In Cincinnati

Arrived in Cincinnati on Sunday (1 day early)... KP was a super traveler. He just turned into crazy kid when we got out of the car. Visited Dinosaur World...nice for him because he could run around and burn off some of that sugar (from his car treats). He also go to "dig" for fossils.. got two fossilized scallops and some other thing to take home.

Spent most of Sunday in the hotel room. Amazing what a four year old can do with a footrest with wheels ... who needs toys. Also liked playing his games for a while but ended up playing pretend for most of the day.

Today we got to Children's Hospital around 6:45am. We got taken back to pre-op right away...very efficient. The anesthesiology nurse practitioner was the first to arrive and start getting KP's history, then the administrative nurse, then the PICC line nurse... most of them looked like they should still be in high school :) I'm sure we'll see a lot more nurses and doctors before our trip is over.

KP getting a PICC line installed today which will work a lot better than trying to get an IV line in (since we'll be here 3 weeks). Margot & I got to go into OR & wait till they put him under ... what a rock star. KP told the crew that he wanted to move himself from the guerney to the table... then he laid down, closed his eyes & told them to put the stinky mask on (anesthesia is suppose to smell like strawberries but KP says it just stinks.).

We're waiting till he's in recovery .. estimate 73 minute - a computer estimates the time :) Will post again later today.

1045am - KP in recovery...we'll be able to see him as soon as the nurses are ready.
It took 2 tries but the PICC line is in just where they want it.

KP doing fine...a bit groggy... says he feels wobbly. Upset that he's not going back to the hotel but the nurse took his mind off of that by offering him a slushy :) These slushies count as clear liquid...yay... just a popsicle softened in micro with a bit of Sprite added.

Settling into our room for the next couple of weeks. We rought enough stuff to, hopefully, keep him busy and his mind off of food post-op. Today he starts his diet of clear liquids. They have him hooked up to a IV drip. They'll start giving him "go-lightly" to start cleaning out his bowels. They will need to insert a tube into his stomach (through his nose) since he wouldn't be able to the drink the amount they need to clean him out. Too bad they didn't think to insert the tube when he was in OR.

Good news - they can administer the "go-lightly" through his Malone. They'll give him a bagful, then give him a rest, then give him another bagful, etc. until he's cleaned out. He's content looking a shows on his ipod while sitting on the potty.

KP is now in bed eating popsicles and playing xbox games. Dr. Pena came in to introduce himself. The surgery is scheduled for 7:45am tomorrow, Nov 29. It should take 2 hours. Dr. Pena shook KP's hand and introduced himself to KP. KP was a bit preoccupied with playing his xbox game but did give him a thumbs up when Dr. Pena said "I'm your doctor and you are my patient. See you tomorrow."

KP will participate in a one time study. They're testing out a new way to monitor recovery. In addition to the traditional monitor "stickies" they place on his body he'll have one on his neck. They're testing to see how accurate the readings are compared to the traditional methods of monitoring. The nurse in charge of the study assured us that if KP feels any discomfort or has a problem with the "test strip" they will remove it.

Dr. Pena ordered continuous "go-lightly" so now KP is set up on a porta potty. He's OK since he can play his xbox games rather than merely watch his shows. He also ate all the orange popsicles so now they only have grape. He did ask if he could have regular food but Margot explained that he couldn't. He was OK as long as he could have a steady supply of popsicles and slushies. Don't know if they'll try broth later.

Midnight - they finished with the "go-lightly" but still had to irrigate his bowels... the nurse squirts 500 ml saline, a little at a time, up into his bowels then suck out the poop...blah. The nurse is getting medical attention outside the room...guess all this was too much for her. But KP is now finally tucked in and asleep. Margot will try to sleep now but since they take vitals every 4 hours I'm not sure how that'll go. (I'm in the nice, quiet hotel room getting text updates from her).

Tomorrow is the big day...will update after surgery..