Surgery #4 - We're All Done!

This post is a little late, but we've been a tad bit busy (to say the least). Eli had his 4th and final surgery the week of Thanksgiving. We went in on Monday to prep his colon. We were told to arrive at noon, but unfortunately the ball didn't get rolling until about 4 PM. The nurses gave Eli his IV, inserted an NG tube, and put on a colostomy bag in preparation for his cleanse. Around 5:00, he was given a laxative called go lightly to flush out his intestines. It took 4 hours and let's just say we went through 2 colostomy bags in less than 20 minutes and I was glad the hospital was supplying the diapers. After that he received an enema for the lower portion of his bowel that was connected to the non-functioning stoma. I was nervous when the nurse asked me to hold him on his side, but not only did Eli not mind the enema, he actually smiled and laughed throughout it - go figure. During both prep procedures, he was given antibiotics and then he was given oral antibiotics throughout the night. Unfortunately, there were two medicines that were supposed to be given simultaneously, but the pharmacy didn't get the 2nd medicine until later so he got started on the first, got started on the 2nd an hour later, and then ended up having to take medicine every 2 hours throughout the night because he needed 4 doses of each.

Tuesday morning he had the surgery to reconnect his bowel and close the stomas. The surgery took about 1 1/2 hours and went really well. When we went to see him in recovery, he had already fallen back asleep and was resting comfortably. Once he woke up, we only stayed in recovery for about 20 minutes before they wheeled us back up to the room. Eli fell asleep shortly after our return and when he woke up later in the afternoon, he was already smiling again. He was given a strong pain medicine right after surgery but after that he only needed Tylenol to control his pain. He was taking the Tylenol every 4 hours for about 36 hours after surgery, then took a couple more doses spaced about 6 hours apart, and was completely off the pain meds by the time we took him home Thursday afternoon. He continues to amaze us at how quickly he recovers from these surgeries.

We were told that it might take a couple days for his intestines to wake up from the anaesthesia and start working again, but he was already having gas gurgles by Tuesday night. Wednesday morning they removed the NG tube and he pooped for the first time shortly thereafter. I was able to start breastfeeding him again Wednesday afternoon and at that point the nurses were mentioning that we might even be able to take him home the following day. We were very excited but didn't want to get our hopes up because we thought that the earliest we would be able to go home was Friday. Sure enough though, when his surgeon came by on Thursday, he said "Is Eli still here?". We certainly had a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!

After coming home, the worst issues we had to deal with were severe diaper rash from his diarhea (that was expected since he's never used his colon before and he was on major antibiotics) and trying to get his sleep schedule readjusted to being home. Last week was rough with upwards of 20 diaper changes a day for those first few days back and several nights of only getting 3-4 hours of sleep. But I'm happy to say that the diarhea is now gone, he's pooping like most babies, his diaper rash is almost completely healed (he's just a little pink), and we're all getting a little more sleep.

Chris and I are so thankful that we've had such great doctors through all of this, that we've received so much love and support from our family and friends, and that Eli has been such a little trooper. It's not only amazing how quickly he's recovered physically but that he continues to smile through all the trauma and still be such a fun and happy baby.

Eli on Monday after being returned by the nurses but before the cleanse began.

Sleeping peacefully in his room, post-surgery on Tuesday.

Awake from his post-surgery nap and already smiling and playing.

So happy to have his NG tube out on Wednesday.

Ready to go home - Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy to be home and playing with Colin.

Battle scar!