Stitches

Getting ready for a (minor) operation still takes some prep time. The day before, I was able to buy snacks for the hospital, and pack our bags. We woke up at 4am to make it to the hospital by 6am. Clark wasn’t even scheduled until 7:30am, but they needed us in early for check-in, signing wavers, and meeting the OR team.

Thankfully surgery went well, and Clark now has a blood free face with a clean line of stitches. Clark received his factor in the OR after the anesthesiologist put him to sleep. Then the doctor pulled out Clark’s scab, and made about 3 stitches on the inside layer, and another 8-10 on the surface. He will be wearing a bandage for 10 days to 3 weeks, depending on how quickly he is healing. We don’t want this active toddler to tear out his stitches!

The chance of infection increases after only 6 hours of getting an open wound.  Since Clark cut himself over 2 weeks ago, we decided to be on the safe side, and start antibiotics. Thankfully, before getting stitched up, Clark’s wound was clean, and always covered with bandages.

Clark woke up irritated and groggy after the surgery. This is a pretty common side effect. But with a little cuddling and patience, he started to calm down. And once he found out he was getting a Popsicle, he definitely perked up! Around 10am, when Clark was back to his old self, and the nurse had taken out his IV, we were finally able to head home.