Hi all,
Its about 1:12am and I am wide awake drinking coffee (I know, I know), trying to do some research on surgery(ies) my 16yr old son who has CP will have soon for problems with reflux.
This is tough because I am having to decide how invasive a surgery he should have.
I have always follwed the theory "if it ain't broke don't fix it", however, the surgeon who performed a previous procedure, will probably put a little pressure on me to take care of as much as possible, but there are the negatives that must be considered.
As my cousin, a registered nurse reminds me that surgeons "just want to cut, they are surgeons"! I must keep his position in perspective.
As I have spent many nites now listening for my sons coughing, waiting to see if I need to go in and make sure he is ok, I lean towards wanting to do everything possible to proivde him with the best quality of life he can have, that means all the surgery needed.
But when he gets home from school and I make him comfortable for the evening in his wheelchair, and he watches his sports and favorite tv shows (his latest is Glee, and he dances when they sing, so fun to watch), I just want to make him comfortable and as pain free as possible so he can keep on dancing and enjoying what he does in life.
I thought I would have had a grip on quality of life, but I guess it is alway changing.
Debra, it sounds like you love your child very much. I feel the same way when I have a sick child which I have two right now. Both of my kids are coughing at night and it just feels like theres not much I can do but give them their medicine and pray that they get over it soon. I go through this often because of having two kids in school and then comming home they bring germs home so one of my kids always seems to be sick during the winter that is. Anyways good luck with your choices!
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