Early Christmas Magic

Sometimes, Christmas Magic comes in abundance. With a lake effect storm swirling outside the PICU window, my little boy was tucked safely in a warm bed. Breathing, completely on his own.

He didn't feel very good, but Santa Claus made his way through the PICU and gave each child a small gift and their parents a great dose of hope and joy.

A little Christmas Magic

The night fell and my small boy continued to breathe, having only one temporary desaturation (likely a central apnea, unrelated to the procedure). In the morning, the nurse brought a tray full of breakfast. Aspiration is a big risk from this surgery, so we needed to have him eat successfully before he could go home. Nolan took one look at the eggs, and immediately wolfed them down. Then he asked for some cereal. Then a Popsicle. Then some macaroni and cheese.

The ENT called to see how he was doing, and she was amazed and thrilled. This surgery almost NEVER results in such a fast recovery. To everyone who said a prayer for our dear boy, thank you. They worked, and worked well!

By the afternoon, the ENT said he was doing so well he could be discharged a day early. We unhooked the I.V., took off the blood pressure cuff, and prepared Nolan to go home. There was, however, a little glitch. Nolan became rather attached to his EKG leads, and called them his "powers." Whenever anyone would come to his bedside, he would look at them out of the corner of his eyes and would say, "I have powers." We also learned very quickly not to reason with a three year old on drugs. Loratab is a wonderful invention, but makes Nolan a wee bit goofy!

When the nurse wanted to remove his "powers," he threw a fit. She had to give him her cell phone as a diversion, then removed the wires. She left the stickers on to avoid a full-scale revolt. She also gave him extra small leads to use at home.

Nolan, with Powers.

As we left the PICU, we ran into a group of elves handing out teddy bears. Nolan's Very Sad Eyes earned him a free teddy bear, then we walked to the elevator to go home. The elevators were not working for some reason, so we went over to the employee-access one (PICU patients are walked out by a staff member). The elevator was going in the wrong direction, so we went along for the ride. As it turns out, this was a very lucky decision! The Niagara County Sheriff's Department volunteers boarded our elevator with a giant bin full of toys. They saw Nolan's Very Sad Eyes and immediately gave him a V-Tech electronic reader and software.

By the time we left the hospital, we were lugging enough loot to rival Santa's sleigh. Despite feeling rather poorly and being in pain, these gifts brought a big smile to our little guy's face. Well, most of the time, anyway!

Feeling poorly, but healing quickly!

So now we sit, with a little boy who is healing rapidly and asleep in his own bed, breathing under his own power. And what better Christmas gift could possibly exist?