We spent the morning going to various appointments which apparently had Craig so worried that he didn't sleep for 3-4 nights in anticipation. He and I have been dragging our feet for the past few days due to lack of sleep. He didn't seem to know the reason why he couldn't sleep, but it became apparent today as we tackled two doctor appointments and a visit to the maker of his brace. His needle phobia has expanded into a generalized fear of pain. Totally understandable, given what he has been through and totally inconvenient.
I woke him up at 7:45 this morning so we could go to the ortho's office. Craig had an incision check and needed a staple removed. I didn't know it, but he also had to have the top and bottom stitches on his incision snipped. I don't know how much that hurt, but the nurse had to remove the steri strip first and that didn't feel too good to a sleep-deprived, worked-up kid. The nurse was wonderfully sympathetic and took a few moments to show me his incision. It is beautiful. The person who stitched him up did an incredible job. It is flat and razor thin. Unbelievable. We also learned that he is now 73 inches and weighs 120 lbs. with his shoes and brace on. Two weeks before surgery he was 125 without the brace or the metal in his back. He lost quite a bit of weight in the hospital so we are looking for ways to beef him up.
Our next stop was the brace maker. His brace was way to high in the front and cut into his throat, which made sitting for long periods very uncomfortable. It is much better now, but this unscheduled appointment wore him out and he couldn't wait to get back in bed, though we stopped at McDonald's for Cini Melts first. Unfortunately, he could only rest for an hour before the next and last appointment.
Our last appointment was with a urologist. Craig was diagnosed with a UTI when they did his pre-op labs. Boys don't get UTI's unless there is some other issue so the doctor sent him for a renal ultrasound which diagnosed him with a fairly common problem. His left kidney has two ureters. Most of the time this is not a problem, but he was refered to the urologist to determine if he is among the exceptions. Unfortunately for Craig they put him in an exam room that was full of blood-draw equipment and an IV pole. This was too much. He was already physically exhausted from getting in and out of the car and a lack of sleep. Now he had visions of horrible things happening to him. After 15 minutes of his imagination running wild the doctor finally came in. The guy had a total lack of bedside manner, though I doubt Craig even noticed that. He wants to do an IVP, which involves introducing dye into the body via an IV and taking x-rays to trace its path. Craig protested when he heard IV, but the doctor said we could wait until he's out of his brace, which will be 3-6 months. Craig was a wreck by the time we got home (via Dairy Queen) and went straight to bed. We got home at 1. He slept for 4 solid hours.
He should sleep well tonight now that the appointments are all behind him. I really feel for him. I remember when I was pregnant with Abby and had to have surgery. The pain afterwards was horrible and then I got pharyngitis. I was so tired of feeling lousy. Maybe that's why I'm so sympathetic towards him. I've been there.
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