Tonsils, and adenoids, and tubes...oh my!

So the Cool Cucumber finally had his tonsils and adenoids removed and a second set of tubes put back in. Overall, it was a great experience and I am so happy that we went through with it. I am also glad that we waited until he was 3 to have it done. Here is a little photo rundown of how everything went.

Playing at the hospital before getting admitted.

The big weigh in.

Getting measured.

Blood pressured checked: check.

Pulse ox monitoring was one of his least faves.

Then it was time to play until we got called up to the big room.

Again, I asked to take him back for surgery so I had to suit up.

Then he was in surgery and we waited. I was so worried I didn't notice I forgot to take a bootie off for over an hour.

Once he got out, we has sort of a mess. This is very usual. He was upset and cry/coughing a lot. He was still very out of it but in a lot of pain. They don't give them pain meds until after surgery so when they wake up, they still haven't really taken effect. That sucks, but it is just the way it goes. After about 20 minutes we were wheeled up to our room.

There he finally fell asleep...for about 10 minutes.

Then he was up and not doing too bad, mostly thanks to Netflix.
Thank the sweet lord baby Jesus for free wifi and Netflix streaming.

Next it was time for popsicles. He ate three. Then downed two waffles, jello and juice... 

That evening he was ready for laps around the hospital wing and rides on his IV pole.

And some goofing off with mom.

Then, he slept. Like the dead.

Let me give you a little info on sleeping in a hospital: you won't. At all. Between his pulse ox monitor going off every 10 minutes and our roommate's going off every five, I think I got about 3 hours of sleep that night. But the boy slept like a champ, and that was all that mattered.

Me when the cute, young Dr. woke me up. HOT!

The next morning our Dr. woke me up RIGHT as I had just fallen asleep to tell me we were getting released for good behavior. Of the five kids on the floor that had had the same surgery, the Cucumber was the youngest and still had the best overnight oxygen saturation and had drank the most. They were amazed at his recovery. So were we. He was literally dancing a jig around the wing that morning making all of the nurses swoon.

Before we left we got to meet Yadi the touch therapy dog. I may have tried to sneak him into my suitcase.

Yadi love.

The hardest part of recovery is making sure you stay on top of the pain meds after. The hospital doesn't give you any prescriptions to take, just orders for alternating acetaminophen and ibuprofen. We stayed on it like a hawk for a week. Every time it came time where both meds were given at the same time and they both got close to wearing off, the boy would lose it. I felt horrible for him. We even set alarms to be up to give them to him in the middle of the night. Very important! Also, if you can, steal the hospital syringes with the caps. Not that I did that or anything...

Over the week, the boy was a bit down, but not out.

He enjoyed cuddle time with his sister.

But would get in pain when the meds were close to wearing off.

But he was a cart boss at Trader Joe's.

And enjoyed a trip the the botanical garden.

And time with mommy even when he felt pukey.

And a trip to the zoo.

And time at the park.

Soon he was back to his superhero self.

That face.

These two.

I die.

Seriously.

Now we are all back to our happy place.

Overall, the surgery was way easier than we thought and has helped a ton already. The other night I listened to the boy sleep for an hour, mostly because there was nothing to listen to. He went from Darth Vader to a silent little mouse. And it is a wonderful silence.


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