I’ll Take 3 New Bellybuttons, Please

At Lauren, Drew and Jack’s last checkup, we discussed with the pediatrician the umbilical hernia that each of them had. We had been taking a wait and see approach over the last few years, but at this point the waiting period was up. At the 4 year point, they no longer had a chance to heal up on their own. He left it up to us when we wanted to pursue the “s” word. But, since we’ve already met the out-of-pocket maximum for our medical insurance (thanks to the kind of year we were having), this year was looking like a pretty good time to us. We decided to at least meet with the surgeon and get more information before we decided, though.

When I first told the kids that I was taking them to visit a doctor who was going to look at their bellybuttons, they all giggled. They thought it was the funniest thing that I would take them to someone to look at their bellybutton! But, then they started to figure out why their navals would need to be looked at, and they started to get concerned. Despite that, the first visit with the surgeon went pretty well, aside from Drew telling him repeatedly that he didn’t want a new bellybutton. The surgeon confirmed that all 3 of our kids having umbilical hernias probably was due to them being born prematurely. However, we were still the first set of triplets he had operated on for this. (Sadly, this isn’t the first time our family has created a first for a doctor.) But he did say their hernias weren’t that big and we could wait if we so desired, but confirmed they would not improve with time. There was a small chance they could cause them pain later, but most likely they wouldn’t get worse. He also told us to consider the reaction of other kids who might make fun of them for their large outties. So we talked about the pros and cons and wondered what we would like our parents to do if we were them. We decided to get it over with rather than wait for an unlikely but potential emergency, especially since it would only get harder for them to take a weekend off as they get older and involved in more activities. What sealed it for me was the night when Drew told me that he had pain around his bellybutton. His hernia was the largest, and I sure didn’t like to see my kiddo in pain if we could get it fixed!

We scheduled the surgery ASAP, to avoid all the rescheduling and added misery that would inevitably happen once cold season was in full swing. So our weekend of fun began on Sept 3rd (guess not many people wanted to deal with surgery during Labor Day weekend). Earlier in the week, I did some preregistration over the phone. When they found out we had recently had a Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease epidemic in our house, they wanted to reschedule. After some pleading on my part that they weren’t contagious anymore and this would cause some huge problems for our family, they finally consented to go ahead. But every sniffle from then on freaked me out, and I was scared that we would have to reschedule again after I begged them to go on! We even kept the kids inside the day before their surgery, just to keep their allergies at bay.

Two days before the surgery, I took the trio on a tour of the hospital for them to see where they would be and ask any questions. I waited until just before then to break the news that the were having surgery, to hopefully avoid any unnecessary anxiety. They were a little crazy, though, running everywhere during the tour. I hoped it was just nervous energy and not how they would act for the big day. Our tour guide was so helpful and assured Drew that he had a very nice surgeon. Drew responded with, “Is he nicer than God?” Overall, the kids took the news of their impending bellybutton fixes pretty well. Once they saw the toys they would get to play with at the hospital, and I promised them no shots (they knock them out and then put in the IVs), it was no big deal. I have to say that I was glad to hear about no needles, too. I had a surgery when I was 5 and was literally traumatized by needles for the next 20 years (until I went through fertility treatments and had to get over it)! My family can heartily verify this and are probably laughing as they read this. Another thing I learned from the tour was that each kid got to take 2 things into surgery with them, like teddy bears. That helped ease some anxiety, too.

Every day after that, the kids asked me if they were supposed to eat breakfast (they were a little confused on the timing), but otherwise, they didn’t talk about the surgery too much. The morning of the surgery went pretty smoothly and Lauren, Drew and Jack did better than I expected with the whole not eating part. Alyssa was a good big sister and ate breakfast when they weren’t around. She seemed to do pretty well with everything, too, and her only concern was that their new bellybuttons would be scary looking. But she seemed happy enough to go off to school for her normal routine and have her chicken nuggets for lunch. So, we were glad that she was in good hands, and as the bus pulled away, Drew and I headed off to the hospital (he was first in line). 

After dragging a very impatient kid through registration, we were soon in our to our pre-op room. Then Drew told me very sadly that he missed his family. But soon enough, there were 5 of us in our little room and it was back to chaotic instead of quiet. The kids had to do some preliminary prep work and change into scrubs. Drew especially didn’t want to put his on (maybe because they were peach?), but we assured him he looked like he worked at the hospital and we called him Dr. Drew. While the nurse was checking his siblings’ vitals, Dr. Drew took his title very seriously and coached his siblings through how to take deep breaths to make their pulse ox readings go up to 100% (When you are four years old, 100 is the coolest number ever!)

Things were going pretty smoothly until a fight erupted while the surgeon was having us sign papers and 2 nurses were taking vital signs and updating charts. Dave had to break up the shoving match, and the surgeon just looked at me, grinned, and shook his head. Other than that, the kids did fine with all the waiting and didn’t seem too nervous. We passed the time with lots of toys, cartoons and coloring. There was also a nurse there to help ease anxiety and make us comfortable. She was so helpful, and brought all the kids their own masks to get used to what would happen in the operating room (they wheeled them in, put the mask on and knocked them out with gas). They also got to pick a flavor of chapstick to put around the mask to make it smell good. This was a huge decision for them, but I really think it made them feel more comfortable and more importantly gave them control over something. Another really thoughtful nurse got a mask and chapstick for Alyssa, too. So we are well equipped to play hospital now, especially with all the gloves, masks, gauze and surgeons hats they sent home from the tour.

