Back in January 2008 Luke was diagnosed with RSV (a respiratory virus) which was followed by several ear infections over the next 6 weeks. So we went to an ENT & right away he suggested we put in ear tubes. They literally rocked our world! It was amazing the difference they made in Luke! It was like we had a whole new baby!! The last tube finally fell out back in January of this year. Well, soon after he began having ear infections again. Then at the beginning of February he fell & hit his nose so we took him for a CT Scan which showed fluid in his left ear & sinus disease. After a regular checkup with our ENT he suggested getting his adenoids out. He said there was a bit of fluid in his left ear, but that they looked okay. When we went on Monday for his pre-op appointment he looked at his ears again & suggested another set of tubes because his ears were really bad.
So, Tuesday morning we all took off bright & early to get our little guy all fixed up. We had to be at the hospital (which is an hour away) at 6:00am, so we were up very early! Luke was the first patient scheduled & was due to have the surgery at 7:30. Once we got settled in they gave him a shot to dry his mouth out (they go in through the mouth to take the adenoids out). By the time 7:00 rolled around the shot had worked & he was starting to become irritated with how dry his mouth was. It was painful to watch. He also kept asking for a snack. Thankfully, he didn't lose it on us! They came & rolled his little bed to the OR room & they allowed me to walk with him. He was asking me where he was going & it made me sad! He was excited to roll down the hallway though! :) Once we got to the second floor they had me give him a hug & kiss, then they took him on in. That was hard! I didn't want to let my baby go!! I prayed all the way back to the room. The cool thing about this hospital is that they call you once the surgery is started & then as soon as they are done the doctor calls you to let you know what they found/did. Then another nurse calls & tells you he is in recovery & when they will be bringing him back to the room. So, we pretty much knew what was going on the whole time! The surgery took about 20 minutes or so & then he was back in the room by about 8:15ish.
So cute...even at 6:00am!
Luckily I picked up a little Matchbox airplane him. It was the only way we could get him to wear the hospital gown!
They wheeled him back to the room & he looked so pitiful. He was all curled up on his pillow, covered with his "bay-bay" (blanket), with his giraffe next to him & clutching his new toy plane. It broke our hearts!! As soon as he saw me he started crying & he literally cried for an hour & a half! He would settle down & then they would come in & check his vitals...typical, huh?! He was not really awake yet & just wanted to sleep. He slept on & off in our arms. We were offering him juice, a Popsicle & ice cream but he wanted nothing to do with any of it! Finally around 10:00 he wanted some orange juice, drank a mouthful & was done. The doctor came in to tell us more about the procedure & he asked "who wants to go home?". Luke raised his hand & in his little raspy voice said, "me!". It was cute!! We were released & by 11:30 we were on our way home.
The hardest part of the day! It was so painful to not be able to help him!
It turns out Luke's adenoids were very large. His left eardrum had blisters forming on it from all the infection & his right eardrum was also very infected. He has been in some pain on & off since Tuesday. I am looking forward to seeing some improvement in his little health & in his sleeping habits. They say the adenoids affect sleeping, causing snoring & sleep apnea. So far he has slept more soundly only waking up because of pain...which they said was to be expected. I am glad it is all behind us now & look forward to what lies ahead!! The pics below are from Tuesday afternoon. He was a happy camper by this time. We gave him the "Bucket o' Soldiers" from Toy Story & the hospital gave him the game "Don't Break the Ice". We had fun with both!
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