Here they are, details of the Tingster's surgery on December 12:
2:30 am - I was up and awake. Could not fall back asleep. The Tingster is snoozing like a baby next to me in my bed. I toss and turn, and finally turn on the bedside light and try to read a mind-numbing Harlequin romance. It usually knocks me out after just 2-3 pages. This entire week, however, nothing could put me to sleep. So I watch some telly until it's time to get up and get ready.
4 am - I tiptoe downstairs, turn on the laptop, and answer some emails for work that came in from Asia / Europe overnight. At least it takes my mind off of things.
4:45 am - I go back upstairs to get ready for the day.
5:15 am - I wake up the Tingster. She is grumpy, as usual. I tell her it's the day for her surgery and she leaps out of bed in a single bound. Crazy kid. Albino is awake as well and he helps to dress her.
5:30 am - I head downstairs with the Tingster. Albino puts our stuff in the car while TingTing dances around as if she's going to a party.
5:40 am - We leave the house. The traffic is non-existent. It should be like this everytime I leave the house.
5:55 am - We pull into the parking garage at the hospital. The Tingster has talked / sang the entire way to the hospital. She talks the entire way from the parking garage to the hospital.
6 am - We check in at patient registration. There are already other patients there, waiting to be called to register. We take a seat and wait.
6:20 am - The Tingster has a bloody nose. We rush to the bathroom and clean it up. Gotta love the dry air in those hospitals.
6:40 am - We are still waiting to be called. I am about to blow my lid. If they were not going to register us until after 6:30 am, why did they tell us to show up at 6 am? I had to drag a kid out of bed at 5:15 in the morning so we could sit and wait for 45 minutes? Unbelievable.
6:45 am - We are finally called to register. The process takes no more than 10 minutes. We are directed to the surgical waiting area.
6:55 am - We arrive at the surgical waiting area, and in less than two minutes, a nurse comes out and calls us to the back. This is time. No turning back.
7 am - We are taken to the holding area in the surgical section and shown into a little "room". TingTing sits in the big, patient chair and I stand next to her. Then the line of visitors commences. First was an anasthesiologist, who explains what they will do. Then comes another anasthesiologist, the one who will actually be in the room with the Tingster. He explains that they will try to administer the anasthesia via mask first, but if that doesn't work (since she's a kid and may not be able to breathe properly via the mask), they'll then need to administer it intravenously. He tells the Tingster that if the mask doesn't work, he will put some "magic lotion" on her arm that will numb any feeling in that area, and then stick a needle in her. He assures her the "magic lotion" will not allow her to feel any pain. She is intrigued. He then leaves and an orderly shows up with the Tingster's gown and some red socks for her feet so they stay warm. I help her change.
7:15 am - The anasthesiologist returns with a cherry-scented anastehsia mask for the Tingster to try out. If she can breathe properly through that contraption, then there is no need for the "magic lotion" and no need for the needle. The Tingster takes one sniff of the mask and falls in love. I spend the next 30 minutes trying to dissuade her from getting high on the cherry scent emanating from the mask.
7:20 am - The physician's assistant shows up and goes over certain procedures with us. After that, the RN who will be in the operating room with the Tingster comes and introduces herself. I think a third anasthesiologist also shows up there somewhere, but I can't be sure. I met so many people that morning, and they all looked the same, what with their scrubs and caps and booties on. I would not be able to recognize them in their street clothes at all.
7:30 am - Dr. Bennett, the man of the hour, shows up. He goes over the procedure with us, marks the Tingster's foot, and answers some questions. This is it. The RN returns with a white jumpsuit for me and some booties. We are ready to go.
7:45 am - The anasthesiologist and the RN escort the Tingster and me to Operating Room #11. We walk down several corridors, past other O.R.s. I can see through the windows on the doors at the ongoing surgeries. There are quite a few doctors and nurses standing in the corridor, chatting or taking care of work. When they see the Tingster coming down the hall, in her gown, her cap and red socks, they all ooh and ahh and fawn over her. You'd think the Queen of England was there.
