Small Mercies

It’s so beautiful how the small mercies are everywhere.

Chase had an incredibly early surgery time which allowed us to avoid traffic (as much as you ever can avoid traffic in Chicago…on a Friday…during construction season…)

The anesthesiologist on duty today has worked with Chase multiple times and knows his preferences well.  In fact, this doctor was the same doctor who administered anesthesia on Chase’s final day of radiation (December 12, 2012) and he still remembered Chase and the party at the radiation center.  This doctor always carries a mini iPad with him to distract children going into the OR which meant Chase was so busy playing “Fruit Niinja” that he barely noticed us as we parted.  (This is what we want, right?)

The surgeon assigned to Chase was actually one of the few at Lurie who hasn’t placed a central line for Chase.  Okay, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but when the doctor walked into the room and said “I see that several of my colleagues have worked with Chase…”, suffice to say Chase’s central line history preceded him.  He told us that there can be complications to removing a port – like the tube being stuck in the muscle – but today, there were none.

Chase’s oxygen saturation levels dropped slightly after surgery, but he remained stable (with a little help from the oxygen mask) and awoke well.

The peripheral IV (which has always been placed in his thin-skinned, often bruised arms) was placed in his foot – making it that much easier to remove and giving his arms a break.

And when he sat up to leave in recovery, he placed a hand across his chest -as if to both protect and feel the change-, looked at Bob and me, and said: “I’m free!”

At last.

Goodbye, dear port.  We’ll miss you, but not really…

Moment by moment.