So much to be thankful for

As I sit here and think about a family who just lost their newly-turned-two-year-old to Leukemia I realize how thankful I really am.  I knew I was thankful for many things and good health is one of those, but when I try to fathom losing a child to cancer, "thankful" takes on a whole new meaning.  

We're in a whirlwind of holiday preparation, travel and family so nonetheless I haven't updated my blog in quite some time.  A lot has happened since August must I say.  

Two days before Halloween, Tyler and I were home alone while Rich was on his way home from a job interview in Nashville,  The night was going well until I walked out of the living room for five seconds. In that five second time span, Kody bit Tyler on his right cheek.  I was about ten steps away in the kitchen en eoute to get some water when I heard Kody growl.  In my head I thought, "that never happens, what is going on?!"  so I rushed back into the living room to find Kody in mid air, jumping off the chair, all the while knocking Tyler to the ground.  I thought the reason Tyler was screaming was because Kody knocked him down... Much to my surprise, I picked up my best boy to find a heavy stream of blood running down his face.  Sheer panic set in.  I started shaking.  I knew what happened, Tyler's best furry friend bit his face and I don't know why.  I called Rich in distress and thankfully he was less than ten minutes away.  I got a warm washrag and held it on Tyler's face to wipe the blood away and to help make the bleeding stop.  In the midst of the panic, I didn't even scold Kody for what he did.  Looking back, I wish I would have because he deserved some serious punishment.  

Waiting in the car for Daddy to get home

By the time Rich pulled in the driveway, I had fastened Tyler into his car seat and sat in the backseat with him. The bleeding had stopped, thank goodness, so that reassured me that the bite wasn't nearly as bad as I had envisioned.  We got to Kosair Children's Hospital in record time (I'm so thankful they built a second location close to our house so we didn't have to travel downtown) and luckily the wait was minimal.  I checked Tyler in, then went out to the car to get his backpack, but by the time I returned to the waiting room, Rich and Tyler were already in an exam bay inside the ER.  

Tyler was not a fan of the pokes and prods, blood pressure cuffs and bright lights.  The attending physician washed out the wound with some saline to determine if they needed to call in a plastic surgeon.  My heart skipped a beat..."plastic surgeon you say?  My boy is going back for surgery soon?"  I became even more anxious than I already was, but I knew with the skillful hands of a plastic surgeon, the wound would be sewed up with precision to help with the scarring.  I was on board.  

Getting the IV started was an absolute nightmare.  Tyler was screaming because we held him down on the bed.  The nurse got the needle inserted in his right hand, taped it to a papoose board and wrapped it.  When she tried to flush it with saline, the vein floated.  Not good.  So she unwrapped everything and tried again on his left hand.  By this time, Tyler was sweating so bad, the tape wouldn't attach to his skin to hold the needle in place so she was unable to flush the IV again.  This nurse had the patience of a saint.  Rich and I were holding Tyler down so he couldn't move and he was almost to the point of hyperventilating.  My heart was breaking.  An IV still wasn't in so they called in a floating nurse with an iPad and turned on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  We gave Tyler a break, held him and comforted him while he watched his favorite show.  He just discovered cartoons a short time ago, so I was glad that he really enjoyed watching Mickey.  We were able to quiet him, get him calmed down and fanned to cool him off.  Third time is the charm, right?  Well, it was.  This time, the nurse was able to get the IV inserted into his right arm, just below the crease of his elbow.  She attached his arm to a papoose board to hold everything in place.  The floating nurse fanned Tyler while holding the iPad, while Rich and  I held him down.  Finally, that was over and my boy was prepped for surgery.  Just as we wrapped that up, Dr. Chariker walked by.  Kosair has a OR inside the ER so we just had to walk down the hall to the OR.  Dr. Chariker was out running when he got the call from the nurses so we could not thank him enough for coming in, especially after he had just put in a twelve hour day at Kosair's downtown.  He was as nice as could be.  The entire nursing staff that was attending in the OR was awesome, caring and reassured us that Tyler was in good hands.  They administered a nerve block in his face, then he was sedated using Ketamine.  He wasn't completely out, but was in lala land.  The surgery took about 45 minutes from start to finish.  Since the OR was in the ER, Rich kept walking down the hallway to check on Tyler.  They didn't close any curtains so he was able to watch.  I couldn't muster up the courage to do so.  I almost lost it when we walked out of the OR before Tyler went "under."  His eyes were glassy and he was quickly becoming out of it.  It really bothered me to see him like that so we quickly left the OR.  I knew he was in good hands, but part of me had uncertainty because anything could happen.  

