Surgery Update - 1/22/09

Hospitals are strange. They are strange in the bright light of day - with all the hustling and bustling. But they are STRANGER during the off-hours. We pulled up to the same dang parking structure we have been parking in once and twice a week for the past five months. Only this time it was a quarter to 6 in the morning.

We had to stop before entering the parking lot to let a woman pushing a stroller cross the darkened street. When you see someone heading into the hospital late at night or early in the morning a certain weighty urgency seems to attend them. And then I realized, that weighty urgency is laying on us this morning as well . . . like a fog round about us.

The usual entrance was closed and we entered into the adjacent building as instructed. It seemed like half the lights were off inside and there was a harried mother standing alone at the bank of elevators holding an infant. When the elevator arrived, we got in but she stayed there in the lobby waiting for something else.

We exited into a semi-darkened 3rd floor - all but deserted and found the suite where we were told to check in.

The place was a bee-hive of activity. I counted at least 8 families with more cuing up behind us. The room was stocked with toys and photos and a radio was playing in the corner. The staff was happy and cheerful and smiling - even half the children and parents seemed to be smiling. Clearly, we were in a "Children's Hospital".

It came our turn to sit at one of the desks and a staffer who truly seemed to enjoy this job that she was very good at began guiding us through the paperwork. "Sign here dad . . . date there dad . . . do we have your consent to . . . . sign here if it is alright for us to . . . ." and on it went.

"Your co-pay is two-fifty"

"Two . . . .two . . . wha? huh? Did you say two hundred and fifty? Dollars!?"

I looked up at the wife and could hear the faint clanging of my internal panic bell going off . . .

"Well that's more than the $15 I was expecting to pay . . . ."

She smiled back . . . "Its because it's surgery . . . "

I forked over the $$ and we signed some more paperwork . . .

"Do you want a stuffed animal for the baby?"

????????????

Well. There's only one answer to that question . . . . "Sure . . ."

She handed us this. It came in a box with all the tags still attached . . .

I looked at the wife in bewilderment and she immediately replied . . . . "That's a $250 Horton you got there . . ."

The staffer printed out an extra hospital bracelet for Horton and we were off to the surgical suites.

They took little Annie's vitals and drew a little blood. More medical history questions . . . . They gave us a hospital gown to put her in . . . would you believe that even the infant gowns breeze open in the back??? I guess it's never too early to let the humiliation begin . . .

The anesthesiologist and neurosurgeon came in and we all reviewed the game plan.

Then it was time to hand the wee one to the nurse.

Last night the wife made a very good point . . . when Annabelle was born, we never had to hand her to them. In fact, it was they handing Annabelle to us when they were ready to. This time was the first time that we were walking in and handing her to them.

As the nurse turned and disappeared through the door the wife and I looked at each other. There was one beat and the wife came apart. We gathered ourselves together and walked downstairs to the cafeteria.

Which is where we are at this moment.

Through it all this morning Annabelle was once again the super-trooper she has always been. Smiling at every one she met - barely fussing when we couldn't feed her at the proper time and even smiling at the O.R. nurse when we handed her off.

She really is something.

Keep us in your prayers - the surgery should be complete by 9:30am or so.

We will update as soon as we are able . . .