pain and struggle. I pray that God heals Carter & eases his pain, as well as your entire family for having to see him deal with such.

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  9. Father I pray for this precious child that I know is in your hands. I pray for healing I pray for his pain. Please heal his little body. We know You are in control. Please be with his parents that they can have Your strength to continue. Let them feel Your presence and give them peace that can only come from You.

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  10. I've been praying for him all day.

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  11. Praying for the healing to begin....sooner. And praise God that the surgery is over!

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