26 February

Max’s Big Day. Today he had his ileostomy reversal surgery. We arrived at the hospital at about 7.30am, and he was sedated and intubated, back on the ventilator. Apparently it was a bit difficult to intubate him, and they had to have two attempts, but the second was good. The anaesthetist and surgeon came and talked through the procedure and potential consequences/complications with us, and finally he went into theatre at about 9.30.

The whole thing took about 2 hours or so, and all the team seemed happy with the surgery when they came out. He was good in terms of ventilation/respiration, barely any blood loss (didn’t need any ‘top up’ blood), and they all seemed positive. He has no stoma anymore (and no umbilicus), just a dressing on his abdomen.
We left him at about 1pm, as he was opening his eyes a little – but clearly still pretty drugged. He will stay sedated for a while now, moving to morphine only over the next 24 hours. Obviously the wound site, and his abdomen, will be painful for a while. When we left, he was in 21% oxygen (air), and looking very good.

So, now we wait. The next 24-26 hours are all about surgery recovery and waiting to see if the bowel re-section worked. Then, feeds may recommence, and the ventilation tube may be able to be removed. It’s all just about waiting. I'm not good at patience, never have been. We wait.