Van's First Surgery

On Friday, Van had his surgery to repair his communicating hydrocele. After arriving at the hospital, we first met with the nurse practitioner. Van was asked to change into special hospital pajamas. The nurse checked his vitals and discussed with us the events leading up to surgery. At this point he began to feel a bit unsettled.
Once we finished with the nurse practitioner we walked down the hall to the surgery waiting room. The room was filled with toys, books, and movies. We met with a child life specialist who brought Van actual medical equipment to play with. He was even given a special stuffed doll to color and take with him into the operating room. He chose to ride to the O.R. in a wagon, so he was given some medicine to help settle his nerves during the separation.
Surgery was quick and easy, lasting only thirty minutes. During that time Spencer and I anxiously waited for the doctor's return. He said that everything went well and that Van did great. I was able to go back to the post-op room while he was waking up. Spencer met up with us a few minutes later and we all waited for discharge.
After reviewing the discharge instructions with the nurse, we wheeled Van out of the hospital and took him home. He was given a special blanket and a barf bucket (which was needed once we got home). Van was incredibly brave and took it all in stride. I couldn't have been more proud of him. The very next day he was back to normal, playing and teasing his little brother.