Cancelled Surgery - PTSD Part II
When we found out the doctors wanted to taken Dylan’s one and only kidney out, it was very difficult to wrap our heads around. There were so many questions in the beginning because it seemed like an impossibility. We learned, in time, that it was in fact possible, and relatively common. Once we had all our questions answered and understood that this was really the best option for Dylan, especially once he gets his transplant, we started preparing to relocate to BC Children’s Hospital and Ronald McDonald House. Removing Dylan’s only kidney meant that he would need to be switched to hemodialysis (HD), which is only done at BC Children’s Hospital for children. We were told that the hope was to leave his peritoneal dialysis (PD) catheter in, and once recovered from his nephrectomy, we could test the catheter. If it still works than we could go home and wait for transplant. If it does not, than we have to stay in Vancouver until transplant as he will be reliant on HD. So this was a very big plan with a lot of time in Vancouver and our family being spit, to get Dylan his transplant.
His surgery was scheduled for a Tuesday morning, first case of the day. I was excited to hear that so he wouldn’t need to fast for very long, nor would we need to sit around waiting all day for Dylan to go into surgery. Brian and I got Dylan checked in to pre-surgical and started getting him ready for surgery. My anxiety and stress were building as we sat in the pre-surgical room. I have sat in these rooms seven times before. Seven times before, I have held my child in my arms while they put him to sleep to have an operation. The emotions and memories of each time come back to me every time while I sit and wait. This was the biggest surgery one of my children was going to have, and that was weighing heavy on me.
The anaesthetist came in and gave his speech on what was going to happen. Then the surgeon came and gave his speech. He also signed Dylan with a smiley face to confirm which side he was operating on. All the checks were done that needed to be done, except accessing Dylan’s port. From everyone talking it sounded like we were about to go to the OR. I asked the nurse twice when we were going to access Dylan’s port. I knew they wanted to use it for the surgery, and we were already at the time the surgery was supposed to start. The only response was that they would do it when they were ready to go.
This is when I knew something was wrong. When they know Dylan’s port needs to be accessed, it’s done right away so it doesn’t delay anything. Especially just to make sure that it can, in fact, be accessed and we don’t have to come up with a different plan. So I was getting nervous because this should have been done already. Next, the surgeon drops in and says “I have bad news guys”. My heart sank to my stomach. Surgery is cancelled. All my stress and anxiety came crashing down on me.
So many things went through my head. Will this also delay transplant? When can the surgery be done next? How long are we going to be stuck in Vancouver for? So many questions and so many emotions. Dylan’s surgery was cancelled because there was no PICU room available for him to go to after the surgery, and he needed to be in the PICU at least for the first night. After a while, I started to feel guilty that I was mad this all came down to a PICU room. But Dylan was quite stable and someone else’s child obviously wasn’t and needed a PICU room before Dylan’s surgery happened. I started focusing on the next scheduled surgery date, which was the upcoming Friday. Only a few days! We were warned the same thing could happen so to manage our expectations.
Brian had to go home with Mason, so I brought Dylan over to pre-surgical and went through the same anxiety and stress as I did a few days before. This time, Dylan’s port was accessed relatively quickly before the surgeon even came to see us, which provided me with a lot of relief. I knew this was a good sign and was hoping we would finally get him into the OR for the surgery he needed, and we wouldn’t have to go through another devastation of a cancelled surgery. Thankfully, everything went as planned and I did get to bring Dylan in for his surgery, which went successfully.
Have you had a surgery cancelled last minute?
