1 year ago

Every night for 5 nights straight J would say "I don't want my tummy cut." John and I would explain that it would be OK. We had a list of events that would happen before surgery and that helped keep him focused on the fun things.
On Friday October 26th my brother Charlie returned home from the Chili Conception Mission.
On Sunday afternoon J asked Charlie for a blessing. My dad, Scott, Brandon, and John joined in. The spirit was fresh from mission field strong. Charlie blessed J that he would recover quickly and have no pain.
Monday night we went trick or treating to a few of our neighbors. We had arranged with them to come a few days early. Then we had dinner at my parents house and carved pumpkins.
Tuesday morning (October 30, 2007) started with the usual 2 high blood pressure pills for J. He asked for food but I had to tell him no. When he asked why I explained that it was the big kidney day. My mom came to the house about 10am to pick up the babies they were 7 months old. After loading them into the her car we left for SLC. We checked in at 12:45. The waiting room was empty. J got to pick from any game system (PlayStation, game cube, Nintendo 64) and he tried them all. There was a craft table so he made a pumpkin. At 2:30pm they gave him some liquid to help him relax. By 3 we were walking behind the Dr. pulling J's bed. We said good bye at the door to the operating room.
We went to get some food and then up to the waiting room. John's parents were there to visit with us. At 4:30 we got a call from surgery and everything was good. At 6 we were told that it would be another hour because they were having complications. At 7pm Dr. Snow walked in, he explained that
laparoscopic surgery went well. He made 4 small incisions and through the lower one he removed the kidney. There was a small mass the size of a quart that he sent to the lab to be tested.
At 8pm John and I went to see J in recovery. He was still out and only waking up to throw up. I went up to the room to pump. By 8:30 he was in his room #3089. John sat up with him most of the night while I slept.
6am he woke up hunger. I told him his kidney was out and he said, "I am so happy." I went out to get him some crackers and juice. We started Lortab at 8am with breakfast. He had bacon. 10:00 he walked down to the Halloween party. By 12pm Dr. Snow & the Urologist had both seen J and given the OK to take him home. We were shocked. We were scheduled to stay for 2 or 3 nights. It took several hours to get the paperwork done for the release, so we went trick or treating around the hospital with the other kids. J insisted that he didn't need a wheelchair, but after only a 1/3 of the way through he was tired.
So my story is very long and extremely detailed, but the point is J was home by 7pm -- 24hours after having his kidney removed.
I want to thank you all for all your love and support over that last year. It has been a roller coaster of emotions. We are grateful for each of you.