Sam had a hat trick this morning. (That's hockey-talk for a triple procedure.) Tonsils, Adenoids, Ear Tubes.
Checking In. BP & Pulse-Ox.
Playing in the pre-op room.
Getting loopy from the Versed. When he started slurring his speech and swiping at things in the air (that didn't exist), we convinced him to lay down in the wagon. He laid down fine, and was listening to a story, when he suddenly popped up and tried to climb out of the wagon, but fell to the floor. Poor kid.
Getting wheeled into surgery.
About this time, Brian headed out to grab us some coffee (early morning) and breakfast (we couldn't exactly eat in front of Sam, who wasn't allowed to!) There was a little incident with his keys - he thought he'd set them in the wagon that they wheeled Sam off in, but they'd actually dropped between the chairs in the pre-op room and into my purse. The purse I had to move when the surgeon came in to say hello and Sam LEAPT off daddy's lap to hide under the chairs.
Not long after Brian returned, Dr. Knops came out to tell us things had gone well. He had drained a TON of fluid out of his ears, and said Sam should be hearing better already this afternoon. And he is! (He told me an hour or so ago he could hear a car beeping outside... a sound he couldn't hear before the surgery.) Daddy keeps testing him by talking to him softly from a few rooms away, and so far he's heard every bit. His surgeon also said his tonsils and adenoids were HUGE and he should be breathing better, sleeping better, and all around feeling better once the swelling from surgery goes down. I am hopeful relieving that pressure, as well as fixing his ears, will go a long way toward helping Sam's sensory difficulties. I have no doubt they were making it worse.
Sam had a bit of a rough time in recovery. (Though we hear most kids do.) He alternated between hiding under a blanket, kicking his oxygen sensor off of his toe, crying, shoving his fingers down his throat, trying to climb out of the bed, and trying to rip out his IV. But he also downed 5 popsicles and about 12 oz of apple juice! Dr. K was glad to hear he was getting so much fluid.
They distracted him from the pain and irritation (from the numbness) with a portable DVD player. (Larryboy and the Angry Eyebrows, followed by Lilo and Stitch) Before long he was able to go home, complete with a ride in a wheelchair from the recovery area to the car!
My mom had been watching the other 4 children (Thanks mom!) who were flitting from one activity to another all morning. We brought Sam in and set him up on the couch with another popsicle and his gameboy.
Again, no problem getting fluid into him. So far (as of 2:30 this afternoon), he's had a total of 16 popsicles, juice, a yogurt smoothie, and a bowl of ice cream. His ears hurt (the doc predicted that, and it's actually from the tonsils and adenoids, not the tubes), and his throat bothers him occasionally, but he's pretty contented. If only I could convince him, in this 86 degree heat to trade his comforter for a sheet, but he's not ready to do that yet.
I'm so glad he did so well! I'll whisper something to him next time I see him.
Posted by: Carly Morris | 07/27/2009 at 10:55 PM
What a big day for such a little guy! Wow! Praying he continues to recover well.
Posted by: Kristie Hubbard | 07/30/2009 at 04:12 PM