Ears Ears Ears
Spencer's surgery was this morning. It went really well!
Spencer woke on his own doing this morning. I'm certain he was looking for food rather than a ride in the van, but a ride in the van he got. Amazingly, he was quite okay with that. He seemed really intrigued about our little trip. He seemed to think it was cool that he was going somewhere so early in the morning.
He was allowed to eat all he wanted until 2 am and then water (or juice or gatorade... neither of which are part of his diet) until 4 am, but nothing after that. His routine of late is to wake somewhere between 5 & 6 to nurse. Because of my Momma guilt, I had set my alarm for 1:30 am so I could offer him one last opportunity to nurse. Somewhere around midnight he woke on his own and ate a relatively small amount. Definitely more comfort filling than anything else. I tried to get him to eat more to get him good and full; he didn't want anything to do with that idea. At that moment it was clear to us that it was pointless to wake him to nurse at 1:30. We were reminded, again, that he will only eat when he wants/needs to eat and waking everyone again at 1:30 would only satisfy my guilt. So I turned off my alarm, let myself manage my guilt, and let the boy sleep.
We arrived to the outpatient surgery area at our local Children's Hospital at 6 am, two hours prior to the scheduled surgery. We were greeted and escorted to his room where all the papers were filled out and information was cross checked.
Once all the vitals were taken and his hospital jammies were on we got to go play for a bit in the play area. About 15 minutes later we returned to the room to start prepping for the procedure.
We first spoke with the anesthesiologist who walked us through his part of the procedure. We were pleased to hear that he planned on only using a mask, no IV lines.
Not long after Spencer was given the meds to relax him. We remembered Abby's reaction to those meds from her procedure 2 1/2 years ago. She was old enough to be walking and we could see the effects of the meds in her steps. Spencer isn't yet walking, but we could still see the effects. He was talking up a storm and had a very drunkish style to his speech... very boisterous, slurred, and in abundance.
But before those meds had a chance to take effect, the ENT stopped in to walk through the procedure, his schedule, and he marked Spencer's ears. This was a new one for us. It makes sense and I know this has become part of procedure due to surgeries gone bad. But to see Q's on his ear lobes was kinda funny. Thankfully he put the tube IN his ears and not through his ear lobes. :)
As the medicine did its thing and we waited for time to pass we watched Baby Einstein.
We have many of the videos from the girls' time but Spencer hasn't watched much yet. He was really into it, so we sat and rocked and waited.
At about 7:35 someone came to get him. This was a far different experience this time around. First I think we held it together far better this time given that we've been through it before. Second the staff was a bit more brisk this time, far less coddling of us. I don't have any recollection of them wheeling Abby away on the bed, but Carie remembers them putting her on the bed after they got down the hall. I don't even remember them taking the bed with them. With Spencer, the nurse had me sit him on the bed. I was like... really? You’re kidding, right? There is no way he's going to just sit on this bed. But I did and figured it was then her challenge to get him and the bed to her destination. He sat longer than I expected he would. Who knows how far they made it. With him he had his binkie, a teddy bear, and the TV remote from the hospital room. He latched onto that remote and that is all he cared about so it was going with him.
It was probably around 8:00 when the ENT returned to his room to let us know that all went well. He did say that his ears were bad, very very badly infected with copious amounts of fluid. Because of this he experienced slightly more than normal amounts of bleeding during the procedure. He was able to remove the fluid and put the tubes in place. We'll put drops in his ears over the next four days and hopefully they'll do what we need them to do. We are to also give him his last dose of Omnicef then hopefully we will be antibiotic free for a good long time going forward.
At about 8:15 I was heading to the restroom when they came around the corner with him. It seemed that he returned to us sooner than they anticipated. Though I remember the same holding true with Abby. The nurse carrying him commented on his curiosity and strength. As soon as he woke up he tried crawling off the bed and he was so interested in everything around him. I think he was a little more than the petite nurse could handle. LOL
He looked a little sad and was so happy to see me. I scooped him up and walked back to his room. He was drinking a bottle of water and was very happy to have it. He sucked that dry so Carie filled it up again since he was so interested in that and not nursing. He sucked that dry and I finally got him interested in nursing. He was thrilled to be eating and he dozed off. The saddest part was when he would burp. It must have felt different or hurt or something because he's start crying. He looked so sad. Then he'd settle down until he burped again. He generally doesn't burp that much so I wonder if the anesthesia had something to do with that.
Spencer woke on his own doing this morning. I'm certain he was looking for food rather than a ride in the van, but a ride in the van he got. Amazingly, he was quite okay with that. He seemed really intrigued about our little trip. He seemed to think it was cool that he was going somewhere so early in the morning.
He was allowed to eat all he wanted until 2 am and then water (or juice or gatorade... neither of which are part of his diet) until 4 am, but nothing after that. His routine of late is to wake somewhere between 5 & 6 to nurse. Because of my Momma guilt, I had set my alarm for 1:30 am so I could offer him one last opportunity to nurse. Somewhere around midnight he woke on his own and ate a relatively small amount. Definitely more comfort filling than anything else. I tried to get him to eat more to get him good and full; he didn't want anything to do with that idea. At that moment it was clear to us that it was pointless to wake him to nurse at 1:30. We were reminded, again, that he will only eat when he wants/needs to eat and waking everyone again at 1:30 would only satisfy my guilt. So I turned off my alarm, let myself manage my guilt, and let the boy sleep.
