Lap-Band Surgery Day 1

Yesterday, my dear husband had his lap-band surgery. The night before, our little boy could tell something was up and didn't sleep much. When he would wake to eat, it would take forever to get him back down when usually, we just literally put him back down and he's asleep again. Instead, he was animated and watching the invisible flying things flying around him and my husband. But not me. Weird. Sometimes I really, really, really, really want to know what the schmo he sees and what it means! And I did my best not to let that freak me out. More than I was already freaked out, anyway.

The surgery went fine. Hubby had a hiatal hernia which they fixed while they were in there. The surgeon said that it's pretty common, and will cause some extra shoulder pain, but that's all. The lap-band was installed. They took a contrast x-ray with barium to make sure it was all in the right place, and then he was in recovery. While all that was happening, I ate, napped, snacked, read, ate, napped, pumped, and fidgeted. I really wished I had my little boy there to hold like a teddy bear, but was also really glad that I wasn't trying to keep him entertained in a waiting room for 6 hours.

About 1:30pm, I finally asked the keeper of the waiting room to please go find out something about my husband. I was very quickly allowed to go back and witness him breathing. Whew! He was sort of awake and asking who all I'd called. After a few minutes, I got to help him dress. The movement sprang a bit of a leak in him, and the nurses got out a fresh super-glue thingy and put an extra layer of glue on all his little wounds. Six little wounds by the way. He's got stitches inside each little wound that will dissolve and go away. The glue patches will wear off in about a week. We're not to scrub them or tug on them, but showering is fine.

Getting home was no problem. He was plenty mobile and alert enough. We fed him some antibiotics and pain medicine, liquid forms, and he was soon snoozing in the recliner with some crystal light and a protein shake. Later, he moved upstairs to the bed where we soon learned that reclining in the bed very frequently engages the core muscles which hurts. I should have remembered that from the last month of pregnancy, but oh well.

I went and fetched our little boy from daycare. All evening, it was really amazing, it's like Quint knew when I needed to go take care of my husband and would be unusually content to lay on the floor or bed and entertain himself. Only once was he crying when I needed to tend my husband.

Hubby very slowly drank some fluids, and I was concerned that he hadn't taken in enough liquid. I asked him to try to drink a little more (2 or 3 ounces at once) and that was apparently the wrong thing to do. Two or 3 ounces is a whole lot for his stomach right now. He threw up. We called the doctor's office where they paged the surgeon and he called us back in a few minutes. He said he was extra swollen from the hiatal hernia surgery and to take it slower on the liquids. And maybe drink thinner things, water and crystal light instead of protein shakes. If he throws up again, they'll have to admit him to make sure he stays hydrated. Sleep in a recliner to help with the swelling. He was still asking for my help with getting from a slightly reclined position to an upright position. The he could stand on his own.

So before bed, we set him up downstairs with his favorite big blanket, 2 bottles of water, our portable phones with the paging/intercom feature, his cell phone, the remote control, and the baby monitor. Every time I got up to feed little Quint, I checked on him, dispensing pain meds, water, and kisses. Despite the pain medicine, he's still in some pain. Mostly, he says things just seem really tight. I could feel his "port" last night which made me shiver and think of the Borg. As if reading my mind, he said "resistance is fue-tile". Mildly funny.

Today at 8am, the surgeon called to see how he weathered the night. Really! The surgeon called the house unprompted! Cool. He was happy with the results from the night and thought it would be OK if I went to work. We talked about what he might "eat" and I stressed that he should call me whenever and especially if he wants me to come home.

So there's your update! Now entering day 2.