The Surgery was a Success

Obviously I haven't written on this blog for a week now. There is a very good reason for this; Dion had his surgery on Friday. I would like to announce that everything was a success.

Dion's doctor's have said that he is healing up very quickly and they are convinced he will make a full recovery. The rest of the blog will relay a bit of the time line on what has happened so far and for that reason it will be quite lengthy.

2 Mar
05:00
We had to be at the hospital early because they wanted to get everything done on that day rather then put him in the hospital early, so needless to say we were very tired.

07:00

They rolled Dion into the O.R. His surgeons nurse advised that there would be several hours of prep work that would take place so the surgery wouldn't start until around 10:00. They had several I.V's and Art (Arterial) Lines to put in. They put him to sleep a couple of minutes after going into the O.R so he didn't feel any of it.

10:00
The nurse called out to the waiting room to let us know that the doctor made the first incision. My wife almost lost it because the reality of her baby having surgery on his heart finally set in. I took a long walk while listening to my iPod as an effort to maintain. Being a man means I have to stay strong for my family but at the same time the thought of my little boy being on that table hurt my heart to the core.

Dion had a large representation in that waiting room, in fact a little over half of the room was for him. His momma, me, two sisters were there along with several folks from the local area and family that drove several hours to see him. His best friends Tevin and Brett along with their momma G, brother Zack and sister Lacy were there from 5:00 on. Dion's grandfather, Lorenzo and his wife along with my brother-in-law, Mike, drove up from Florida. My friend/brother Kevin and his wife, Mary, drove in from Atlanta. Elder Holmes from the church came in for support as well.

13:00
The doctor came out to tell us that his portion was completed and that everything was a success. He let us know that it would still be a little bit before anyone could see him mainly because they had to finish closing and then take him to ICU.

14:30

My wife and I finally got to see our little boy. He was still unconscious but seeing him alive was a relief. Since he was in ICU the visitors were limited to 2 or 3. His entire entourage, family and friends all cycled through so that everyone could have a chance to see him. He looked like someone out of the Matrix that had just taken the red pill. There were tubes and wires coming out of and off of him and even as he began waking up he still was a not fully cognizant.

18:00

By now everyone had left except for me; I stayed the night with him in ICU. Since my father in law came up from Florida for the surgery I told my wife to leave with him so that she could spend some time with him. She didn't need to stay anyway since only 1 person could stay the night.

Final Notes for the 2nd
I didn't get a lot of sleep but that was expected. My main concern to too take care of my boy and give him some sort of comfort.

3 Mar
07:00
My boy was fully conscience; in pain but still there. With the exception of a few hours of sleep I spent most of the night tending to him and making sure he was as comfortable as possible.

11:30
His momma, grandfather and assortment of friends came up to hospital to spend time with him. and I went home about an hour later to get some much needed sleep.

15:00
He got moved to his room. He is in a private room so that gave him some quiet time; when his friends or uncle weren't making him laugh.

20:00
My father-in-law, his wife and my brother-in-law left to head back to Florida; his job wouldn't allow him to stay very long but at least he made the trip, Dion appreciated it.

4 Mar
Time lines are kind of pointless from here on out since so many different things have been happening. Kevin and Mary left early this morning because he had to get back to work as well.

The doctor removed the chest tube which made him really happy. The chest tube was a painful necessity; they needed to avoid any fluids from building up in the chest cavity. Every time we would take a walk around the ward the blasted tube caused him a lot of pain.

Close to 1800 my sister, Kisha, arrived from Indianapolis. She plans to stay most of the week to help around the house with Dion. She stayed the night at the hospital so that Nikki and I could attempt to get a full nights sleep. Dion appreciated her vigilance through the night especially if he started to feel pain.

5 Mar
Dion both an EKG and Echogram today; the doctors need it to ensure that all the piping is working okay in is heart. We are currently in a holding pattern waiting for the doctor to come visit. We are anticipating that he will be getting out of the hospital today.

I will post his progress and some photos a little later.

Note:
Much love and thanks to everyone that has visited, called, sent cards or expressed their concern during this trying period.

~ Tschuss
Troy

Life is a Journey not a Destination, so enjoy the trip.