We arrived to the outpatient surgery area at our local Children's Hospital at 6 am, two hours prior to the scheduled surgery. We were greeted and escorted to his room where all the papers were filled out and information was cross checked.
Once all the vitals were taken and his hospital jammies were on we got to go play for a bit in the play area. About 15 minutes later we returned to the room to start prepping for the procedure. We first spoke with the anesthesiologist who walked us through his part of the procedure. We were pleased to hear that he planned on only using a mask, no IV lines.
Not long after Spencer was given the meds to relax him. We remembered Abby's reaction to those meds from her procedure 2 1/2 years ago. She was old enough to be walking and we could see the effects of the meds in her steps. Spencer isn't yet walking, but we could still see the effects. He was talking up a storm and had a very drunkish style to his speech... very boisterous, slurred, and in abundance.
But before those meds had a chance to take effect, the ENT stopped in to walk through the procedure, his schedule, and he marked Spencer's ears. This was a new one for us. It makes sense and I know this has become part of procedure due to surgeries gone bad. But to see Q's on his ear lobes was kinda funny. Thankfully he put the tube IN his ears and not through his ear lobes. :)
As the medicine did its thing and we waited for time to pass we watched Baby Einstein. We have many of the videos from the girls' time but Spencer hasn't watched much yet. He was really into it, so we sat and rocked and waited.
At about 7:35 someone came to get him. This was a far different experience this time around. First I think we held it together far better this time given that we've been through it before. Second the staff was a bit more brisk this time, far less coddling of us. I don't have any recollection of them wheeling Abby away on the bed, but Carie remembers them putting her on the bed after they got down the hall. I don't even remember them taking the bed with them. With Spencer, the nurse had me sit him on the bed. I was like... really? You’re kidding, right? There is no way he's going to just sit on this bed. But I did and figured it was then her challenge to get him and the bed to her destination. He sat longer than I expected he would. Who knows how far they made it. With him he had his binkie, a teddy bear, and the TV remote from the hospital room. He latched onto that remote and that is all he cared about so it was going with him.
It was probably around 8:00 when the ENT returned to his room to let us know that all went well. He did say that his ears were bad, very very badly infected with copious amounts of fluid. Because of this he experienced slightly more than normal amounts of bleeding during the procedure. He was able to remove the fluid and put the tubes in place. We'll put drops in his ears over the next four days and hopefully they'll do what we need them to do. We are to also give him his last dose of Omnicef then hopefully we will be antibiotic free for a good long time going forward.
At about 8:15 I was heading to the restroom when they came around the corner with him. It seemed that he returned to us sooner than they anticipated. Though I remember the same holding true with Abby. The nurse carrying him commented on his curiosity and strength. As soon as he woke up he tried crawling off the bed and he was so interested in everything around him. I think he was a little more than the petite nurse could handle. LOL
He looked a little sad and was so happy to see me. I scooped him up and walked back to his room. He was drinking a bottle of water and was very happy to have it. He sucked that dry so Carie filled it up again since he was so interested in that and not nursing. He sucked that dry and I finally got him interested in nursing. He was thrilled to be eating and he dozed off. The saddest part was when he would burp. It must have felt different or hurt or something because he's start crying. He looked so sad. Then he'd settle down until he burped again. He generally doesn't burp that much so I wonder if the anesthesia had something to do with that.
By 9:15 we were loading up in the van and on our way home. He was doing so well. His vitals were all great. He drank tons of water, nursed really well, and it all seemed to agree with him. He was alert. The only thing that seemed to be bothering him was the burping. Carie pulled the van up front and our nurse walked Spencer and I out to the front lobby. He perked up once we got out of that room. It was nice to get some natural light, have a new view, and be doing something other than sitting in a dim room.
We arrive home at about 9:30 where we got to see familiar faces and get down on the ground and move about. After a bit of floor time I took him up to his room where he ate and fell right asleep. On a normal day his morning nap comes at about 9:30, so other than waking extra early we conveniently were back on schedule with a morning nap. He's taking a great nap so we'll see what the rest of the day has in store for us.
Hopefully this is the last of the ear troubles Spencer has for a while. We will know better in a couple of weeks and maybe even before then. Though now that one of Abby's tubes has fallen out she is again experiencing troubles with her ear. It seems to definitely be in the genes!
posted by Sonya at 10:21 AM
2 Comments:
I'm so, so glad that the surgery went so well. Wow, I can't believe you were already home by 9:30. And I so hope this is the end of the infections and that Spencer can be on his way to happier and healthier times.
I'm so, so glad that the surgery went so well. Wow, I can't believe you were already home by 9:30. And I so hope this is the end of the infections and that Spencer can be on his way to happier and healthier times.
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