Surgery Update

It's been quite a long week since I last posted. J's surgery went well - the doc was pleased with how J did, he handled being put under the general anesthesia as well as a 4 yr old can and he really was an angel as we arrived at the children's hospital Tuesday morning. The ENT told us afterwards that J's tonsils were even larger than he originally thought, and went further down his throat. We weren't terribly surprised, given his breathing issues at night, and were relieved it was over.

Fast forward to today - recovery has been tough. I have been thinking to myself in the last 24 hours whoever feeds you the line that a tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy is an "easy" surgery or that your child will "bounce back" from the surgery after a couple of days clearly A) has never had a child go through this surgery B) has a super healer child or C) is LYING! Yes, it is true, recovery isn't AS difficult for a child versus an adult (I was there...had it done at the age of 14 and it truly was horrible). But, that doesn't mean that it's not still hard on the child. Sorry, to vent...I knew going into this after talking to some other mommies of little one's who have been through it that it was not going to be a cake walk, but I was still praying that J would be "that" kid - the one that is in a little pain for a couple of days, then starts eating again, playing like normal, etc. It just has not been that way for us.

The good news - he IS getting better. He is finally eating a few things here and there. Mini ice cream sandwiches were his first true solid on Saturday. Yesterday, he ate about 5-6 bites of a baked potato. Today, it's 4-5 bites of a soft cheese quesadilla. We're making baby steps. He can play the Wii from the comfort of the couch. Days ARE getting better, little by little.

The bad news - nights have been terrible. He cries in his sleep every night, usually just before it's time for his medicine again. We still have him on the every 4 hours dose - b/c that is what he NEEDS. I was hoping to space it out for the first time last night, but that wasn't to be. A good hour before his 1 a.m. dose, he started crying in his sleep. I rubbed his back and held him until he calmed down. He wasn't even really awake. I'm ready for night's to get better.

The best news - I know this will pass. I know that in a week or two, he will be back to normal - actually, BETTER than normal! He'll be able to rest at night, get some good sleep & the oxygen he needs, and wake up feeling refreshed. Totally worth it - even if he wouldn't agree just yet. ;)

I'll be back later with some pictures from the hospital. Daddy took his camera, it died, so we have some on my phone, some on his phone, etc. The best one is a picture of him riding around back in the surgical waiting area pre-op. They have various ride-on toys and he was zooming through the halls - totally took his mind off of what was about to happen (so did the sedative they gave him pre-op too...now I know what a drunk 4 yr old looks like!!!!)