Surgery TODAY: Day Two of Two

At 8:00 a.m check-in

Yesterday, after waiting six hours for surgery, and having the surgeon come out and tell me it would still be two more--I decided to call it.  Nikhil was starving and tired--and I was very tired myself.

Fortunately (?) they were able to reschedule for today (with a different surgeon) and an earlier time (if they were on time that is).

A charitable fellow--N kept asking for "MORE" money to drop in the box

It is a very hard thing to bring your small child into the hospital to be sedated and operated on.  The words 'minor surgery' do nothing to alleviate the distress that I am feeling.

I took Oliver in for 'minor surgery'--teeth cleaning--and he never woke up from the anesthesia.  He never showed any distress during the procedure, and it was only afterwards the nurse noticed that he wasn't coming out of it.  This was extremely traumatic for me.  At that time, and even today--he is probably the being that I have loved the most and lost.

Through the looking glass

I overheard a nurse say to one family (who were waiting behind a curtain with their small child) "they have been waiting for you in the or for 1/2 hour!".  It was only later that I put together that it was likely this nurse's (laziness? Incompetence?) mistake that delayed us.  Did she think the family should intuitively know when to prepare and go to the or?

I have been close to tears many times.  Sometimes they have overflowed. My stomache is in knots--this waiting is very difficult.

With Clifford

I have been reading a little about Anita Moorjani and her NDE (near death experience) and what she feels she knows now about the world.  It is a beautiful thing to believe--that we are always surrounded by love--we just have to open ourselves up to it.  That we control everything in our lives...and we have the power, through our energy to create whatever we want.

Ready to roll (to the OR that is)

SO HERE IS WHAT I WANT:

1.  I want Jino to tell me that the initial abr was inaccurate and that there is  nothing to be concerned about wrt n's hearing ability.

2.  I want the surgeon to tell me that they found n's testicles and that they are perfect in size and perfectly healthy.  He has done a very good job of implanting them in the scrotum and it is the best work he has ever done.  He can also see that n's scrotum will stretch out and accommodate its new residents.  He will also tell me that n's are the most beautiful privates ever and that he will grow up and never be teased about them (why are children so cruel??) bc they will look so awesome!

3.  N will wake up from the surgery and eat and just be his usual good-natured self.  His body (with the mutant healing gene he inherited from me) will already be healing.  He will want sleep, food, drink and a snuggle. Then he will want his sisters and to go home, which we will do promptly.

N was very difficult to rouse post-op

Codil--baby epidural

 So, I am leaving the fears I have and am looking forward to all this.  The fear is really making me tired...even after what qualifies as a 'good night' of sleep in my world, I have had the world's worst cup of coffee--bc I need to drive home later.

Apple juice:  cup or box?

So--here I am--breathing and focusing on what I want.  A happy and healthy son...

 (as I type dr soliman has come out and informed me that all went well and now n is having his hearing test.).  Apparently the right testes required a top and bottom incision by the left one only required a bottom incision.  He also thinks the scrotum will grow and stretch out in time. Bless--keep breathing....

12:57: now Jino, the audiologist has told me that my son (who was told he needed hearing aids in December) has normal hearing.  This is amazing news--what I was afraid to hope for--and it is true and real.  What we all felt (n had normal hearing) has finally been confirmed.

I am just waiting for him to wake up now in recovery.

...Still sleepy waiting for prescription

A big thank you to the universe for all the gifts I have received today.
Sent from my iPhone  

HOME:
A made this 'get-well soon' gift for N

I am home now--we arrived back just before six.  It has been a really long day, and I feel drained.  N is STILL sleeping (he has woken up on and off, and we will wake him shortly to feed him, change him and medicate him).
I feel like I used a lot of my energy up today.  I would like to think that I gave it up to create all this magic today.
Hopefully I can recharge tonight.  If not, tomorrow is just a low-key 'at home' day.  I am sure all the children will be so happy to see each other and play together.  I look forward to watching them love one another.

I am not liking how blogger has highlighted some of my post (the part I wrote in an email to myself from the hospital, bc I wanted to channel my thoughts positively).  At the very least, it will differentiate the writing of this particular entry.

Surgery Today: Day One of Two

So, today is the day our little N will be heading back to SKMC for some surgery (minor).  He will also be having a repeat ABR test (since he'll be under anyway), and hopefully this one will give more clear results.

Fairies

He is likely to be feeling tired and hungry (though right now he is relaxing on the sofa watching some Postman Pat).  Last night we kept him up until 10:30, in order to give him some more to eat, and in hopes that he would sleep later than his usual 5:30/6 a.m. body-clock time.  Well, we did get more food in him (a banana, some applesauce and a breakfast biscuit), but he slept until his usual time (and perhaps his wake-up was aided by the screaming siren coming out of Smile-ah), so we ended up shorting him the sleep department.

le tour eiffel

I am feeling anxious--as memories of losing a beloved friend under minor anesthesia will likely haunt me forever.  I am trusting, however, that the universe will bring only good things for my sweet little boy, to help him heal.  He already spends way too much time in hospitals.

