Surgeries... complete!

Rocco and Matteo's surgeries went very well on Monday. No complications! Hooray!

This was our schedule:
* 5:30am: Leave home
* 6am: Check-in
* 7am: Pre-surgery exam, vitals & anesthesia consult
* 7:45am: Matteo anesthesia
* 8am: Matt surgery
* 8:10am: Rocco nebulizer
* 8:20am: Rocco anesthesia
* 8:30am: Matt in recovery
* 8:45am: Rocco surgery
* 9am: Matt wakes up... angry... VERY angry.
* 9:15am: Rocco in recovery
* 9:45am: Rocco wakes up. Confused. Still drugged. Fussy.
* 10:55: Swing by my office to say hello to my coworkers and show them how big the boys have gotten
* 11:30am: Leave for home
* 12noon: Arrive home

Dr. C said that both surgeries went very well. They found that Matteo had a lot of fluid build-up in both ears... which probably would have led to another double ear infection. Sadly, the little guy has been on meds since last week for another ear infection anyway. Then, he said they found Rocco to have an active double ear infection (argh!)... which we didn't know about prior to the surgery. Definitely explains his moodyness on Monday and Sunday. It's almost as if the boys had gotten so used to being sick with ear infections that they didn't really know life differently. Pain = normal. Poor little guys!

I wasn't nervous during the surgeries. Probably because I was busy juggling between the two boys. I didn't really have time to think about complications or issues. I was a bit anxious about the anesthesia. But overall... my goal was to just make it through the morning without my kids a) going crazy because they were hungry or b) destroying every room we entered. They LOVE to push buttons, pull cords, etc. It's NOT easy having two very busy boys in high-tech hospital rooms!

Both boys received a valium-like drug to relax them. It was meant to help keep them calm when they were taken from mommy and brought into the OR to get their general anesthesia. Matteo was taken back before I got to see him impacted too much by the valium-like medication. He just got real cuddly and was perfectly fine when they took him from me. VERY unlike Matt. He's a bit of a momma's boy and would otherwise have screamed his head off. Rocco, on the other hand... wow... I got to see him very *valiumized*... and he was truly FUNNY! He was high-fiving people left and right, playing with his nebulizer, flirting with all the female nurses... smiling SO BIG for them and being the ultimate charmer. He had a hard time even sitting up straight so I mostly held him. He was just plain goofy and funny.

Recovery was the most difficult part of the entire process. Matteo was really upset when he was trying to wake up from the anesthesia. The nurses warned us that this would happen and was normal. But he was so upset that I couldn't calm him down and couldn't hold him because he was literally trying to jump out of my arms. Rocco had a much easier time in recovery. He was definitely confused, abnormally fussy and very off-balance.

The worst part of the entire experience was when poor little Rox threw up ALL OVER himself and the car seat on the way home. I'm sure it was a combination of the ear infections, anesthesia and the car ride. I felt so bad for the little man. Sniff... sniff.

Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera (can you believe it?!) along with us on this adventure. So, the quality of the photos isn't that great since they were taken with my Blackberry. But... I thought my little guys looked darling in their hospital outfits!