Christopher's Surgery Went Great!

Christopher before surgery

Hi and thanks to all who prayed for today to go well. For those of you who don't already know, Christopher had to have dental surgery under general anesthesia today. All his major dental work (sealants, x-rays, fillings, cleanings) have to be done under a general due to his behavioral issues. We were dreading today, knowing that Christopher has extreme anxiety problems anyway (without surgery!).

Julia comforts Christopher after his IV is started

We were blessed to have my friend Julia drive us down and help Amy and I out. Christopher loves Julia so her presence was a real comfort. He was anxious, but did great at keeping himself from becoming self-injurious or from getting aggressive. He was able to verbalize "I'm afraid", which was a huge milestone for him in and of itself!

He had 4 baby teeth extracted (the permanent teeth were already coming in but the baby teeth weren't falling out), cleaning, x-rays and a phrenulectomy (removed tissue between his two front teeth). He came out of anesthesia looking like he had been socked in the mouth, but otherwise did quite well. He has 4 stitches that will have to be removed on recheck.

Last time he had this, we ended up back in the ER with an asthma flare up, but this time he seems to have rebounded well. We had a fabulous anesthesiologist (even started the IV herself) who, when told of the problems last time, gave albuterol to Christopher while he was still intubated. The only problem he's having now is pain (we have good meds for that) and HIVES. The hives have abated with 50 mg. of Benedryl. :)

Thanks again for your prayers! NO major meltdowns, NO puking, NO aggression, NO asthma flare! YEAH!

Love, Claudia