Jaxon's Surgery

Well this post is long over due. So many people offered prayers, love, support and concern for Jaxon and our family during his surgery and I know that they are waiting patiently, (well maybe not patiently) for an update. Most of you know that Jaxon was diagnosed with Positional Plagiocephaly when he was about 4 months old. So we initially started with helmet therapy when he was about 5 months. All along I had felt like there was something more going on and it was in fact true. He really had a suture in his skull that had fused prematurely. So needless to say we were told that our beautiful little boy would need to have Cranial vault surgery. This would require Jaxon to be cut from ear to ear and have the back of his skull removed and then put back together. It was a very scary time for us. We sought a second opinion in SLC at Primary Children's Hospital, but ultimately felt like we needed to be here. We met with the Cranial Facial Plastic Surgeon and Neurosurgeon here and really felt like the right thing for Jaxon would be to have the surgery done here. So our little guy had surgery on November 24, 2008. It was probably one of the longest days of our lives. We had to have Jaxon at the hospital at 6 am. Needless to say, he must have known something was happening, because he was up all night and finally at around 4 am I got up and decided to get ready. We arrived at the hospital and got Jaxon registered and then headed down to the surgery floor. Once we took him into the room it was becoming all too real. Up until this point I had not shed a tear. I don't know if it is the mother in me feeling like I had to be strong and not let anyone see my cry, but once they took Jaxon from us to the operating room I could not hold back the tears. The fear of not knowing how he was doing was hard for both Jeff and I. They took him into the OR at about 8 am. Dr. Cherny the Neurosurgeon was great at having someone call us about ever hour to let us know how things were going. He was done around 1 pm and was able to come and talk with us. It was a relief to know that Jaxon was doing well. Then the final part of the surgery was for the Cranial Facial Plastic Surgeon to do his part and put the skull back together. It was a very long and stressful day to say the least, but finally at around 3pm, Dr. Griffiths came out and told us that all had gone well. I guess the reason it took so long was because he had to hand suture most of the skull back together instead of using screws and plates. The skull was very thick in some areas and then very thin in others, so he really took his time and made sure it was done right. We finally were able to see Jaxon around 3:30 or 4. They took him up to the PICU and he was there for the first night. They basically just kept him sedated and comfortable the first night.

This is a photo of Jaxon the night before the surgery.

Here is is in the Pre-OP room before they gave him a little medicine so he would not remember when they took him to the OR and before they put him under.

Jaxon playing with the face mask

A picture of Jeff and I with Jaxon just before they took him to the OR.

Mommy and Jaxon

Here are some photos of Jaxon in the PICU after surgery

Notice the TV remote/with sound in the photo. They actually had a channel in the hospital of fish in the ocean, so I decided to leave it on in his bead because he seemed to enjoy the sound of the bubbles. He was pretty restless even with the sedation. Anything we can try to soothe our little ones !!

Here are some photos of our little man the day after surgery. They were surprised that he was doing so well. One tough little guy !!

He had some rough moments but for the most part he handled everything pretty well considering.

Here is a photo of Jaxon and Dr. Cherny the Neurosurgeon. He is such and amazing and skilled physician and we are so glad that he took such good care of Jaxon.

Day 2 after surgeryThey had these great little wagons that you could take the kids for walks in. It was great to be able to pull him around the hospital. It is hard to contain an 11 1/2 month old in a crib all day long. So Jeff piled up the pillows and made sure that Jaxon could not bump his head and we were off on an adventure around the hospital. We actually ran into the volunteers with the Therapy dogs, I of course did not have my camera, but Jaxon and Kaden both loved the dogs.

Day 3 after surgery -- Here are some photos of Jaxon and Papa Keith. Jeff's parents were able to come out and stay with us for about 3 weeks during this whole process. It was a great blessing to have them here and know that they would be able to care for Kaden and make sure his days were somewhat normal while all of this was going on. They were also a great help when we finally brought Jaxon home.

Next Post ....Thanksgiving !!! The day we were able to take Jaxon home. What a great day !!