Another successful surgery!!

Things went well today!! The surgery did take a bit longer than they had originally thought, which was a little concerning for us, but the surgeon said that everything went well. He did have a hernia in both cavities and they were successful in fixing both and did not disrupt the blood flow to the testicles. The NICU doctor who examined him after the surgery said that his lower abdomen sounds much more relaxed than before (via a stethoscope). This would make sense as they were able to take two hairpin turns out of the intestines...I would imagine things will "flow" a little easier now. Max was not too keen on the whole moving process from his bed to the transport setup, which is quite a maneuver. As you all know, Max has a lot of hardware, and it all needs to be either switched to a portable device or wheeled right along with the transport isolette. Kate and I got to the hospital early so we could sing and pray with him before he got wheeled away, but the nurses put us right to work. I ended up pushing his cart to the holding room because EVERY nurse in the NICU is pregnant right now and on weight restrictions. Seriously...there is something in the water at that place. I wish we would have know that prior to the fertility treatments!! I took a picture of the setup required to move him down to the holding room for surgery:

Can you find the baby in the picture above?

Thank-you to everyone who prayed for not only Max, but the surgeons, the nurses and Kate and I. We had some jitters because surgery is always a big deal, and it is a much bigger deal with baby who has had to put more effort into living in 15+ weeks than I have in 28+ years. But after they wheeled Max in for surgery there was a calm that only comes from God. Kate actually went back up the NICU to be with Wes and because they wheel Max right back to the nursery for recovery. I stayed in the waiting room on the surgical floor so that I could talk with the doctor afterwards. Like I said, the surgery lasted longer than we had thought, so I ended up drinking 4 1/2 cups of hospital coffee and doing about 19 crossword puzzles. I did have some smelly neighbors and overheard some very frank talk about a hysterectomy, but I got a chance to talk to the surgeon after the procedure, so after some therapy it will all have been worth it.

Max is recovering well. His oxygen needs are back in the 45% range from about 70% earlier today, and he did have a few small poops so they were able to get his feedings started again tonight which they were very pleased about.

We did get some new information on Wes today too, but you will have to stay tuned for that because I am going to bed.