An Eventful Night

I've been trying to decide how to start this story all day. I think I've got it: God is good! He is faithful! He is with us through everything!

As you know from my last post, Coleman was scheduled for surgery to repair his hernia on February 23. I just called and canceled that surgery. He woke up last night around 9:00 in a lot of pain. When we realized he was hurting and looked at the area where his hernia was, it was bulging dramatically. Brian immediately called Texas Children's Hospital and talked to a surgeon. He was told that Coleman's hernia had become incarcerated (intestines had dropped down and were trapped) and he needed to try and push them back in place. When this happens, they are concerned about the intestines becoming strangulated and dying, which results in them having to remove the damaged bowels. (I am so non-medical that I hope this is all correct and makes sense.) As Brian tried to push the intestines back, Coleman was screaming at the top of his lungs. The surgeon, still on the phone, heard that it did not work and told us to come to the ER and she would meet us. We called our friend Leanne and asked if she could stay with Spence. Thank you Leanne! You were a life saver! We were headed out to Texas Children's Hospital around 9:30 p.m.

We arrived at 10:00, took advantage of the valet parking, and headed into the super crowded ER. After about 20 minutes the surgeon met us and took Coleman back to a triage room and tried to push the intestines back in place unsuccessfully. We were moved back to a room and told Coleman would get an IV and some morphine. He was in excruciating pain. The nurse and an assistant, who looked like his other job was a bouncer at a night club, came in to start the IV. The bouncer asked if we were going to be OK watching this. "Uh, yes. You try to get me to leave this room!" were my thoughts, but I just nodded. I was so proud of Coleman as he laid super still while the nurse inserted the IV. I truly expected someone involved in the process to leave our room with a bloody nose, but he was an angel. The IV was in, and he was calm, so they did not start the morphine yet.

A little later another surgeon, Dr. Olutoye, came in to take a look. We thought he was going to give Coleman some morphine and then try to push the intestines back in place. However, he just started pushing. Coleman was screaming and Brian was holding his arms. Coleman finally said, "Let go of my arms! I'm not going to hit him!" And he laid so still and just sobbed. Brian and I started crying too. The surgeon was unable to push the intestines back, and he was concerned about the risk of strangulation, so he told us we'd be going to surgery in a few hours. Another nurse came in and gave Coleman some morphine, he immediately threw up, and then was able to rest. A nurse told us that there were 5 surgeries ahead of us and then all the ones scheduled for Friday, so it would probably be Friday afternoon before he was taken back.

Then around 2:00 a.m. we were moved to another room and the surgery was explained to us. We found out that Coleman's surgery was high enough priority to get pushed ahead of most of the others and he would be going back shortly. There was just too much risk in letting the intestines stay trapped. I had prepared myself that Coleman would be having surgery, but now there was the added risk of damaged intestines that would have to be removed. He became more lucid as he came off the morphine, so we were able to talk with him and explain what was going to happen. He was concerned with how he would wake up after the surgery. His monkey Berkman was going to go back to surgery with him, but he was upset that Daddy and I couldn't go. He started crying, but the anesthesiologist quickly gave him his sedation and he was out. It was so hard to watch them wheel him back for surgery and then be led to a waiting room. I was struggling to be at peace with all this. I kept thinking about parents of critically sick kids who deal situations like this all the time. I cannot imagine. I looked around at the two other sets of parents in the waiting room and wondered what their situations were. Brian and I sat and prayed, then we tried to rest. I laid on the tiny sofa repeating over and over, "God, You are in control. Coleman is in Your hands." We had been told that it would be about an hour.

At 5:45 they came and got us to go see Coleman. The surgery had been successful and there was no damage to the intestines! He slept for a little longer. After he drank some Gatorade and ate a popsicle and kept it all down, we were discharged. We left about 9:00 a.m.

God worked everything out so amazingly. What a blessing to live so close to a children's hospital where Coleman was treated by a children's surgeon and a children's anesthesiologist. I even think the age Coleman is and the point I am in my pregnancy were ideal for going through this. I am so glad that the surgery is behind us. Now we're on to recovery! Please keep us in your prayers. I'm not quite sure what to expect for the next few days, but I know we'll make it!

Here is a picture of Texas Children's Hospital. I thought Grandma and Grandpa might want to see where Coleman was.