DEVON AT DOERNBECHER

Devon was discharged on Friday about 8:00pm. He's doing well, though his recovery has been different than Silas' recovery from a hernia repair. Devon's surgery was the result of an incarcerated hernia and Silas' wasn't. Devon's surgery was bilateral and Silas' wasn't. Devon's surgery was laproscopic and Silas' wasn't. I think the fact that Devon's belly button, which is one of the places they went in, was involved is why he's been moving a little more slowly. You can't ignore sore belly muscles! Anyway, he's doing well - went to church, is playing around the house, etc.

Just thought I'd share some pics of the adventure. Some were taken by me when I took Silas, Naomi, and my grandma up to see Devon before surgery on Friday. Some of them were taken by Devon. I told him we'd do a blog about his hospital stay like we did with Silas, so he took a bunch of pics of his room to share with all of you. One picture is the "photo shoot" taken during his surgery. I'll save it for last and give you a warning, in case pics of internal stuff gross you out.

* Devon thoroughly enjoyed having the ability to control the lights, TV, and bed movement from his own nifty remote control.

* The view from the bed. In case you were wondering, that's a scale to the right of the TV. Devon found that to be noteworthy.

* Nurse Kelly, who I'm sure would love this picture.

* The smoke alarm, track for the privacy curtain, and sprinkler ... all in one picture!

* Cool pictures and design bordering the wall.

* The super cool, glow-in-the-dark moon and stars above Devon's bed.

* Devon was being a little bit solemn and grumpy. It had nothing to do with medical problems and everything to do with copping an attitude. So, while everyone else went to hunt down the cafeteria, Devon and I did a photo shoot. He absolutely loves getting kissed by me. Loves it! Can you tell? The fact that I have him in lockdown is coincidental. I assure you that he was not trying to escape. And his hand by my chin? That's a stroke of affection and not a defensive push.

* Little case of the giggles.

* I specifically told Devon to be serious. He's so defiant.

* The loot! Devon came home with all sorts of goodies from the hospital and his visitors. We didn't get it all in this pic, but you can see how fruitful his visit was. They even had a bag of candy for him, since his surgery was on Halloween.

* Abs of Shrek, which is way cooler than abs of steel for any boy. The top one is for the belly button entry, the other two are the hernia sites. In case you missed it, when they pushed the incarcerated hernia back they discovered a mild hernia on the other side. So, he had both repaired. Did you notice how nicely his iodine skin matches his orange sheets?


* The next pic is of his insides, so feel free to be done reading if you have a wimpy tummy. The pics are small and aren't particularly gross or anything, but I know some people can't handle seeing anything internal under any circumstances. So, I'm just trying to be thoughtful. Nice of me, isn't it?

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The two pics on the left are where his incarcerated hernia was. See how there's a darker red area on the top left of the top picture? That was the hole the intestines, which are on the bottom left of the pic, went through. So, if you'd been watching the hernia happen, then you'd have seen the back of the intestines as they went away from you through that hole. In the bottom picture on the left you can see how they tightened the hole up so no more intestines can try to escape.

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The two pics on the right are where his mild hernia was. I think those pics are harder to "read". The top picture has a dark spot in the upper center. That's the escape hole. The bottom picture has a spot that's obviously been tightened up, but I have a hard time matching it up with the first picture. It's just not as clear as the first set of pics.