Frightening 5 Minutes

Matthew's surgery was supposed to last 2 hours, and at the 2 hour 10 minute mark I began to get anxious.  At that time, I see a family called into a consultation room.  That's a little uncommon in this particular surgical waiting room, as surgeons are known to come out and talk to the parents openly in the waiting room.  That's what the ENT did after she scoped Matthew's throat.  I have always feared being called into the consultation room.  Good news is typically not delivered in the consult room.

Moments after the family was called in, there was wailing and screaming.  Everyone in the waiting room looked to those closed doors and bowed their heads.  We all knew what that meant.  Our hearts hurt for this family who lost their little one, and the fear in our hearts grew a little more.  It could happen to any of us.

Ten minutes later, I got a call from the front desk...go to consult room C.  My heart hit the floor.  No, no, no, no, no.  Please let my sweet baby Matthew be okay.  I sat in the consult room for what felt like way too long, but was probably 5 minutes.  I stared at the door.  I prayed.  I tried to distract myself.  I stared at the door. I knew that when Dr. G walked in, I would know.  And when the door finally opened, I knew in that moment that Matthew was okay.  Thank God!

Dr. G listed out what they did, and he did have a few concerns...the blood flow on the right side of Matthew's body doesn't seem as rich as the left and the damaged urethra.  I think he might have thought I was being flip about his concerns, but really, I was just relieved Matthew was okay.  I was going to hold my Matthew and take him home!  That was all I could think about.  We could deal with any concerns.  Today was not Matthew's day.  Matthew was okay!  Thank you, God, for the gift of another day!