When it was time for Drew to get on the bed to take his ride to surgery, he said “I’m going to be really scared.”  He snuggled his teddy bear tightly, but was soon distracted him when we told him his bed was like a race car. I walked down the hall to the operating room with him, but it was really hard to hug him goodbye. But, since he wasn’t crying or scared that helped me. The nurses said he did really well after I left, too.

After that, Jack and Lauren seemed to have fun playing with the new toys all by themselves. At one point, a nurse stopped by and told us she just loved hearing our kids in the hallway. She said they sounded like happy chipmunks with their little voices. The surgeon came out and told us that Drew did great and soon it was Jack’s turn. The nurse told me later that they didn’t think he could do any better than Drew, but he did. He cracked everyone up by the way he held his mask on during the whole trip down the hall and didn’t remove it until he was asleep from the gas, too.

After that, it was kind of a crazy circus keeping track of everyone. Lauren was about ready to go into surgery (but happily singing “Life is A Highway”, playing with toys and watching Toy Story by herself). Then they told me that Drew needed me in recovery. When I got there, he was groggy and crying and in pain. Since he can’t have morphine (due to a bad reaction to a similar medicine), they were having trouble finding something else to control his pain. I felt so badly for him because I’ve experienced the same thing, and then he freaked a little when he saw a syringe coming towards his IV (he thought I broke my promise of no shots!). He also wasn’t too happy about the splint on his arm to protect the IV and pulse oximeter, but one of the nurses eventually talked him into leaving it alone. But the 2nd dose of pain medicine did the trick and he slept some more and was fine.

Jack came out soon after that and was put in the bay straight across from Drew (it was cute to watch them later waving to each other). Most parents don’t see their kids before they wake up, but I got to since I was already there for Drew. It was tough to see him so awkwardly unconscious. Whereas Drew woke up right away, Jack slept 45 minutes and woke up a little too wide eyed from the meds, but otherwise chipper. The nurse was very amused by him using words like actually all the time and the way he scarfed down 2 popsicles right away. It was hard to sit there and watch the nurse do her job while I waited my turn, and I couldn’t wait to give him a hug. But at least Dave was in recovery with me at that point to watch our boys sleep.

Lauren came out then and was placed next to Drew, but slept for a while in a position that couldn’t have been comfortable. Drew was asking where she was later and was comforted to know she was right next to him. They told us that she did even better than boys at being in the OR and she chatted away even when they put the mask on her. She told them all about her bed at home and the playhouse in her room and the Barbie house inside. They finally had to get started so they just gassed her out as she talked. She slept peacefully for a while after surgery, too. When she woke up and too full advantage of the offer eat some pudding (breakfast of champions, huh?). It’s amazing how little you say no to your kids on the day that they have surgery.

About that time, Drew’s pain started to break through again as he moved around to get dressed. His IV had already been taken out, and they had to call the anesthesiologist back. Fortunately, the ibuprofen they gave him worked after 10 minutes (especially for the sake of the other patients right there). I was so glad that we got to have the grandparents back in recovery to help with kids at that point. (Hospital policy is to only have one adult per child in recovery, but they gave us the rock star treatment and accommodated us once again.) It was getting a little chaotic with kids getting IVs out, getting dressed, filling snack orders, visits to the Treasure Chest and Jack bopping around talking to everyone (he was discharged before Drew’s pain took off).

Once Jack took his wagon ride out of there, it was soon time for Lauren and Drew to be discharged all at once. Before we left, one nurse told us it was a very exciting day for them as well to have the triplets there. We were so grateful for all the wonderful care they gave to our entire family, and all that they did to make it as positive of an experience as possible. Drew said several times after we left how he missed all the fun that he had at the hospital (and he’s the one that was in pain)!

We got home about 45 minutes before Alyssa got off the bus. Once she got home, it was almost like things were back to normal. Lauren didn’t understand why she couldn’t ride her scooter after having a fresh incision before she even entered the house. Kids were chattering. Fights were breaking out. New works of art were being created. And the house was full of exhausted adults who didn’t realize how emotionally exhausting the day would be. But being home just made life seem normal again. We even were blessed with a good night sleep the first night, when we were sure someone would wake up needing pain medicine.

Our only challenge now is to get the kids not to touch their bellybuttons too much. They love to lift their shirts up and say, “Do you want to see my bellybutton?” That will make the kids at preschool run out of there like they are in a horror movie! The day after his surgery, Jack told me that his bellybutton was getting coo-ul. But they are doing great now. We are off all pain medicine and all the bruising is gone. We are just waiting for the incisions to heal up all the way.

It could have turned out so differently and so many other things could have gone wrong. We are so grateful to those who prayed for our family and to God for protecting our babies. Even though I was hoping during this first post about bellybuttons that the hernias would heal up without surgery, God provided every step of the way from finances to wonderful help and support. Our lives are truly full of blessings and we are so very thankful for that.

 

God bless,

Amanda