Unexpectedness...

The past 24 + hours have been filled with a variety of unexpectedness. Carson's surgery for his adenoids being removed and tubes put in his ears took place yesterday (Wednesday) and to say it was a long day is putting it quite lightly. Before I get into the detailed timeline of what took place, I'll set you up with some pictures of the days prior to our time in Reno with Carson.

We have been wonderfully teased with spring-like weather and all my boys have taken full advantage. We dug out the sidewalk chalk, washed the boys' bikes and then took them to the pavement. 

Austin getting ready for spring! :)

Carson washing the bike

way to go Austin!

feels to so good to run outside!!

Mason wanted to try the "big wheel"

Carson trying without training wheels!

water break :)

 Now comes the story of our first surgical experience as parents. Remember that word, unexpected? That pretty much sums it up. We drove through periodic blizzard-like conditions
and spotty slippery/slushy/WINDY (oh. my. wind.) roadways on Tuesday to get to Reno. The adventure had begun. But we were ready to have some fun with Carson and he had a new Cars 2 magazine to "read" so he was the least bit dazed as to what was happening outside the van windows. :) Needless to say we made it and headed to the mall for some lunch and to just walk around for a bit. The afternoon hours then consisted of a little Coldstone....

 ...a visit to Scheels (per Carson's request yet again) to ride the ferris wheel....

 ...and take a little target practice at the shooting gallery.

Carson's look after hitting one of the targets

 We relaxed a bit in our hotel room, which to Carson's sheer delight contained his very own swimming pool! (aka...hot tub in our room) Hey, when a room like that is cheaper than just a plain old room, you'd be crazy not to take advantage! And of course Carson loved the thought of his personal swimming pool at his disposal.

 So after dinner, he went for a "swim"! :)

 Now comes the story of the day. We had to be at the hospital between 6:30 and 7:00am to get Carson registered/checked-in. We arrived a little before 7, got the paperwork done, and headed to the waiting room for our scheduled surgery time of 8:30am. A long time to wait for a boy who wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything prior to surgery but who is used to eating breakfast within 10 minutes of waking up. We had prepped him for that but I still got a "I'm hungry mom" after 2 minutes of sitting in the waiting room. I was pleasantly surprised when a nurse came in the room about 5 minutes later calling Carson's name--apparently there was a cancellation so he was up next! We got him all ready to go--talked with the doctor, with the anesthesiologist, laughed a little, and walked behind him as they wheeled him back to the OR. He wasn't nervous. He was smiley. Calm. Now we wait. 
 I can't say as though I looked at the clock consistently but did sip on some coffee while texting to friends and family and just chatting with Andy. Before we knew it, the dr. was headed our way. He began with the good news of getting his "rather large" adenoids out and his right ear drained and the tubes put in. But then he said..." with his left ear, there was quite the surprise. Carson has a cyst growing on the bone of his left ear." Unexpectedness. I can't deny that my heart sank. But it explained so much in that one sentence. It was the answer to his slowly declining ear loss in his left ear (which we just assumed was fluid). The dr. went to explain that is congenital and primary, meaning he was more than likely born with it and it's just grown over time. It wasn't necessarily "caused" by anything. We were very pleased when he said it is not a rarity but it is also not common....and it is fixable. (PRAISE THE LORD!!) It will require additional surgeries. But again I say, it is fixable. We held on to that.  After talking for a few more minutes about what's next among other things, the dr. left and I had a few tears well up. I didn't have much time to process it with Andy as the nurse came in and called me back to the recovery room. What I was about to walk into was once again, unexpected. I hadn't prepared for how Carson would react to waking up from the anesthesia. She told me he was "having a really hard time and screaming for mommy." I walked through those ginormous double-doors to the recovery room and I was NOT prepared for what I saw. Complete unexpectedness. There was Carson on the bed with 3 nurses and a doctor (2 on each side of him) doing their best to semi-restrain him from leaping off the bed, SCREAMING my name, a face that beheld a look of confusion/fear/exhaustion as gigantic tears gushed down his cheeks and onto the blankets. It's a moment that I won't soon forget. A friend asked me if I lost it and just cried and honestly, I did feel my eyes begin to water but simply went into "mom mode". I didn't have time to cry. I nearly ran to his bedside and practically threw my purse on the floor. I know it's literally by the grace of God and the many of you who were praying at that exact moment that I was able to hold it together for the sake of my son. I stood there by his bedside for a few moments and was then able to get in the bed to lay next to him per Carson's request. Sparing the drawn out details, let's just say after 45 minutes of more meds, more screams and endless fights of wanting his IV out of his arm, a cough that just wouldn't stop (which was the main cause of his upsetness), humidifying air from a tube being placed in front of him, me laying beside him trying to console him as best I could figure out how, a blue popsicle, he gave up the kicking of his legs, constant coughs and random screams and just let me softly sing to him. I've never sang "Jesus Loves Me" and "You are My Sunshine" repetitively so many times. But it was helping. So I didn't stop. 

