Resting

Mason's surgery finished at about 4:30 today and then was taken to the PICU. We spoke with Dr. Smith who said the surgery went well and then at 5:00 we were able to see Mason.

He is still intubated (on the ventilator) and will be for the rest of the night. The docs left him intubated because of the sedation and pain meds which can sometimes cause kiddos after surgery to not breath deep and efficiently (especially kiddos with Mason's history).

The plan is to extubate in the morning after he gets a good night's rest.

For the most part he is doing well. The docs are just trying to find the "happy" dose of pain and anxiety meds. A couple times tonight it was very sad for me to see him try to ask for something, but couldn't talk because of the breathing tube, so tears would run from his sweet little eyes. And I'm sure some of tears are also due to being uncomfortable. I would be uncomfortable with two incisions in my back!!! As I said, they are trying to find the "happy" amount and combination of meds....which isn't always an easy task with Mason. He is very pain med resistant.

For those of you haven't followed Mason for the last few months, today Mason had the Vertical Expandable Prosthetic Titanium Rib or the VEPTR placed in his back. And this is because of his scoliosis that continued to get worse over the last 6 months. Poor little guy hasn't been through enough right??!! The major concern was that the curve (of 75%) was going into his only good lung and would sooner than later start to affect his pulmonary output. We also hope this will help him feel better balanced and have more confidence and strength in his walking. 

Here is a picture (3 x-rays put together) of Mason's new hardware:

 

top of Mason's spine 






















I think he'll give the airport security a run for their money the next time we fly anywhere!!


Thanks for your continued prayers this day and throughout the rest of Mason's recovery. I will update again tomorrow. Good Night!