Hospital Appointment

Dearest Joshua David~

Hello little man!  Today, you had 'Daddy Day' since daddy took the day off to take you to the doctor's office.  We've known since december that you would have an appointment today for pre-operative tests and then have your surgery on tuesday.  So, daddy took off both days since we weren't sure if I would be able to make it to the appointments.  

You two had to be at DOOK Hospital at 9:15am, so daddy left our house shortly after I did to pick up Mimi on the way.  I helped pack your diaper bag this morning with extra clothes, sippy cups, snacks, food, bottles .... whatever I could think of.  I didn't know if the doctor would be running on time, so I wanted to make sure you had everything just in case. You ended up eating breakfast with Mimi at her house.  

Daddy made sure to leave plenty of time for you all to get to DOOK, as he always manages to get lost when he has to drive in Durham.  Since Mimi had recently had surgery at DOOK, she helped him navigate to the hospital parking lot.  However, after hunting for a parking spot, getting you into your stroller, and finding the hospital entrance, the man at the information desk by the door kindly informed your daddy and Mimi that they were in the completely wrong building!  He pointed out a nearby window to another building several blocks away and said "you'll want to drive over to that building instead."  Why does every building at DOOK have to look the same?  :-P  So, back to the car you all went and a few minutes later you were again hunting for a parking space in another garage.  Mimi and daddy then followed the signs to the Children's hospital and went up to the third floor.  However, they quickly realized something still wasn't right and, after speaking to another information desk person, they were again informed they were in the wrong hospital!  How many hospitals does DOOK need?  Soon you all were hurrying down  a long hallway, taking a left, taking another left, taking a right, and then going down another long hallway.  The dull hospital walls suddenly lit up with color and cartoon characters ... finally, you all had found the Children's hospital.  Good thing daddy left some time, as you all were checking in with the nurse promptly at 9:15!

I, in the meantime, went to work.  I made sure I had all my charts completed and notes written before I left.  Just in case Peanut comes and I didn't make it back to work next week, I wanted to make sure there were no charts still pending.  I was able to get everything done and still make it home at a 'decent' time.  :-P

Once home, daddy filled me in on what went on during the day.  Your surgery is going to be more intense than I thought.  Oh, and your surgery will be in yet another building at DOOK ... one daddy and Mimi did not walk into today, much to their surprise!  We have to be at the hospital 90 minutes before your appointment time, your surgery will take about 90 minutes after that, and then you'll be in a recovery room for about 2 hours.  So, even if things run right on time, we'll be at the hospital for at least 5 hours.  :-P  Plus, we have to keep you hydrated for the surgery, and they gave us a list of things you can and can not have before the surgery.  You'll go home with different prescriptions, and daddy and I will have to monitor you the rest of the day.  The doctor said that you'll likely be groggy all that day and the next.  You may not even feel like yourself until thursday.  :-( 

We won't know what time your appointment is until monday.  On monday, I can call the hospital to see.  I'm hoping it's early since you won't be able to eat a lot before hand.  I also have an OB appointment with Peanut on monday, and we don't know what they're going to say about coming in for a 'planned C-section' at that point.  If they want to put us on the schedule for one, I guess we'll try for something late in the week so we can get through your surgery first.  Next week will be pretty hectic with all this going on, but we'll get through it.  :-)  Mimi and Gigi also have tuesday off in case we need them for anything.  

You and daddy were home by lunch time.  You guys played together in the bonus room and watched the rest of the 'Muppets from Outer Space' movie.  Daddy said you ate a lot of cheerios.  At one point, daddy put music on and he worked on some things for the soccer team.  You just bobbed along to the songs while playing with your toys. :-)

Daddy and I ate a late dinner of leftovers.  I then took shower and daddy played you some songs on the banjo.  After, we watched some television and relaxed in the bonus room.  You eventually feel asleep on a pillow.  :-)

Tomorrow you and I can relax.  Daddy will go to work, but hopefully he can come home early so we can all be together.  

Sleep tight little miracle!

I love you!

~Mommy