The angel of sleep in the hospital
Thanks to everyone for their words of support. They helped me so much.
I went with Hermione who was an angel in every way a dog can be. She waited patiently with us while we waited. She lay perfectly content and quiet unattended while I went into the OR and held Little T's hand. They had a "hall monitor" to watch Hermione who took a nap. She knew what her job was and helpfully extended a paw past the door so I knew she was still there.
Otherwise all the other hospital staff were kind and unperturbed by a dog. Carly this golden retriever service dog kept being mentioned or was Carly the human? Anyway the idea of a dog in the preop room and recovery room was accepted with the same calm Hermione brought me.
We tried no pre-anesthesia this time. Risk blah. The anesthesiologist who was German tried to compare it to the risk of driving here. Not helpful after I attended CCI class with a quad who was in a car accident. I thought of the autobahn and I stopped listening. Then I asked "What's the difference between pre-anesthesia and no pre-anesthesia?" The patient relaxes more. In other words...nothing for Little T. He just complains he feels dizzy and is NOT relaxed.
The only difference I could see is that Little T struggled for 5 seconds longer under the gas mask. The 5 seconds cost me..oh god that sight never gets any easier.. but to him they were nothing I'm sure.
Back to Hermione. She walked with me and helped me notice my left knee was locking up dystonically so I did not walk on it a lot as I wanted to do. Instead we sat outside in the sun. And she took a nap. Seeing her sleeping comforted me. It allowed me to think of sleeping as not a terrifying thing.
Head and left arm scanning take a long time-- 2.5 hours. We got some food and I ranted about dogs while Hermione snoozed on. C wanted to read but took a clue that I needed to rant.
We had the same buzzer with lights as you get in a restaurant. I am sure there's something witty one could say. Finally the buzzer rang. We raced upstairs just in time to see Little T wake up. I squestered Hermione in a corner where she lay patiently waiting while we fussed over Little T.
He complained "my arm hurts" and "take it off" about the IV on his hand. I sympathized while marvelling that he could speak so articulately. Though his voice was hoarse from the gas. I marveled at the miracle of my son alive and vital after losing the struggle with the mask. Then we got home and he start whining at C about making beer bread. He whines ten times more with C and I lost patience and went upstairs. I'm no angel.
I went with Hermione who was an angel in every way a dog can be. She waited patiently with us while we waited. She lay perfectly content and quiet unattended while I went into the OR and held Little T's hand. They had a "hall monitor" to watch Hermione who took a nap. She knew what her job was and helpfully extended a paw past the door so I knew she was still there.
Otherwise all the other hospital staff were kind and unperturbed by a dog. Carly this golden retriever service dog kept being mentioned or was Carly the human? Anyway the idea of a dog in the preop room and recovery room was accepted with the same calm Hermione brought me.
We tried no pre-anesthesia this time. Risk blah. The anesthesiologist who was German tried to compare it to the risk of driving here. Not helpful after I attended CCI class with a quad who was in a car accident. I thought of the autobahn and I stopped listening. Then I asked "What's the difference between pre-anesthesia and no pre-anesthesia?" The patient relaxes more. In other words...nothing for Little T. He just complains he feels dizzy and is NOT relaxed.
The only difference I could see is that Little T struggled for 5 seconds longer under the gas mask. The 5 seconds cost me..oh god that sight never gets any easier.. but to him they were nothing I'm sure.
Back to Hermione. She walked with me and helped me notice my left knee was locking up dystonically so I did not walk on it a lot as I wanted to do. Instead we sat outside in the sun. And she took a nap. Seeing her sleeping comforted me. It allowed me to think of sleeping as not a terrifying thing.
Head and left arm scanning take a long time-- 2.5 hours. We got some food and I ranted about dogs while Hermione snoozed on. C wanted to read but took a clue that I needed to rant.
We had the same buzzer with lights as you get in a restaurant. I am sure there's something witty one could say. Finally the buzzer rang. We raced upstairs just in time to see Little T wake up. I squestered Hermione in a corner where she lay patiently waiting while we fussed over Little T.
He complained "my arm hurts" and "take it off" about the IV on his hand. I sympathized while marvelling that he could speak so articulately. Though his voice was hoarse from the gas. I marveled at the miracle of my son alive and vital after losing the struggle with the mask. Then we got home and he start whining at C about making beer bread. He whines ten times more with C and I lost patience and went upstairs. I'm no angel.