We are on the OTHER side

PHEW! Thats all I have to say after such a whirlwind of a day. Looking back at the past 24 hours seems like such a blur. Thanks to the power of prayer and the love of family and friends, we are now on the "other side". I laughed at the craniokids website when all the mom's mentioned the other side but I COMPLETELY understand the phrase now.

I was up all night last night, tossing and turning thinking about his surgery. Such a teeter totter of emotions have been inside me. I was also afraid I would sleep through my alarm that I set to make sure I woke him up early to get a good breakfast in before his surgery since he couldnt eat all day. I finally jumped out of bed at 5:45am and fed him. Then, we left for the hospital at 10am. When we got to the hospital, Keegan was dressed in a gown and received another beanie baby toy. He then played, not knowing what was going to happen later. In Pre-op, his grandparents were all there, Aunt Tammi, Aunt Shannon, his "CUZ" Caden and baby Brittyn. It definitely helped occupy all of us ! Aunt Karen and Jamie showed up while we were waiting.A friend I played softball with works here and was able to stop by a few times as well =) Brittany and her mom stopped by and saw Keegan for a bit once he was in his PICU room

We spoke to the anesthesiologist and then it became REAL. She seemed great for him and assured me that she holds him throughout the process rather than sticking him on a table. We pulled it together so Keegan wouldn't see us upset. Kissing the family goodbye, at 12:45pm we headed down the dreaded hall we learned about yesterday on the tour. It was sooo hard handing our son over to doctors but we knew he was in excellent hands. PJ and I then walked outside and gathered ourselves before meeting with the family. At 2:10pm, the nurse came out and let us know that the surgery was beginning. At 3:45pm she informed us that the surgery was going as planned and they were about halfway, just piecing the skull together. Dr. Shafron and Dr Joganic both came out of the OR at about 4:45pm and told us that the procedure went as planned. They said his brain was pretty snug inside his skull (which made us glad we did the surgery). They said he had quite a bit of blood loss but that is normal for the type of surgery performed (2 units worth during surgery). We were told that Keegan would be recovering and that we could see him in 10-15 minutes.

PJ and I headed on over to the PICU to meet our precious boy but were told to go wait in the family center. The anesthesiologist spoke to us and explained that he will have quite a bit of swelling and that she was unable to put in a central line so he will just have a few more lines in him in the meantime. She told us to wait another 10-15 minutes. About an hour later PJ called down and was told another 15 minutes. Finally 2 hours after the surgery finished we were able to see Keegan. He was soundly sleeping and looking good. He opened his eyes a few times.

Everyone has been such a help! Thank you all! PJ went to his parents to get a good night's sleep so that he can take over in the morning if need be.

I will try to keep you all updated on his progress. He is such a trooper!

♥

Tara