From there, once Carson was calm enough we were wheeled out into the hallway and able to get Andy who was still in the waiting room--yep, he had no clue all that was going down as we were only allowed to have one parent in the recovery room. (we'll see about getting that changed for his next surgery....) We were off to another room to wait and continue letting Carson work through the anesthesia. I was hopeful that he would sleep it off, but such was not the case. My back scratches seem to be helping and he was finally calming down--still puffy-eyed and pale-skinned, but calmer. We were told it would be 2 hours before we could be released as they wanted Carson's heart rate back up to normal as well as his oxygen levels. By this time we had been introduced to the hundredth nurse (well, maybe the 8th...but I can still only remember one of their names....) and I could tell my little man was exhausted but he just wouldn't give in to the sleep that wanted him. He was thirsty though so apple juice was given. He drank that while I continued the back scratching and talked with Andy about getting checked out of our hotel. We had gotten a late check out in hopes to go back there after his surgery to relax for a bit before heading home. Nope. Not this time. The unexpected reactions from Carson were causing us to wait just a little longer before getting the ok to leave. SO...Andy left to go get all of our things. Meanwhile, Carson and I sat together in this second recovery room, which didn't have a tv and the one leapster we did have with us decided not to work at that particular time. It was going to be a long 2 hours. The apple juice didn't sit well with him and he did end up getting sick--combination of being so upset and just getting the anesthesia out of his body--but it helped. After that, he laid with me and other than the random teary "I wanna go home mommy" and few tugs at his IV...it was a relatively calm 2 hours. Andy came back with the iPod and for 10 minutes straight we didn't hear a peep from our little man.

in the 'second' recovery room

playing the iPod was a big help

 We eventually got the ok to leave with Carson's heart rate back to normal, went through the discharge process, and got our little guy dressed and finally off the bed he had been begging to get off from for the past 3 hours. I can't even tell you how good it felt to stand up! I hadn't  moved much while laying there and my legs were a little wobbly. ;) As the afternoon went on, I saw my old Carson coming back--even when we walked out of the hospital doors, I got a big smile. That was all I needed. We went to a few stores to get him some applesauce (which he ate some of on the way home! yay for appetite!) and let him pick out a little something special. It wasn't until we were on I-80 heading north when Andy asked how I was doing that the waterworks began. I wasn't sure what we had just been through and I was not prepared for the emotions that I had just experienced. It really was a day filled with unexpectedness. 

sleeping on the way home

 (I didn't leave him like that with his neck all cock-eyed--he was propped up after I snapped the pic) So, where do we go from here? We will be going back to Reno for a cat scan to get the proper diagnosis and prognosis as to what is next. Surgery is inevitable to remove the cyst, it's just a matter of when and how many. I can't even begin to tell you how thankful we are for your prayers--what was to be considered a rather "routine" procedure did not end up that way. But the God we serve is bigger than any cyst, than any surgery, and we know He'll carry us through the next step in this process for our Carson Jeffrey.