Under the Knife...

We made it! Though it just HAD to snow through the night (what happened to the 1-2 inch prediction?), and we left at 5:40 AM because of the weather, we made it in ample time back to Grayson's first "home" - Children's Hospital of St. Paul. Grandma Joyce came with, and Grayson was in a great mood, even with not being allowed to eat or drink. This really surprised me. We did some hospital business with temps, questions, and the like, and Russ took Grayson to a great play area with some of those Little Tykes toddler cars (he LOVED them!). Off to surgery we went at 8 AM - though we had been sad to postpone his surgery to today, it worked out fabulously -we were the only family scheduled till after 10 AM, so we had the run of the place!

I was able to hold our little trooper as they "gassed him" (see the pic) - they have some very creative ways to make kids comfortable, and though it was kind of creepy (when they inhale the gas, they get active, then start breathing in a very odd way), the surgery got started well. Grayson's veins are hard to find (could be hereditary, could be from being a preemie and having IV's as a young child), so he has quite a few war wounds, but he did well. The doctor found on large hernia on the right side, and none on the left, and they used something called "Dermabond" to glue them together - the incisions appear to be covered with clear band-aids that will dissolve over the next 7-10 days. He was a little sick to his tummy afterward, but some apple juice and many crackers helped him out, as well as the gorgeous therapy dog that stopped by (see pic).

We are lucky to not have to keep him too quiet, though we need to watch his dizziness through tomorrow. He's doing sooo very well, and was such a fantastic trooper - we are so proud of him! It's been a long day, but overall, things went even better than I thought they would. We're ready for some peace and quiet, though. By the way, the band-aid is Grayson's attempt to foil our 18 month pics we were on our way to shoot - he had a run in with his rocking chair and ottoman (you can guess who won) - no stitches were needed, though!