February 21, 2005
Tyler's Surgery
Tyler was recently diagnosed with hydrocele, which essentially means that he had a very small hernia. Scott talked with a doctor in the States and used a medical referral service provided by Intel to make sure that we found a hospital with high quality care. After several doctor's visits and a consultation with a pediatric surgeon, we decided to have the operation in Israel.
The surgery took place at a private hospital less than a mile away from our apartment. We didn't even know there was a hospital there (Tyler's trip to the emergency room last year was at a public hospital, also about a mile away from our apartment). Everyone called it Alicia hospital, which we thought was a funny name for the hospital. It wasn't until we got there that we realized that it is called Elisha hospital, which makes more sense in this Biblical land.
Our friend Heidi drove up from Herzliya to watch Brooke during the surgery, so we could both go to the hospital. We had to be at the hospital at 7:15 AM. It was a good thing it was early because Tyler wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything. Once at the hospital, we paid upfront for the operation (3,551 shekels). In the lobby, Tyler found the business card for an ambulance service, which thrilled him. He carried it with him throughout the day.
The ambulance cardAfter checking in and paying, they sent us up to the surgery level, where they got Tyler ready for the operation. We can usually understand everyone with a mix of Hebrew and English, however, only a few of the nurses spoke English. Fortunately, the nurses that didn't speak English spoke French. It was the first time that speaking French has really come in useful in Israel.
Everyone was really nice and kept telling us how cute Tyler is. We dressed Tyler in a hospital gown and waited for the surgeon.
Tyler studying his ambulance card
The patient and his mommyScott put on a smock, shoe covers and a scrub hat so that he could help Tyler to the operating room. Dr. Shoshani, the surgeon, came and talked with us for a few minutes. We also talked to the anesthesiologist and then Scott signed all the paperwork.
All dressed upDr. Shoshani told Tyler that they were going to go play. He said he had a balloon to blow up and a TV for Tyler to watch. Tyler and Scott then went with the doctor to the operating room while Tiffany went to the waiting area. The balloon was part of the breathing apparatus and the TV was the vitals monitor.
They asked Tyler to blow up the balloon through the breathing mask, but Tyler refused, so Scott pretended to blow in the mask. Tyler was a little freaked out, probably because it all looked strange and there were 6 or 7 people clustered around the operating table. Scott eventually promised Tyler a new Lego set if he would calm down and breathe into the mask. Scott held the mask on Tyler's face until his eyes began to flutter and then they asked Scott to leave. Tyler still had the ambulance card gripped tightly in his hand, so they said it was OK to leave it with him.
Tiffany waiting patientlyScott then joined Tiffany in the waiting room. At about 8 AM, one of the French speaking nurses came out and told us that Tyler was fully asleep and the surgery had started. About half an hour later, the doctor came out to tell us that he was done and that it had gone well. Scott went with Dr. Shoshani to the recovery room. The surgeon answered Scott's questions and detailed the only post-operation restriction - no baths for two days. Remember, this is a pediatric surgeon, so he knows the futility of trying to restrict a 3 year old from running, jumping and playing.
Tyler was snoring in a bed with padded rails and he was attached to a heart and oxygen monitor. The nurses warned Scott that Tyler would thrash around when he woke up. After 10-15 minutes, Tyler woke up and started thrashing around. The nurses helped Scott hold Tyler to calm him down.
Tyler in the recovery roomAfter a few more minutes, Tyler asked for his mommy, so the nurses went and got Tiffany. Tiffany asked Scott if Tyler should have his blanket and she spelled out b-l-a-n-k-e-t as she asked. Tyler immediately asked for his blanket. Tyler does this more and more; we are afraid that we can no longer communicate by spelling! Scott ran and got the blanket out of the prep room. At this point Tyler insisted that they take the IV out of his hand, which they wouldn't do, so he was mad. Fortunately, they had kept track of the ambulance card, so we were able to give it to him when he asked for it to make him happy.
Post-op comfortingAt about 9 AM, when Tyler was a little more alert, they moved us to a more comfortable recovery room. The room had a TV with children's shows on and another little boy who had just gotten out of surgery.
Tyler was grumpy and kept demanding to go home. He also refused to drink any water. He pulled off his blanket and gown and said he didn't want to get dressed. Everyone was worried that he would get cold, but the room was at a comfortable temperature. They asked us where we were from and when we said we were from Oregon, they understood why he wasn't cold. By the way, it is common for people here to tell us to dress our children more warmly. We think it is funny when we see people all bundled up on a cool, but comfortable day.
At 9:30 AM, they took out Tyler's IV. He was gradually starting to act more himself, getting interested in what was on TV and talking to us. We pulled out some candy that we had brought and Tyler demanded some. Fifteen minutes later, Tyler was back to himself. We let him unwrap the Lego set and waited until 10:30 AM when they let us go home.
Tyler showing off his prize in the hospital lobby
When we got home, Tyler was acting so well that we decided to go out to lunch with Heidi and James. We went to Sea Waves, our favorite Chinese restaurant. Tyler even ate quite a bit of food.
A few days after the operation, Tyler started picking at his incision because it itched and pulled out part of a stitch. The doctor said it was OK, but we decided to put a band-aid over the stitch. Tyler put the band-aid on himself, but put it lengthwise along the incision!
We met with Dr. Shoshani one week after the surgery and Tyler checked out great. We paid Dr. Shoshani 4,000 shekels for performing the operation. In total it came to 8,511 shekels (about $1,900) for the consultations and operation. We thought it was pretty reasonable. Our insurance company paid the claim right away. We are glad we decided to have the operation in Israel and grateful that everything went so well. Tyler is fully recovered and is a little too proud of his scar on his abdomen. He likes to show it off on occasion.
Tyler-isms:
"I don't want to blow up a balloon that has a thing over my nose." - Tyler did not want to put on the oxygen mask.
"Nylon" - hospital gown
"I have a red string on my tummy like on my pants." - A few days after the operation, Tyler picked out one of his stitches.