On the Tough Road to Feeling Better

This is my boys before they found out what surgery really means:

Andrew got ear tubes this morning. Josh got a second set of tubes and also his tonsils and adenoids out (yes, his adenoids had grown back from last time he got them removed.) I'm really excited for them to not have ear infections and for Josh to breathe/sleep/hear better, and so grateful it went well.

Now for the story. We've known these surgeries had to be done for a couple of months now, but this was the soonest we could get in to see the ENT and then schedule surgery. I told Josh that he would be getting his tonsils out, but didn't really get into it until yesterday when I decided I'd better prepare him a little bit. In response to my explanation of what would be happening, he said, "Well, when they put that mask on my face, I just won't fall asleep." Hmm. I decided to try a different tack and get him excited by telling him about the yummy things he would get to eat. He was excited, indeed, and kept asking, "And what else?" I ran out of things and said, "Well, what else can you think of that's cold and soft?" "We could put some fluffy cookies in the fridge," was his answer. Genius.

My kids had yucky colds when I returned from girls' camp on Friday, but they were seeming a little better, so Gary and I started heading to bed at 10:00 last night in preparation to have Josh and Andrew to the hospital by 6:30 a.m. this morning. Right as we were about to go upstairs Noah decided that the middle child would not be forgotten so easily, and came out of his room with a fever of 103 and struggling to breathe. So, a little Tylenol, Motrin, and albuterol later, we were actually in bed a couple of hours later. But not for long. Andrew was up for 2-3 hours in the night. I knew he probably had an ear infection but we couldn't give him anything to eat or drink because of the surgery, so we just waited it out. With the lack of sleep, Gary changed the clock funny, and we woke up and ran to get dressed thinking we were late. But we weren't for once, hooray! Luckily my sweet mother had come to our house last night to help with the surgery kids, so Noah had someone there for his sick self when he woke up.

At the hospital, Josh was quite excited to wear a green gown (his favorite color), and to have a bracelet with his birthday on it. Here he is with the cool hat he got to wear.

Unfortunately the smile didn't last long. Andrew's surgery was first, and not really a big deal, except for the fact he did, indeed, have an ear infection. The doctor said it was ready to burst any minute, so perfect timing. After Andrew got a chance to eat and get some love, he was over the anesthesia and was just sleepy.

However, being back in the recovery area with Andrew meant we heard Josh sooner than we were meant to. And it was very sad. He was crying and choking behind an oxygen mask, then he'd get suctioned, cry, suction, make awful gurgling noises . . . I didn't know the suctioning was standard, and Gary and I were getting tears in our eyes hearing him like that. Not that we didn't think he'd be okay, we knew he would, but it was hard to listen to. When I saw Josh I was so grateful that this was only a minor thing when lots of parents see their kids go through worse things all the time.  He was fighting the nurse with the oxygen (he wasn't awake and had no idea what he was doing), so they had me try. He seemed to like me singing in his hear and stroking his head, so they had me hold him, but he still cried for around an hour after that.

Gary and I tried to get him to open his eyes, but it wasn't until a mom of another patient offered for us to let Josh look at her son's Yoda figurine did he really try to open his eyes. And oh, my did he try hard for that. He didn't quite make it, but he was motivated. When he eventually did open his eyes, he calmed down, but wanted his IV out right away, and to go home. Oh, and turns out he had an ear infection, as well, and his tonsils and adenoids were both extremely large.

Poor Josh has been pretty miserable, but fights sleep. Luckily there are popsicles and grandmas. We all pretty much held boys today, as Noah is still sick and battling for the most miserable (barking like a seal). My mom got the kids each a new stuffed animal for their surgeries (or lack thereof), and while Josh has never been a stuffed animal guy, he loves his new anteater. I hate that it has to come to this for me to get cuddle time with my boys, but I do enjoy having it. I am sooo grateful for modern medicine, where things that could have been a big deal years ago really aren't these days. My boys will be feeling better in no time (they say only a couple of days), and they should be better than ever. Awesome. Or for now it's more accurate to say will be eventually awesome. Until then, I'm going to get in some more cuddle time . . .