NICU Part II

At 2:26pm on May 10^th, Walter went into surgery.  The surgery was expected to go about 2 hours. 

                A few side notes:  About an hour before Walter’s surgery, I was contacted by a case manager for our insurance.  As it turns out, she is now an important part of our lives.  She helps us manage all the insurance and bills, no matter how complicated.  Also, we heard about the hospital’s community care program that helps families with bills. 

                Around 4pm, the surgery nurse let us know that the surgeon was finishing up.  Walter had a bowel blockage known as Marconium Ileus, which was often related to Cystic Fibrosis.  It was pretty clear at this point that our NICU experience was just beginning.  Just recovering from bowel surgery would take some time.  Also, because the blockage had been present throughout Walter’s development in the womb, his bowels would need to mature and develop.  It took us awhile to get to a schedule, but eventually our trips to the NICU became a routine.  Abby and I slept at home at night and spent the day at the NICU.  Walter slept all the day and partied all the night.  But we didn’t know about the night until much later.

                Then, on Saturday May 12^th, things got crazy.  Someone hit our parked car in the hospital parking garage and drove off.  So, I spent the weekend talking to auto insurance and police and hospital security.