• Find me online:  
Subscribe: Via E-mail | Blog Posts | Lifestream | Photos
  • BlogI like to write.
  • LifestreamPlaying online.
  • PhotosMy life in Photos.
  • ProfileAll about me.
  • ProjectsStuff I'm doing.
  • WikiA place for Geeks.
  • ContactGet in touch.

Justin Hartman

Posted on October 24, 2007 - by Justin Hartman

Making a grown man cry

Family General

Hey, it looks like you're new here to my blog! You may want to consider subscribing to my RSS feed and you'll automatically get notified when I post a new blog entry. If web feeds aren't your thing then why not join my email list by clicking here. Thanks for stopping by.

Luke before his operation

This morning Luke had his operation and thank God, all went well. I was dead scared about this operation but thanks to some great comments in my earlier post I lost a lot of the pre-op concerns and in truth I was completely fine up until Luke got his anesthetic.

His courage right throughout amazed me and he took to the dreaded mask without a fight or a complaint and I was seriously expecting worse. At the point of losing consciousness Luke started to freak out a little and I was forced to pin him down until he was out and that was my turning point in the whole experience.

Guilt, helplessness and fear all overcame me and I just wanted to get him out of there - I cried instead.

What I’ve learned through this experience:

  1. Kids are tougher than we give them credit for.
  2. Trust the experts, they know how.
  3. Emotionally I was ready - practically I simply wasn’t.
  4. Time in the recovery room is longer than the operation itself.
  5. Don’t plan to be at a 9:30am meeting when the op is scheduled for 8:00am.
  6. Take the day off work. I didn’t.
  7. Make sure there’s lots of yogurt, custard and juice - with straws.
  8. Always have a comfort present for afterwards. We had to get one.
  9. This is certainly not something I’m going to do again in a hurry.
  10. It doesn’t take much to make me cry…

Luke and Mom are at home recovering and when I left for work he seemed almost back to his normal self.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

21 Comments

We'd love to hear yours!



  1. Visit My Website

    October 24, 2007

    Permalink

    Marc said:

    Glad to hear it all went ok. Frightening experience, but all worked out great in the end :)



  2. Visit My Website

    October 24, 2007

    Permalink

    Marc said:

    Glad to hear it all went ok. Frightening experience, but all worked out great in the end :)



  3. Visit My Website

    October 24, 2007

    Permalink

    StevenMcD said:

    glad it went ok man. It must be tough on a parent to go through that! hope the little guy feels better soon!



  4. Visit My Website

    October 24, 2007

    Permalink

    StevenMcD said:

    glad it went ok man. It must be tough on a parent to go through that! hope the little guy feels better soon!



  5. Visit My Website

    October 24, 2007

    Permalink

    Justin Hartman said:

    Marc all thanks to you man. We used the blowing balloon trick on Luke last night and I definitely think it helped prep him for what to expect. Personally I wasn’t sure how to make him feel more comfortable with it but some balloon blowing last night did the trick.



  6. Visit My Website

    October 24, 2007

    Permalink

    Justin Hartman said:

    Marc all thanks to you man. We used the blowing balloon trick on Luke last night and I definitely think it helped prep him for what to expect. Personally I wasn't sure how to make him feel more comfortable with it but some balloon blowing last night did the trick.



  7. Visit My Website

    October 24, 2007

    Permalink

    Justin Hartman said:

    Thanks Steven, yeah I think he’ll be back to normal tomorrow.



  8. Visit My Website

    October 24, 2007

    Permalink

    Justin Hartman said:

    Thanks Steven, yeah I think he'll be back to normal tomorrow.



  9. Visit My Website

    October 24, 2007

    Permalink

    Gino Cosme said:

    Dude, just caught up w. this today. Can’t imagine what that must have felt like but am glad all went well.



  10. Visit My Website

    October 24, 2007

    Permalink

    Gino Cosme said:

    Dude, just caught up w. this today. Can't imagine what that must have felt like but am glad all went well.