7:50 am - We enter the Operating Room. It is HUGE. There are about six people in there, waiting for us, including Dr. Bennett, who was doing something on the computer (playing solitaire?). They all welcome the Tingster with cheer and gusto, like she was a hero returning from war. They walk her over to the O.R. table, and that's when she shows the first sign of hesitation all day. The table is surrounded by tons of equipment - most of them flashing or beeping -- and it is very high up. The anasthesiologist picks her up, talking to her the entire time. They place her in a sitting position on the table and wrap a warm blanket around her immediately. She doesn't look scared, but interested in everything that is going on around her. Everyone is talking to her and so she feels as if she is among friends, I guess. Once she is comfortable in that position, the doctor encourages her to lie down and place her head on a little doughnut-shaped pillow. She does so with no problem. I then hold her hand as they slowly place the mask over her nose and mouth. I kiss her and tell her that I love her very much. She takes a few deep breaths, and she is out. I promptly burst into tears. The RN leads me out of the room. I go back to the holding area and change out of the white jumpsuit and go back out to the surgical waiting area.
8 am - Albino is there to meet me. I want to sit and wait, but he insists we go and have some breakfast at the cafeteria. So we go. It is a good idea, since we talk and I feel more relaxed.
8:40 am - We return to the surgical waiting area. I try to read some magazines, but they are all really lame. Besides, our minds were on other things ...
9:35 am - I start to panic. Dr. Bennett has said the surgery would take 90 minutes at the most if all went well. It was already 90 minutes. Does this mean there were complications? I start to pace.
9:45 am - Albino starts to freak out as well, although he is more subtle than I am.
9:55 am - Dr. Bennett emerges and he looks calm and collected. We both breathe sighs of relief. He explains what he did -- He made three incisions in the Tingster's right foot: one on the outside of the back of her foot to scrape at the soft tissue and reshape to how it's supposed to be; another in her heel to cut away at tendons since they were so tight and were limiting mobility; and the last one in her instep, where he inserted a screw that will hold the newly shaped foot in place for the next three months. Ouch, ouch and triple ouch. Dr. Bennett tells us everything went well and she is currently in a recovery room. She is still out, but a nurse will come to get us and take us back soon. We thank him profusely - I fight a ridiculous feeling to grab his neck and give him a big ol' sloppy smooch on his cheek.
10 am - A nurse comes out and beckons us to follow him. During the pre-op interview, they had told us only one parent could be with her in the recovery room. But the nurse lets both of us back there. Albino is very happy.
10:02 am - We see the Tingster, lying in her bed, tubes sticking out of her, a giant dressing on her right foot, hair all wild and crazy on her pillow. But she looks peaceful, and we are so ecstatic to see her. She is sleeping peacefully. We are told that she will come out of anasthesia in about one hour. We prepare to wait with no complaints.
10:15 am - The Tingster opens her eyes. She takes a couple of weary looks around. Albino and I greet her with enthusiasm. She promptly grunts and flips the blanket over her head and goes back to sleep. Yup, the same old TingTing!
10:20-10:50 am - The Tingster continues to open and close her eyes periodically. When she talks for the first time, her words are: "My foot hurts!" She is thirsty, and her breath is horrible, so the nurse gets some juice for her, which she sips through a straw and keeps down with no problem. She continues to complain about her foot, so the nurse calls. Dr. Bennett and he orders 1 mg of morphine for her. During this time, the anasthesiologist stops by twice to check on her. The first time, he produces a tiny Tupperware-like container that contains the Tingster's loose tooth (bottom front tooth). It was extremely wiggly and they had pulled it to prevent her from accidentally swallowing it during surgery. Not only is the tooth inside the container, but the anasthesiologist had also inserted two dollar bills, courtesy of the "Tooth Fairy" (wink wink). He is a super nice guy and I hope we see him again for the Tingster's surgery on her left foot in March. Dr. Bennett also stops by a few times to see how she is doing. By 10:45 am, she is pretty much completely awake and stable, and the nurse calls the pediatric ward to arrange a room for her.
10:55 am - We wheel the Tingster to her room in the pediatric ward. The surgery is over. The recovery period now begins.
