Monday, April 2, 2012

A Tough Day for the Lion Heart




















Conor Pre-Op                                                                                    Conor Post-Op

Day 111:

An early day for you today, Conor.  Mommy was up and running at 3:15am to give you your last bottle before the operation, and as soon as she was done feeding you it was my turn to get up and tend to your dogs, start loading the car, and fill up every possible travel container we own with fresh, hot coffee...  What's funny is, when I finally got to you at around 4:30am, you were wide awake and raring to go!

We were rolling at 4:45am and determined to get to Children's Hospital in DC early.   Sue enough, when we finally pulled into the parking garage -empty.  Place was like a ghost town!  But by the time they took you back, this place was buzzing!  Little boys and little girls from all over are here for special surgeries which can only be performed in med / surg facilities like this one, and you were the day's first patient!

The Anesthesiologist, nurses, surgeon, and surgical students all came by to see you and answer any questions.  When it was eventually time for you to go it was so very hard for Mommy... For me, it was truly difficult  to see you being carried away by the Anesthesiologist, but for Mommy the Doctor had to all but pry you from her arms.

You know Conor, Samuel Taylor Coleridge once said, "For mother's sake the child was dear, and dearer was the mother for the child."

I can honesty say that of the few things I unequivocally "know" in this life, it's that a mother's connection to her child is both incomprehensible to any man and unbreakable by any person.  And no scientist, nor Shaman, nor cosmic event could ever explain otherwise.  To watch that Doctor pull you from Mommy's arms was as heartbreaking a thing as I've ever seen.  And again, I don't mean to be dramatic.  I realize there are Mothers who endure far worse and go to far greater lengths for their Children.  To be sure, we're very blessed.  Especially given everything our little Lion Hearted boy has come through to date; despite your early arrival your troubles are few... But everything in life deals in its own set of circumstances, and knowing there was even a micro fraction of a chance you don't survive the operation, your Mother- if only for a moment- came to pieces.  And then, as a only a Mother could, she rallied for strength on your behalf and waited patiently for your Surgeon to give us the outcome.


When the surgeon finally came to us in the waiting room, the report was excellent!  She simply closed up the hernia with a small incision just below the abdomen and while they were in there ran a camera over   to the other side just to be sure you didn't have a matching one on the opposite hip.  All clear!  you came through smelling like a rose, Boy'O.  Not that we expected anything less...

I'm proud of you, Son.  You performed exactly as I expected you would.  Like the Lion Heart you are.  And now it's a matter of monitoring and healing while you once again rest comfortably in your Mother's arms.


I love you, Conor.

-Dad 






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