For several years, Jonathan has been unable to hear out of his right ear. Since he currently uses a hearing aid in his left ear because of hearing loss, he was a good candidate for a Cochlear Implant. We are thankful that after much prayer and consideration, we were able to make the decision to have Cochlear Implant surgery. The day of the procedure was Friday, March 7th and we are thankful we had many people praying for us for which we feel very blessed.
This day started early (and yet a little late) for Dad and Jonathan...they were supposed to get up at 6:15am and 6:30am respectively but when I peaked my head out of the bathroom door about 6:32am to make sure all was going smoothly, I noticed Chuck had just got up and Jonathan was still in bed!! YIKES!! We were already behind schedule! Fortunately, they were able to get showered and ready and on the road only 25 minutes later than I had planned. I was so thankful that I had told them we needed to be there by 8:30am because we arrived at University of Iowa Hospitals at 8:37am! Chuck dropped us off at the door and Jonathan and I went to check in. We arrived at the Surgical check-in desk at 8:44am. Unbeknownst to Chuck and Jonathan, we were REALLY supposed to be there at 8:45am!! So we were right on schedule!! Of course, I knew this all the time. I knew I would need to move the ETA time up a bit so we would get us there on time...and it worked!! So WHEW!! We made it!
We did not have to wait long once we arrived and were escorted back to our Pre-Op room to get ready by 8:50am. We had been sitting in the room for almost 5 minutes when a loud alarm went off and over the speakers we hear the automated voice: "Fire Alarm System has been activated. Staff please take proper action." After hearing this message twice and not seeing anyone walking around outside our door, Chuck decided to step out and make sure we weren't the only ones in the place! As soon as he stuck his head out the door, a nurse behind him said: "Don't worry, you're fine...we got your back!" :-) So we sat back down and listened to the fire alarm sound for about another 3 minutes before it shut off. As I sat there, I was thinking, I sure hope this isn't a sign of how the rest of our day was going to unfold. So we had quite a little excitement already this morning and it was only 9:00am!
It wasn't long before a student nurse finally came in, took Jonathan's vitals and then we waited, and waited, and waited some more. The Anesthesiologist and her student arrived to talk to Jonathan, answer any questions he might have and then tried to start an IV in his hand...but after watching his vein roll away from the needle for a minute or two...she gave up and decided to wait until the operating room to start the IV. She was very gentle and didn't jab around like we EMT's can sometimes do. She didn't want to make Jonathan uncomfortable or in pain. So all of us were happy about that...especially Jonathan!
It was about this time that we heard a commotion coming from down the hall. It sounded like a 5-7 year old boy that really didn't want to have anything done to him. He was yelling and screaming, "I wanna go home!!!!", "NO!! Don't touch me!", "I'm going home!!!" "Get me outta here!!"...and on and on. It was so loud and out of control that I was thankful Jonathan was older and not really affect emotionally because of this kid screaming. I felt sorry for any other parents there with a young child. We all were able to laugh and listen to the poor nurses and parents trying to get this kid under control. About 5-10 minutes after this started, Dr. Jonathan (don't remember his last name) who was assisting Dr. Hansen in the surgery walked through door and introduced himself. One of the first words out of his mouth were: "It sounds like we have a dissenter in the area!" Haha! We all agreed and got a good laugh.
The staff were very cautious and repetitive to make sure they get things right. I believe that all the medical personnel that walked through the door all asked him the same questions: Name? Date of birth? What procedure are you having done? in what ear? And then they would proceed to ask or talk to him about what was pertinent to their specialty. Dr. Jonathan then took out a marker and put his initials on (our) Jonathan's right ear to mark him for surgery.
The final person to enter the room was our pre-op nurse. She asked the main 4 questions and as she continued to ask more questions and fill out the computer work, another nurse came by to shut our door to 'lessen' the loud screams from down the hall. We decided they were probably getting ready to bring in extra forces to get this child 'under control' somehow. Our nurse said, she tried everything to calm him down and didn't think anything she could do would make him like her anymore. She was hoping to steer clear of that room. However the next thing we know, she gets called out to assist with the 'dissenter'. When she returned, the screams had stopped and we were able to finish up our pre-op paperwork in peace and quiet. About 10:30, Jonathan was walked into the Operating room and we were sent up to the waiting room.
I found myself reading a "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" book, and a crossword puzzle book and Chuck got a book on his tablet to help keep our minds occupied. We were thankful there were other people in the area to entertain us. One such person was a 5 or 6 yr old boy that let out the loudest, most obnoxious belch I have ever heard and completely rattled every room in the area! I still can't believe that a sound that loud could come out of that little body...Wow! The poor grandmother was mortified and embarrassed and the rest of the waiting room was stunned and shocked into chuckles and laughter. I believe the grandma was glad to be called out of the room a short time later!
Jonathan's surgery lasted about 3 hours and we were back to the recovery room by about 3:00pm. They didn't wait too long there to get him eating, drinking, and on his way out the door. By about 4:00pm, we were wheeling Jonathan out of the hospital in a wheelchair. We spent the night in Iowa City and arrived back home Saturday around noon.
It was a tiring day for all of us! It is crazy how sitting around all day in a hospital can be so tiring and wear you out. We are so thankful for all the prayers and encouragement.
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