Cereal box laptop

We arrived home from Paris on July 28.  The six hour flight seemed very VERY long, though the children were all fairly well behaved (though Smile-ah wins the award for  "the loudest and most adventurous" of my offspring).  I was very tired when we got home and happy to pass the three of them off to Malou while I showered (in my very palatial size shower stall).

The children grew so  much there--A's art skills blossomed and she created so many new pieces, trying to stock her own Louvre; N started to babble a lot more and I will always remember his fondness for shoes, and he played for hours in our little shoe area, opening and closing velcro straps and trying on my sandals; S learned to walk up and down the stairs and how to chase after pigeons in the park (much to the dismay of the French).  All in all, it was a great vacation, with so many good times.  Thanks to Jasmine, Caroline and Louise, we even managed to get in some quality 'family time'--and I loved watching the children spend time with their cousins.

Please enjoy some of the artwork peppered throughout this blog, created at 37 rue st andre des arts, by my five year old daughter.

**************************************************************

Just to keep you updated--this surgery never happened.  After arriving on-time (with my hungry little man) we waited and waited and waited.  Six hours later, the surgeon came to me and said:  "It might be two more hours..." and I said, "I think we will have to cancel it."  Then I fed my starving and exhausted little man and we went home.  I must say I was pretty disappointed, even though the fresh-squeezed orange juice was amazing (and crazy tired).  However...please note (depending on the order in which you read my blog), the surgery happens TOMORROW.

Parisienne Life

When I grow up, I want to live in Paris...

At the children's 'lounge' at AUH

...and hopefully by then, the anti-smoking lobby will have made SOME head-way here.

Smoke aside, Paris is amazing--I LOVE it!  I have enjoyed every second of both the sunshine (which has been brief) and the rain (even more once we MacGyvered the rain cover so it would fit).  There is so much to see and do, and we have such a great location here in the sixth.  The street below us is alive with the sounds and smells of France--the one that makes us laugh the most is the gangsta rap from the bike rickshaws who pass by here on a daily basis.  Sadly, the language we still hear the most has been English ("oh my GAWD!!"), but that just makes communicating our needs that much easier.  

Peek-a-boo in the park

We love walking around to explore things.  There are so many little side-streets and so much to see (in addition to the big tourist attractions of which we have managed to take in Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Conciergerie, St Chappelle and the Eiffel Tower so far).  When I say 'we' I am excluding Little A.  She does NOT love walking around and gets tired quickly.  She was the second happiest person in our household, when Peter bought a SECOND stroller here (the first being Peter who no longer had to carry around N in the hiking frame on his back).  

N is not so sure what all that green stuff is

With the exception of the world's least friendly inter-racial couple (Americans, who are house-swapping a place in our building for one month, and who have a 1/2 Chinese son who is the same age as S), we have met so many people here that are friendly and helpful.  I have abandoned all befriending attempts with the afore-mentioned couple.  Despite the fact that we are a North American interracial couple who are staying in the same building for the same amount of time with a child the same age...what would we possibly have in common?? ;-) 

FIVE YEARS OLD in Paris!!
Happy Birthday Darling!

I have enjoyed utilizing my French skills and appreciate that they are actually fairly adequate for getting by here.  I am thankful for my friend Fiona, who always humored my attempts to parlez-vous francais at work.  I was thinking about her today when we saw a man walking a dog that looked just like Teddy.  I am also reminded of my friend Marci, when I walk the "Rue de grands Augustins" on my way back from the Seine, which I do with a great deal of regularity.

Notre Dame

Le Tour Eiffel

Our first night "out" (which we have been able to do a little bit, thanks to cousin Jasmine), we ran into an American couple (not our super-friendly neighbours), who mentioned that they have found it really difficult to find good food in Paris.  I know they were trying to bond with us, and sadly, as we have managed to eat some of the best food of our lives, we could not help them out.  I have made some good friends here (Paul, Georges Marnicol, Gerard Mulot--I am talking about YOU), and they have made sure that I am eating VERY well in Paris.

Paris Paparazzi

We have a little less than two weeks left on this holiday.  So far, this has been an amazing experience.  I hope that it will continue.  I am still looking forward to so many things:  fine dining at a restaurant known for the vegetarian focus of the chef, Disneyland with A, and a reunion with some of my own family (Caroline and Louise).  I know when we go, we will definitely have to come back again (because I now own TWO MacLaren strollers and I need to make sure they get used so I get value for the Euros we spent), as there is still so much MORE time I want to spend exploring the historical sites, which I have not been able to do with the children all being so little.

