Cooper had to have his surgery in 2 stages as they said it was a huge surgery an didnt want to turn him during surgery.
Cooper has finally had his long awaited cranio surgery. (first stage anyway) 5 1/2 hours. He was then in intensive care for 3 days and then we went to the ward for 4 days. He was such a good patient! he barely cried, though he was pretty doped up on morphene. He lost a lot of blood and had to have a blood transfusion and was hooked up to a lot of iv's for a few days, he had to have extra platelets to stop the bleeding but he recovered really well and we are all so proud of him for being so brave. His eyes were swollen shut for most of the hospital stay and opened by the day we got to go home. Maddi was great coming to the hospital every day, she was good for mum, who was looking after her and she mostly spent her time playing in the hospital play rooms and fairy garden, Cooper loved hearing her voice every day, even though he coulnt see her, he would still put his hands out to try to pull her hair when he heard her voice. Coops head looks great, the huge scar starts at one ear and zig zags over to the other ear, but it looks good, clean and not too sore and he hasnt lost too much hair. Now we are just preparing for the next stage which is on Thursday. I think he is going to be wise to what is going on though and will not be too keen on going back in to the hospital. The nurses and doctors and Coopers surgeons were brilliant, the nurses were so kind and caring and the surgeons did a fantastic job, we have complete faith and trust in them and wouldnt want to be in any other hospital in the world. Its very hard to see your kids go through any type of pain, if you could take it away and swap places with them you would, Cooper is a strong boy and we all have to be just as strong for him.
YAY, we are finally out of hospital!!! Coop is done. Hopefully no more operations for a while. He looks great and is pretty happy considering he has just had his skull taken apart, reshaped and put back together. Another 6 long hours, blood transfusions, intensive care, morphene, etc. etc. etc.
Staying in hospital is like share housing, you share a bathroom, laundry and kitchen, you learn all the patients stories and you meet so many amazing strong kids and parents. You learn to appreciate everything so much more when you are in a ward with sick kids that spend so much time in hospital yet they are so happy and no matter what your child is there for there is always a family who have it worse than you. You also end up feeling other parents pain and you get emotional for them and with them.
When you are in there (hospital) nothing on the outside seems to matter. The real world is just in the back of your mind, all the bills and trivial things dont seem to exist and all that matters to you is your children.
The nurses and doctors at Sydney Childrens hospital are amazing and i love them for looking after cooper and caring so much! They even made maddi feel at home, they gave her craft and stickers and took her to the play room. The volunteers are so giving too, they come around everyday and give the parents a break, by sitting with your child or giving them a cuddle or playing with them if they are older kids, just so you can go and have a shower or a coffee or a well needed break.
There was one family in there whose little boy had been in hospital for the whole 7 months of his life!! The mother is amazing, she has 2 other kids, of whom Maddi befriended and played with everyday and to see the mum just soldiering on and being happy dealing with this as her everyday life was inspiring.
This week at the hospital is Gold Week, which doesnt just donate money to one particular fund, the money goes to the whole of the Sydney Childrens Hospital, which is a fantastic idea as there are so many different conditions and illnesses, all of which deserve much needed funds. If you are reading this please buy a gold week badge they are only $3 and every little bit helps!
Cooper is still irritable and sore and has still got a way to go before his head actually looks "normal". His face has to grow and eventually his scar will heal and his hair will grow and cover it, but he is doing well so far and we just have to take everyday as it comes. We have more appointments with Cooper and other things to deal with besides his head but i will keep you posted... Thanks for reading and remember...... Donate to Sydney Kids Hospital Randwick !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They deserve it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Last edited by SarahCB; June 2nd, 2007 at 12:43 PM.
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