Surgery Update

Trying to keep the gown on Andrew.

Giving up on the gown and letting him play.

So peaceful after surgery

In recovery, enjoying the sucker and not wearing the gown.

At long last, here is a little update on Andrew's surgery last week. I'm very happy to report that it went very well! I think the most traumatic part for Andrew was the hospital gown. He was adamantly opposed to wearing it, and so he didn't. At least, not while he was awake. The nurses were kind and understood that it wasn't a battle worth fighting and so, they waited until he was asleep to put the gown back on.

We left for the surgery center at 6 am, got there around 6:30 and started the pre-op process a couple of minutes later. The pre-op process took place in a playroom with a TV, toys and a couple of other kids waiting for their surgeries. The ENT came in around 7:30 and told us they would be ready for us in a couple of minutes.

When it was time, the nurse and anesthesiologist scooped a screaming Andrew up and assured us he would be fine and asleep in a couple of minutes. We settled in to some comfy chairs in the waiting room. I was all set to read a new book, and then less than 10 minutes later, they came out and told us the doctor was ready to see us. That was it. The surgery was over. I didn't even get to read the first chapter in my book.

The doctor said it was good we had done the surgery because Andrew had a lot of fluid and junk in his ears and that everything had gone well. We were then taken back to his recovery room, where we helped him wake up. He looked so peaceful - sleeping - and then suddenly, he opened his eyes and sat up. He yanked the pulse-oxygen monitor off his big toe. Someone had put both his socks on the same foot so they would have access to his toe. This was not OK with Andrew. He took the extra sock off and in his semi-awake state, tried to put it on his barefoot. The recovery nurse tried not to laugh as I explained that we are very Type A and two socks on one foot is NOT acceptable!

He was cranky and wanted to be held, but who could blame him. As soon as he was settled on my lap, he asked for his sucker. (They bribe children with suckers as they take them to the OR and then they "knock 'em out" before they can unwrap the sucker.) I didn't want to give him the sucker right away because I feared being covered in blue raspberry puke, but I couldn't bear the whining, so he got his sucker. Good news - he didn't get sick. Bad news - he spilled orange juice on me while trying to be independent and holding his own juice.

They let us leave about 20 minutes later, and we were back home before 9 am. Andrew was cranky for about an hour after we got home, but he perked up after we got some breakfast in him. Poor kid suffers from LBS (low-blood sugar) just like his mama.

We haven't had any ill side effects from the surgery. Just a little drainage, which they assured me is normal. We've noticed a slight behavior change for the better. He seems to be more himself again. We asked him if he could hear better, but he didn't seem to know what that meant, so Keith asked him if everything seemed louder and he said, "Yes!"

He asked to read his "Tubes in My Ears: My Trip to the Hospital" that night and there is a part in the book about being put to sleep and how they play a counting backwards game. Keith asked Andrew if the doctor asked him to count. He said "Yes, but I didn't count. I just cried." And he hasn't talked about the surgery since. Guess he's not scarred for life!