Leos' Journey

Todays the day !!
Well it started as every other day has since we arrived..Leo refusing to wake up which is good because we decided to let him sleep as long as possible after all not being allowed to eat or drink is no fun at all. We had to be at the hospital at 9am and all we had to bring was Leos teddy bear.
Leo was so excited at the prospect of actually sleeping at America (The hospital) the grin on his face was a mile wide! We checked in and were directed to the 6th floor. When we arrived the receptionist took us through the information we needed to know. We were shown through to the ward and Leo was weighed and measured. The nurse introduced hersef as Lori and we were then taken to a treatment room where Leos blood pressure and blood oxygen levels were taken  ( the blood pressure cuff was put on his leg and the blood oxygen peg on his toes). At this point Leo became anxious and wanted to go back to the hotel to see his friends, he decided he didnt like the nurse!  The anaesthetist nurse came to introduce himself and went through Leos history. then the Anaesthetist himself came down and let Leo choose his mask, the options were Chocolate, banana and bubble gum, Leo chose bubble gum. The nurse then came with loopy juice...the mild sedative they use for the transistion to theatre. Within minutes the anaesthetist returned to take Leo to theatre even before the loopy juice became effective. The anaesthetist took Leo into his arms and told him they were going on an adventure, Leo looked over the guys shoulder and the last thing he said was 'see you in a minute'
And the wait began.
After an hour or so the first phone call came through from Amy in the operating room letting us know Leo was fine and Dr Parks had started the procedure and that they would call again in an hour.
Even though we knew he was in theatre and we knew why it brought the images of what was actually happening behind those doors into reality, a reality we really didnt want or need to think about. As much as we were looking forward to that call we dreaded it too after no news is good news!
The second call came through Leo is doing good stats are fine and will call you back in an hour..and the wait continues..
Well that hour passed soooooo slowly
Before we knew it Dr Parks had appeared in front of us with a huge smile on his face and said it had gone as he expected it too and Leo is doing great so now we are just waiting to go through to see Leo in the recovery room......................
Leos stay in the recovery room was short and sweet and he was soon moved up to the 7th floor (room 1) Where he was introduced to Suzie his own nurse who's job is to constantly monitor Leo and make sure his pain level is kept to a minimum. Suzie was brilliant and told us all we needed to know about life on intensive care.

Suzie went off duty at 7pm. At Childrens the nurses work a 12 hour shift three times a week and Leos care was handed over to Casey. Casey again took the time to make sure that everything Jo needed to know was sorted and it is really lovely the way she seems to be able to settle Leo and answer all his questions. At Childrens they really do direct everything through the child and are happy to put their minds at ease too. Leo is having some issues with vomitting and is struggling to maintain his oxygen levels. For the vomitting Leo is being given some meds to control that. The oxygen isnt quite so easy they have tried using the tube to blow the oxygen straight into his mouth and the nasel inserts but as Leo sleeps with his mouth open this doesnt seem to be the best option, He currently has a mask that covers both his nose and mouth and so far this is doing the job. Joanne has elected to stay at his bedside overnight and the doctors are making their official rounds tomorrow morning, I say official because two doctors have already popped in just to check on him.
The care he is recieving at Childrens is beyond anything we expected even after other familys told us this would be the case. November 16th is always going to be an important date in the calender of Leos life.
Leo is expected to be able to go on the general ward tomorrow afternoon (Wednesday) providing they can settle the issues of today.
Will write more once he is settled on 12th.