  11. Visit My Website

    October 24, 2007

    Permalink

    Darren said:

    Only makes you a stronger dad. And you are exactly right - we don’t have a clue how strong the little guys [and girls] actually are. Glad you are all well!



  12. Visit My Website

    October 24, 2007

    Permalink

    Darren said:

    Only makes you a stronger dad. And you are exactly right - we don't have a clue how strong the little guys [and girls] actually are. Glad you are all well!



  13. Visit My Website

    October 24, 2007

    Permalink

    Belinda Pretorius said:

    Hi Justin, I’m very, very glad that everything went well. I think it’s the total feeling of helplessness that is so overwhelming, that can make a grown man cry (we, woman, just cry and don’t need that feeling …). Nobody (I mean by that no decent and caring parent) would hurt their child intentionally. But I couldn’t help feeling guilty and be part of this “experiment” to hurt my child. We did, after all, consent to Ian’s operation. It’s a horrible experience for a parent, but in a year’s time, he wouldn’t even remember it!



  14. Visit My Website

    October 24, 2007

    Permalink

    Belinda Pretorius said:

    Hi Justin, I'm very, very glad that everything went well. I think it's the total feeling of helplessness that is so overwhelming, that can make a grown man cry (we, woman, just cry and don't need that feeling …). Nobody (I mean by that no decent and caring parent) would hurt their child intentionally. But I couldn't help feeling guilty and be part of this “experiment” to hurt my child. We did, after all, consent to Ian's operation. It's a horrible experience for a parent, but in a year's time, he wouldn't even remember it!



  15. Visit My Website

    October 26, 2007

    Permalink

    Paul Jacobson said:

    Sheesh, that is not something I am looking forward to with my own son. I am glad he is ok and appreciate you sharing your experience!



  16. Visit My Website

    October 26, 2007

    Permalink

    Paul Jacobson said:

    Sheesh, that is not something I am looking forward to with my own son. I am glad he is ok and appreciate you sharing your experience!



  17. Visit My Website

    October 26, 2007

    Permalink

    Andrew T said:

    Glad all went well. Know what its like when your kids go down. My son was on a drip for five days in hospital when he was about six months old after getting nailed by a virus - worse five days of my life, so I sympathise!



  18. Visit My Website

    October 26, 2007

    Permalink

    Andrew T said:

    Glad all went well. Know what its like when your kids go down. My son was on a drip for five days in hospital when he was about six months old after getting nailed by a virus - worse five days of my life, so I sympathise!



  19. Visit My Website

    November 15, 2007

    Permalink

    Eric said:

    Man i love reading your blog, interesting posts !…



  20. Visit My Website

    November 15, 2007

    Permalink

    Eric said:

    Man i love reading your blog, interesting posts !…



  21. Visit My Website

    November 22, 2007

    Permalink

      What is the point of a Medical Aid? by Justin Hartman said:

    [...] recent weeks Luke had a minor operation and Colette had an Amniocentesis to test for downs-syndrome in our unborn [...]



Leave a Comment

Here's your chance to speak.

  1. Name (required)

    Mail (required)

    Website

    Message

  • About me

    I am the MD and co-founder of Afrigator - Africa's largest social media aggregator and blog directory. This blog is mostly about my life, experience running a startup and thoughts on technology that I encounter along the way... read more.
  • Stuff I've written

    • ReadWriteWeb does it again
    • Taxi Protest in Cape Town
    • Afrigator on ReadWriteWeb and the New York Times as a Top 10 International Product for 2008
    • A small matter of R461,500 - the Quality Vacation Club farce
    • 88% of SA Bloggers make no money
  • What people are saying

    • Eric from springleap on We’re one of the 100 trendiest companies in Cape Town
    • Tom on Windows Internet Explorer for Mac - Finally!
    • onelargeprawn on ReadWriteWeb does it again
    • Justin Hartman on ReadWriteWeb does it again
    • onelargeprawn on ReadWriteWeb does it again
© 2008 Justin Hartman - Living Life. Running a Startup. Loving Technology.
Afrigator