Through Cannon's Eyes

Last Friday was the 27th, and officially marked Cannon's midway point through recovery.  I've always been curious what Cannon would remember from this ordeal, and wanted to try to minimize any traumatic memories.  I recall being in the ICU and going over with the staff the procedure for removing the breathing tube.  It was clear the tube wouldn't come out until Cannon was consciously breathing on his own, this meant we had to wake him up.

Up till that point, he'd been on narcotics and my hope was he wouldn't remember anything while he was on narcotics.  But we had to switch him from the narcotics to drugs that would allow him to wake up quickly so the tube could be removed.  They warned us that as he woke up, he was going to be ANGRY and it was at this point we could remove the tube... but not till then.  I realized this would probably be his first memory because he would be off the narcotics and consciously making himself breath.  This turned out to prove true because I asked him what his first memory was soon after we got home from surgery.

But six weeks later, following his recovery, his memory had changed.  The following is an impromptu interview of Cannon:

Cannon, what was the first thing you remember from waking up?
- I don't really know.

Did you have the tube in your nose?
- No, when I woke up it was already out of my nose.

What was the most painful thing you remember, what hurt the worst when you were at the hospital?
- Taking the tubes out.  Getting up kinda hurted!

Which tubes?
- The ones in my belly.

You remember the tubes in your belly?
- Yeah, that hurted the worst.

How long were we in the hospital?
- 8 days.

What else do you remember from the hospital?
- I remember having those breathing things in my nose [for the oxygen, not the breathing machine].

What was your favorite part about the hospital?
- When I got to walk around, and when I got to put my regular shirt on.
- My most favorite part of the hospital was when I got to leave!

Are you afraid to go back to the hospital?
- When am I going back?
Well you don't have to for a long time, but if you did have to go back would you be afraid?
- Well I am going to the hospital tomorrow with Mommy to have Scout.
- Are you done with me now?
Yeah, you can go play your DS some more.
[end of interview]

That's about all I could get out of him.  Not an overly traumatic experience it seems, but we'll see what he remembers in a year.

NOTE: I originally started writing this in early August but forgot to post it.  The interview was on 8/19/12.