I think it would be a safe bet to say that was the longest 45 minutes of my life.  I was so relieved to see a nurse who helped with the surgery and hear the words, "Tyler's surgery went well and he is doing well."  We walked down the hall to the OR and there was our boy being cuddled by a nurse.  He was joyful, but slowly coming off the sedation medication.  Rich picked him up, but he wanted "Mama" so I reached over and held him in my arms.  

Dr. Chariker showed us before, during and after pictures from his camera.  I was impressed with his work as  Tyler was sewn up nicely.  After hearing other dog bites Dr. Chariker 'fixed' I quickly realized how lucky we really were.  Kody didn't bite off half his face, his nose, ears or get his throat.  That made me feel a little better, but I still held that guilt. Because of the blood, before the surgery we weren't able to see what the bite really looked like.,  Turns out, either before he bit or after, Kody scratched Tyler's face so along with the bite mark which was about the size of a nickel, there were two long vertical scratches that ran down his face.  Dr. Chariker didn't count the exact number of stitches he used, he just said " a lot."  There were several under the skin as well as above.  Every single doctor and nurse we saw raved about how awesome Dr. Chariker is.  We can attest to that. They said that we really did have the best surgeon to sew him up.  If Dr. Chariker was downtown attending to another emergency, they were going to transport Tyler downtown so that Dr. Chariker could fix him.  That's how much they like him.  Along with the stitches, he put Dermabond glue over the would to help protect it from a wild 18-month old.  

After surgery

We got home a little before midnight and when we walked in the house, Kody was no where to be found.  He was upstairs under our bed, scared to death.  Even though I didn't scold him, he knew he had royally messed up.  Molly was downstairs so she walked right up to Tyler and I.  Tyler tried his hardest to lean doen to give Molly a kiss.  Shocked I was that he wanted to get that close to a dog.  Obviously, I didn't let that happen, but knowing he still loved dogs was a good sign.  Even now, anytime Kody is around me, he starts shaking.  

Tyler slept extremely well that night and woke up the next morning as though nothing ever happened.  Obviously he didn't go to daycare the next day.  Suzy came in from Winchester so Rich and I could go to work.  I had planned to stay home with Tyler, but when Suzy offered, I took her up on that because he loves her, but doesn't see her that often.  I knew he would enjoy her company, and knowing that he was happy as a clam, I didn't think twice about leaving him.  I checked in with her throughout the day, but he was doing just fine. 

One day post surgery.  Having a ball with Suzy!

Life went on and the dogs are kept away from Tyler,  He misses them and will bang on the door where they are kept and say "dogdog, kosshdy, mo-mo, dogdog, dogdog, kosshdy, mo-mo."  It breaks my heart because he loves those dogs.  They were an important part of his life, but until Tyler knows he can't "hurt" the dogs, it's best to keep them away.  And for our own sanity.  I can guarantee you that if either dog shows any type of aggression or anything around Tyler when they are around him (I'm not sure if that will ever happen) they will retire to the farm.  There will not be another dog bite on my watch that's for dang sure.  

I wish I knew what Tyler did to Kody because I am 99.9% certain he hit him, bit him or tried to climb in the chair with him.  He did something that made Kody snap because Kody is a very passive, non-aggressive, sweet dog.  I was honestly shocked that Kody bit Tyler because Kody adores that kid.  He always knows where he is, always wanted to lick him and play ball with him.  Those days are over.  When we let the dogs outside, Tyler sees them and immediately runs to them.  He wants them to lick him and love on them . He is not one bit scared of them, which makes me feel a little better knowing what Kody did didn't scar him for life.  We don't let Tyler get that close to them, or if we let him pet them, we hold Tyler and are right there.  He will never be allowed around a dog unsupervised until he's 30!  

We had a follow up with Dr. Chariker one week later.  He removed what was left of the disposable stitches and the glue.  He said the wound was healing nicely, and the first week of December we would discuss other scar prevention methods.  If he does another surgery to revise the scar, it won't be until a year from now.  He said it will take about a year for the wound to fully heal and to know just exactly what type of scar will be left. 

Stitches and glue are gone. One week post op.

I have a hard time looking at before pictures of Tyler's face.  His fresh, un-scarred, precious baby skin is no longer so soft and smooth.  

As Thanksgiving nears, I count my blessings because we dodged something that could have been much, much worse.  I am beyond thankful that Tyler will be OK and his face will heal.  

Three weeks post op

Happy Thanksgiving, my friends.