No Balloons Allowed In The Recovery Room

Madison needed to check-in at NYU at 6:30am, meaning her last feeding could be at 4:30am  (4 hours prior to her scheduled surgery time).  After feeding her, we went back to sleep and then finished packing before loading her into the car for the quick trip to the hospital. 

We checked in and were visited by several nurses – taking measurements, vitals, etc.  We then met with the pediatric anesthesiologist who went over what she would be given, how she may react, and what to expect…and answering all of our questions along the way.  They even gave Madison “baby valium” to ensure she would have no short-term memory of what would be happening.

We also met with a nurse from Dr. Roland’s staff who would be present in the OR and once again assured us that everything would be okay.  Then, about 15 minutes before her surgery, Dr. Roland met with us.  We discussed the procedure and Jennifer was given scrubs to put on and would carry Madison into the OR.

Walking down the hallway into the OR holding my baby girl – tears quickly filled my eyes.  I knew that Madison was in good hands and trusted every single person in that room.  Madison was in good spirits as I laid her down on the table.  After attaching stickers to measure her vitals, the anesthesiologist gently applied the gas mask.  Within 30 seconds, Madison was sound asleep.  I was escorted out of the room and joined Brian in the waiting area.  This was going to be the longest few hours of my life….

Brian and I received numerous emails, text messages and phone calls from family and friends both near and far over the past few days… Once again, we are reminded how lucky we are to have such caring family and friends in our lives.  The words of reassurance are exactly what we needed.  Things were going to be okay – the procedure would go fine – Madison will do great.  We were joined by a close friend and family member while Madison was in surgery.  It was great to be able to try and pass the time while our little angel was in the OR. 

About 30 minutes into the surgery a nurse comes out into the waiting room and says, “Madison Kramer.”  We stand up….”There are no balloons allowed in the recovery room.  You’ll need to get rid of that before you leave the floor.”  Of all things to be told while your child is in surgery…

50 minutes into the procedure we see Bill Shapiro – the chief audiologist at NYU.  He told us that they are now on ear #2 and everything is going great.

Two hours and fifteen minutes after the start of her surgery, a nurse comes out and asks us if we’ve spoken with Dr. Roland.  We say, “Well we did this morning before Madison’s surgery.”  She tells us the surgery has ended…out walks Dr. Roland.

“Everything went well.  She’s doing great!”  He then proceeded to give us some more details and next steps.

 Madison was then transferred to the recovery room (with no balloon).  Seeing her in bandages for the first time was difficult, but it was even more difficult seeing her in pain.  The nurses gave her tiny doses of morphine to try and help.  Another side effect of the surgery is the swelling.  Seeing her cheeks and face so swollen is difficult.  Dr. Roland prepared us for this, as well as other side effects – but it still stings. 

Around 1pm we were transferred to the pediatric wing.  We would spend the next 18 hours in this room.  Friends and family stopped by throughout the day.  Madison was still in pain, but the painkiller was switched from morphine to Tylenol.  She started eating more, and soon the IV was removed.  Swelling dissipated a little, and after a few hours she started ‘chatting’ again, but no smiles until we showed her a picture of her best friend…her brother – Alan, the chocolate lab.

Madison has been sleeping on and off the past few hours (it is just about past 10pm as I type this entry) – we are hoping that she rests peacefully through the night… and hope that we can catch some rest as well.  We were told to expect a visit tomorrow morning around 7am by Dr Roland and his team.   The bandages will be removed and we will be given instructions on the do’s & don’t over the next few days until our follow up appointment in February.  We all look forward to returning to the apartment tomorrow morning and relaxing this coming weekend.