Mason had his tonsils & adenoids removed and had tubes put in his ears. When we went to the ENT we were not expecting to schedule surgery during the visit, but that's just what happened. Turns out having about eight double ear infections in a year is a bit excessive. They tested his hearing and he was experiencing about 40% hearing loss. They said his tonsils were so big they almost touched and were the cause of him not getting enough sleep. He has always seemed tired and cranky. At night we would hear him thrashing around in his bed all night long. I mentioned his snoring to his pediatrician and he seemed concerned because a two year old should not be snoring he said. He took one look at his throat and gave us a referral to an ENT. I wasn't aware of this, but apparently there are many cases of children even being diagnosed with behavioral issues such as ADHD due to enlarged tonsils. They don't get recuperative sleep and it can cause irritability, tantrums, lack of focus, etc. I knew we needed to follow through with the surgery for his health and development but he is just SO little. It was hard on Mommy.
On surgery day the hospital was amazing. He was scheduled to be first since he was the youngest. That way he didn't have to go without eating so long. They kept him active and distracted with activities. They gave us markers to color on his bed sheets. Mason loved it. We made sure we let him know these were special sheets and he wasn't to color on sheets at home. Ha ha They let him decorate his mask for anesthesia with superhero stickers and smeared cherry chapstick inside to smell good. We took turns smelling the cherries. This way he wouldn't be afraid of the mask later. When it was time to wheel him back they let him wear his Captain America mask and hold his shield My little superhero was off to the OR.
My husband and I sat in the hospital cafe trying to make idle chatter while picking at our breakfast while we waited. It wasn't long before our pager was signaling us to go back to the surgery check-in area to see the surgeon. I was a worried mess. The surgeon smiled and I almost cried. He said all went well and we could go see him in recovery. He said he was quite a hit with the staff and he can now brag that he operated on Captain America.
Recovery was brutal. We walked in and my little man was screaming and crying. He was scared and in pain. I could not get to his bed fast enough. I sat with him in a rocking chair and calmed him down while the nurse got his vitals. He was given some morphine and he relaxed. Mommy rode on the hospital bed with him to his room. I ended up staying in the bed with him for a couple hours. As I was cleaning vomit off of myself and Mason I was thinking...this is going to be rough. Mason stopped getting sick and Mike stayed with him at the hospital so I could go home to clean up. While I was gone I got a call from Mike saying that he was now playing in the play room, keeping stuff done, and was looking to get discharged. Mason came home the same day and that night was playing superheros. Mason was on pain meds but we were still amazed with how well he was recovering. We have already noticed a marked improvement in his speech. He is also a bit sensitive to noises that he never seemed to mind before such as the vacuum cleaner. For five days he was our little superhero. What a trooper!
Then...day five hit us in the face today. The ENT warned us that he would be doing great and then around day five he would get worse for a bit and then improve from there. He woke up around 3AM screaming in pain. He refused to take his pain meds. He hit the wall. We were up all morning trying to get him comfortable. Unfortunately, my husband has already returned to work so I am on my own to get through this with Mason and take care of our four month old daughter. One of the hardest Mommy moments for me so far. It is hard to see your child in pain and not be able to do much about it.
Mason can't wait to get back to Preschool on Tuesday and celebrate Valentines Day with his classmates and his upcoming birthday on Feb. 18th. It is a superhero themed party, of course! I just hope he is feeling better by then. We are keeping his party very small and at the house just in case. We go for his follow-up on the 27th so I will keep ya posted on his progress and what improvement we see. In the meantime, please pray for Mason's recovery! We hear day five to nine is the worst, so we have a few more not-so-awesome days ahead of us.
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