Shunt Revision #2

Waiting...that's what ya do at a hospital.

8:00 a.m. we arrive at the Neurosurgeon office. Dr. Maher puts in the order to take Cayman to surgery.

We wait.

10:30 a.m. the Nurse Practitioner meets with us, goes over all the surgery paperwork, and a full physical assessment of Cayman to make sure she is healthy for surgery.

12:00 p.m. we buy lunch and take it to the O.R. waiting room.

We Wait.

1:00 p.m. the nurse checks Cayman in...weight, ID bracelet, more paperwork, etc. Her surgery is scheduled for 2:00.

We Wait.

2:15 p.m. we ask how the operating schedule is looking. They're running behind. Cayman's surgery is bumped to 3:30 p.m.

We Wait.

3:40 p.m. we ask again how the operating schedule is looking. Cayman's surgery has been bumped again now to 4:30 p.m.

We Wait.

4:20 p.m. I'm standing in the hall outside of the waiting room trying to find cellular reception, when Dr. Maher comes out of the operating room. He says Cayman will be next.

We Wait.

5:30 p.m. Mommy and Daddy give Cayman kisses goodbye and watch the nurse carry her to the O.R.

We Wait.

6:40 p.m. Dr. Maher returns to tell us that the part of her shunt that has failed is the distal portion going into her heart. He calls the Pediatric Surgeon to join him in the O.R. and evaluate Cayman's abdomen to see if he can place the shunt into her belly area instead of her heart, which is the ideal situation for a shunt placement.

We Wait.

7:15 p.m. Dr. Maher returns again to tell us everything went great. The distal portion of the shunt went into her abdomen smoothly without any problems. All the surgeons are so pleased at how well her belly has healed up with very little scar tissue.

We Wait.

8:00 p.m. we are directed back to the recovery room to see our little angel.