Surgery

JayC had his shoulder surgery on Wednesday! (Yes, it finally happened!) I guess it's really not a great thing to have surgery, but we are just excited that it's finally overwith and that now he can begin the recovery process. We drove up to Travis Air Force Base (a 3 hour drive) on Tuesday night to stay the night at the hotel on base (very nice for super cheap!) and then got up early the next morning to get to the hospital to check in for his surgery. It was supposed to happen at 10am, but it ended up they didn't get him in for surgery until around 11:30-ish. We kissed good-bye and Connell and I watched him walk away. I had to blink back some tears, because it suddenly hit me that something terrible could go wrong during the surgery and this could be the last time I see him alive. Terrible thoughts, I know, and not very likely for a simple shoulder surgery, but I'm only human and worse things happen everyday! So I tried to keep Connell entertained by wandering around the huge hospital and then I cleaned out the car and vacuumed it at a nearby car wash while we were waiting. Finally, after bugging the nurses to find out if he was done yet many times, at around 4-ish his doctor came out to talk to me. He told me the surgery went well and that JayC was just waking up. He explained to me how we should care for his shoulder and patiently answered my many questions. I was impressed that he sat down with me and was so patient. I have always had the impression that doctors could care less about their patients, and especially their patient's family, but I was very impressed with JayC's doctor. He helped me not be so nervous. Another half hour or so later, they wheeled him out of the recovery room and we got to go be in the next room with him. Connell had gone to sleep in his stroller by this time, so that was good timing. JayC was pretty groggy for awhile as the nurses checked his vitals and put the ice pack on his shoulder. He woke up a little bit more and was having a hard time breathing, so they put him on oxygen. They did an X-ray just to make sure everything was okay with his lungs, and it turns out that the nerve block they gave him before the surgery had paralyzed his right lung, so he was only breathing out of his left lung. I guess it's pretty common, but it scared JayC (and me) since he couldn't breathe very easily. As the block wore off a little more, he found it easier to breathe, and they were able to wean him off the oxygen. After he was able to walk around a little bit and urinate, we finally got to leave to drive the 3 hours home again. What a relief! The nerve block wore off at 3 or 4 in the morning, and JayC was surprised at how bearable the pain was. He's now taking Vicodin every 4 to 6 hours to control the pain, but it's a lot better than he thought it would be. Thank goodness! He can do most things by himself, except getting dressed, so my job is also easier than I expected! We're thankful that everything has turned out so well and I know we're being watched over. I pray for a speedy recovery.

Today I took JayC to his first physical therapy appointment. They took off his big bandages and put on bandaids to cover the holes from surgery. Here are some pictures of what his shoulder looks like right now. (And for those of you who didn't know JayC has a tattoo, now you know!)