Hayden survived!

Of course our little one came through his surgery with flying colors! We got to the hospital a little before 10 am on Monday. He was able to play along with all the other children who were having surgery that day. Despite not having eaten since the night before and having no water for a few hours, Hayden was in great spirits. He played and cuddled all morning.

The surgery was scheduled for noon, but Hayden didn't go into the OR until close to 1 pm. All the doctors came out to talk with us and explain again what was going to happen. He had a great team of doctors and nurses to care for him. The surgery was over at 3:30 and he was taken into recovery. Jason and I waited with him for close to an hour before he woke up. When he finally did, boy was he mad! He didn't like being hooked up to all the wires and iv and he didn't like the big cup he had on his ear. Once I was able to hold him and he could drink some apple juice, he calmed down. After another apple juice, popsicle and water, we all agreed that he would be okay to go home. They had a room ready for him and we prepared to stay the night, but his vitals were great and he was keeping liquids down, so there wasn't much reason to keep him.

Hayden slept off and on during rush hour traffic home, but was never sick, thank goodness! He slept for several more hours at home as well. He did have a rough night, but I think he was much more comfortable at home than he would have been at the hospital. Finally at 5 am, he had some applesauce and was able to go to sleep again.

We were so proud of Hayden. He was such a trooper and dealt with this so much better than either of us would have. He even kept his bandages on all day yesterday. That actually is a good sign that we won't have a lot of trouble keeping his processor on. Activation day is August 25th which is also the first day of school for Anna and Sydney.

The girls stayed with a friend of ours, Julie, who is also an audiologist with Texas Children's. Anna and Sydney are the same ages as her 2 oldest girls and they all go to school together. It was nice to know they were having fun during this whole experience and we didn't have to worry about them.

Now we face a new set of challenges. Hayden is now, essentially, deaf in his right ear. There is a small chance for some residual hearing, but we won't know that until the swelling goes down and his ear heals. Physical and speech therapy will also change some. He'll also have to learn to keep his processor on all day and relearn to listen and understand sound. He's a smart kid and had hearing prior to this so he's already got a head start. Wish us luck!