Monday night was *long*.

Mason was kept comfortable with an assortment of painkillers, but there were 4 adults and 2 babies in the hospital room all night. Mason and Mom spend most of the night in a recliner (which we had to specifically request–there wasn’t one in the room when we arrived). Dad actually slept in the hospital bed that was designated for Mason–which was only about 4.5 feet long. Several nurses chuckled to see me curled up on that tiny bed. Between Mason and his roommate, there was a doctor or nurse coming in every 20 minutes or so, and the machines started beeping whenever anyone seemed comfortable, so sleep was scarce.

Poor Andrea had the tough job — Mason is starting to develop separation anxiety, and won’t be separated from Momma for anything. He even clung on when he was sleeping.

Mason has been doing very well though. Much better, in fact, than after his first surgery. He actually ate a bit on Monday, and even more on Tuesday, so by 4 o’clock in the afternoon his surgeon said we could leave. Of course, it took another 2 1/2 hours to get discharged, but we were VERY excited to be going home. Mason has pretty much been his old self, actually, but he looks like he’s had collagen injections in his lips .

For those who are curious, the surgeon did some revisionary work on his lip while he was sedated, which is why his scar is scabby-looking.

Mason actually made quite a few friends while we were in the hospital. Aside from his roommate Gregory (whose surgery went well, by the way), we met a sweet little girl named Carmyn, a very nice golden retriever named Jessie, and a pair of clowns named Glitter and Flip-flop. We were curious how the clowns would be recieved, but Mason was fascinated by the two of them.

Since we’ve been home, our biggest worry is keeping Mason hydrated. So far, he is just as fussy an eater as he ever was before surgery, and getting him to take the sippy cup has been a challenge. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts, we’ve been reduced to spoon-feeding Mason most of his liquids. It’s a slow process, but not as bad as we expected; regardless, it gets the fluid in him, which is all that matters right now.

Perhaps we’d have better luck if we put the formula in a green glass bottle: Mason can’t seem to keep his hands off of the Heineken. Every time Grandpa or I have one, it’s all he can pay attention to.

For those who are interested in the particulars of the procedure, Mason’s doctor basically had to open up the entire roof of his mouth to access the different layers of muscle, as well as to manipulate the tissue to the correct position. We were lucky enough to snap this picture of Mason’s mouth, which clearly shows three lines of stitches: one down each side of his mouth, as well as one down the middle of the cleft. Less clear are the stitches that pull the two sides of his upper gum together in the front. And of course, the new tubes in Mason’s ears added to the procedure, as well. It’s pretty amazing that they did all of that work in about 3 hours or so.

We’re still not sure when we’ll be heading home to Mt. Pleasant. Mason has been doing very well, but if things take a turn, we need to be near to the hospital. We can’t wait to see everyone, though! We appreciate all of the support we’ve been getting from everyone.

In lighter news, Mason was doing his naked yoga last week (what, you don’t do naked yoga?), and we had a little photo shoot. Here are some of the highlights:

I think this pose is called ‘Downward Dog,’ or something. This is Mason’s preffered mode of transportation. He gets himself up like this (although usually he’s got clothes on ), and then plops his butt down in whatever direction he’s trying to move. Rinse and repeat, and you’ve got forward (albeit slow) progress.

This one isn’t technically a yoga position, but we figured his girlfriends might enjoy the pose. Mason is quite the ladies’ man, it seems.

Thanks again for all the support. I’ve got a few videos to post whenever I’ve got a better internet connection. Until then, thanks for your prayers, and we’ll see you soon!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 6th, 2008 at 7:05 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.