Admission and Surgery

Today was the big day.

At 5:30 AM, we rode with Melissa's parents, the Byroms, to the emergency room entrance of the Riley Hospital for Children. After walking through long hallways and going up the glass elevator, we arrived at the 2nd floor Day Surgery area where we registered. At 6:00 sharp, large doors swung open and we were escorted down a hallway to a surgery prep room. Jacqueline, who worked in the surgery area, double-checked Myla's medical information, took her blood pressure, and measured her. She later brought the smallest surgery gown the hospital had, which looked like this when modeled by Myla. Dr. Fred Rescorla, the pediatric surgeon who would install the central line, came in to chat with us about the risks to the procedure--punctured lungs, clotting of the veins--lots of things that we didn't really want to think about. Meanwhile, a monitor in the hallway tracked the preparation steps in countdown to Myla's surgery. When the inevitable could be delayed no longer, Melissa handed off Myla to a nurse, who then whisked Myla down the hallway and out of sight. Thankfully, Myla didn't cry.

Well, there wasn't much else to do but wait and pray. We headed to the 3rd floor waiting area to await updates on the surgery. At a little past 11AM, we got the call to head to the Recovery Room where we saw Myla for the first time after surgery. During surgery, someone had removed Myla's socks and made them into a ball.

A nurse escorted us to our new home on the 5th floor. Christina gave Myla some morphine to help control the pain while Mandy came in to check on Myla. Myla was also given her first blood transfusion. Her chemo, the transfusions, and a bunch of other liquids all run through this Aleris PC Pump. Additional Pump Modules can be added to this unit. I've seen some kids on the cancer floor who have 5 times the amount of this equipment mounted to their poles.

To provide a diversion, I took Raul Matthew to the atrium of the hospital to attend a Fall Party sponsored by the Hat World and Lids companies. Raul Matthew had fun playing a toss game and decorating a hat. During craft time later in the afternoon, he also made a scarecrow.

We headed back to the Ronald McDonald House where Raul Matthew fell asleep on the Select Comfort bed given to the house. His sleep number: 5.