Getting Ready to Go to Paris

Doesn't everyone need a good quality pair of sunglasses before they go on holiday?

Gentian Violet

First of all, let me tell you that the Madonna concert truly, madly and deeply SUCKED THE BIG ONE.  It was the general consensus on Abu Dhabi Woman (the local ladies chat forum-I am Scout btw).  She came on the stage at 10:45 (over an hour after her opening act DJ quit, and the audience had been listening to the same MJ cd on repeat), and quite honestly, 90% of us could not see anything.  She appeared to have a brilliant stage set-up...but we certainly couldn't appreciate it.  Madge tried to go Tarantino the first act of her show, and it was just too much--give me sexy-naked Madonna over crazy-killer Madonna any day!...Peter and I left around 11:30 (leaving our friends Ajay, Bruce, Regina and LYDIA behind), and both felt that our fatigue the next morning was all for nothing.  I expected more, and can see why the MDNA album sales are so poor.  Thankfully we did not pay for that crappy experience.

Now, onto today.

Today I learned about just how unexpected and surprising life can be (again).

As I was still in the hazy place between sleep (a state I entered around 5 am) and waking (around 7:11) this morning, I would have never predicted that:

(a) there would be some (possibly dangerous?) winged creature making itself at home on my dining room shelf, where I display both precious objects and children's toys.

(b) Smile-ah FIVE TEETH (confirmed that number today) would pee on the sofa.

Thanks for the hat Gramma!

(c) Little A would start back up with the barfing today.

Burberry? LV?  Nooooo...
SUBWAY!

(c) N would recite the beginning of "Humpty Dumpty" (in his own language of course) while balancing precariously on the back of the sofa.

Humpty tubby

(d) Peter would leave a pen in his dress shirt pocket and I would have to use my 'emergency stain removal measures' (hairspray) to eliminate it (and also to impress the crap out of Malou).

...and all of that was before 10:30 this morning.

Smile-ah opted not to have an afternoon nap today (after 30 minutes of listening to her scream and play I gave up--YOU WIN Smile-ah!!).  Little A drank a lot of mint tea and managed to keep down the rest of her food AND have a solid poop.  I never DID find that winged creature...I sure hope it doesn't bite anybody tomorrow!

Tomorrow I need to start preparing for her birthday party (this Saturday...she is REALLY excited) and next week we will start preparing for our trip.

The coughs are still lingering around here...Peter's is THE WORST (followed second by little A).

Yo ADRIAN!

Yesterday, N discovered how to OPEN the doors.  Now, not only can he CLOSE them (with great relish and a loud SLAM!), but he can also open them.  This has prompted me to keep the outside door locked now, as he could potentially just open it and walk on out.

Today, I took A to see her dance class perform at the Officer's Club.  She was supposed to join them, but judging from the way she freezes up in her small 'in-class' performances, I decided she wasn't ready for it, and we just watched from the audience.  She really enjoyed herself, and seems excited to join next year's show.

S has had a swollen eye since Tuesday.  This morning, during breakfast, her left eye went from puffy to THIS!!

Our very own little "Rocky Balboa"

It's horrific to look at.  It even prompted little A to say (after looking at her cautiously for a bit, and getting really quiet) "Mom--YOU take her away and play with her...I don't like her when she looks like that."  I understood where she was coming from, b/c looking at THAT was what prompted me to take her for her SECOND emergency room visit of the day.

However, despite the way she looks, she has been playing happily and passing the day.  This morning (during our first E/R trip) she was a mess--but I think it had more to do with the timing (which was well past her nap time) than the experience.

Let's hope she is looking and FEELING better in the morning.  It has been a yucky day...and I look forward to a better one tomorrow.  

Wanted: cone bra

Peter and I have been hemming and haaa-ing about whether we should dish out the dough (about 600 aed) to attend the upcoming Madonna concert.

Originally, when the concert was announced, the first show sold out within minutes, leaving many very disappointed Madonna fans (not me).  Then, she announced a second show, and the UAE was a happy place once again.

Lately, people have started to notice tickets for the first show showing up for sale, at discounted prices.  This is really starting to tick people off, because they are realizing that the whole 'sold out' first show seems to be a bit of a misnomer.

Well--Peter and I loaded up all the kids in the green hornet today, and drove off to Marina Mall to pick up our COMPLEMENTARY general admission tickets this evening.  Apparently, all Etihad Gold clients are receiving this offer.

So, we WILL be seeing Madonna, live in concert.  We WILL have to stand the entire time (which is not super great), but this is balanced out by the fact that we did not actually pay for tickets to go.

Only in the UAE...