(Jack before the surgery. Still quite nervous)
I was actually quite nervous to wake him up. One, he doesn't like being woken up before his body tells him it is time and two, he wasn't allowed to have his morning chocolate milk. We had prepared him for both of these things, but hey I require coffee as I stumble out of the room so I can't fault the guy for liking a little chocolate magic to help him start his day. He is thin as a rail, so he can probably use the extra calories anyway.....ah, to be young again.
The morning went pretty smoothly. He handled everything really well until we pulled up to the surgery center and then he began to complain about going "night-night." I can only assume that this is how Mark explained part of the procedure or he just came up with that on his own. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch for him to come up with this on his own. He comes up with some really interesting things sometimes. There was a red bat that visited him at night outside of his window at the old house. Yikes!
Anyway, back to the surgery center. Fortunately, the nurse and staff at the facility had this down pat. We walked into a room that was a little kids heaven. There were puzzles, books, big giant blocks to build and climb on (and knock over or karate kick if you should so choose). There were beach balls, kites and sand buckets hanging from the ceiling. The moment we walked in the door he relaxed. He smiled. We had just enough time to put together one puzzle and read two stories before they called us back. Oh my gosh! I think our hearts sank for a moment. It was time. Mark and I have both done this before, but there is something different about it being your child. You feel torn between doing something that will help him and something that is going to cause him some pretty severe pain for a good week. Here we go.
They had us all set up in less than 5 minutes. Jack was nervous. The parents were nervous. You have 2 adults, 1 child, a sterile looking hospital bed and two chairs in a tiny little space. Fortunately the walls were painted some shade of happy so that helped, at least a little. Jack kept looking at the bed and then clinging to one of the parents. He told us numerous times that he was not going to get in that bed. What was interesting, but not shocking, was that the other 3-4 kids in there were sitting there in their beds watching a movie. Now, it could have been that they had already been given some good meds, or maybe they were just a little calmer than my child. I have no clue. All I know is that my child needed something to relax. Heck, mom and dad probably needed some too, but someone needed to get us home, right?
The anesthesiologist comes over and explains that he is going to give Jack some "silly juice" and then asks him if he likes to blow bubbles. He is talking to Jack at this time, not the parents really. He tells Jack that he has a really cool mask that he will get to use to see how many bubbles he can make. Jack isn't jumping for joy, but he is agreeing to trying all of these things. About that time the nurse walks over and gives Jack his silly juice. We had no idea what was coming. We sat there for about 10 minutes and I'm thinking, "when is this going to kick in because my kid is still really scared and nervous." All of a sudden he starts messing with a blanket that I brought and starts cracking up, wobbling around, telling jokes, speaking in some jibberish language. It was hilarious. It was exactly what we all needed to lighten up the mood. We had our own personal comedy show for about 20 minutes. It was perfect. You will have to check out the videos below. They make no sense, but it is funny to watch him crack up for no apparent reason. As soon as I turned off the first video he said, "man, they must have put some brewski in this stuff."
It was time. They came to get him and off he went. There was no kicking or screaming. He just kind of looked back at us and went with the nurse and anesthesiologist. Mark and I were sent off to a room to wait. They told us it would be at least 30 minutes. Gosh, 30 minutes isn't very long right? Anyone can wait 30 minutes. Fortunately, we only had to wait about 20 minutes. It was unbelievable. The doctor said that everything went perfectly. He did tell us that Jacks tonsils were huge and that for such a small child he had quite a bit of scar tissue. He said it appeared that he had been sick quite a bit. Well, if he was sick the kid never complained about it. Back to waiting.
They come to get us for a second time and now we hear crying. I was afraid that things weren't going to be quite as pleasant once it was all over. He didn't like the needle in his arm and of course he was complaining of a sore throat (obviously). So we spent about 45 minutes trying to get him to drink water and eat one popsicle. He screamed, he cried, I cried. During this time he was given some pain medication and he started to calm down a bit. He was still complaining of pain, but he had calmed down. Starting out he was trying to get the iv out of his hand. Hey, I can understand that for sure.
So he does all that he is required to do, they remove the iv and we are off. Thank goodness! This part is over. All we want to do is get home. Mark and I feel terrible. Jack cried the biggest crocodile tears. It was heart breaking really.
I rode with him in the backseat on the way home and watched as he zoned out to Alice in Wonderland. Periodically he would remind us that his throat hurt, but he would have a little water and then relax for a few minutes. He finally passed out about 10 minutes from home and that has been his only nap of the day. How is that possible? Even I took a nap for crying out loud. I curled up next him on the couch thinking that he would nap, but noooooo.
The kid has been great. He is eating, drinking, watching tv, playing video games and is the most agreeable little child for someone that just had his tonsils removed. I'm hopeful that this will continue, but I know that there may be rough days ahead. Hey, at least the big part is over and now we can move on to healing.
Thank you guys for all of your prayers and your positive thoughts. Thank you for your phones calls, your messages and thank you to my mom for watching our little wild woman.
Love to all
Amy
(Jack after surgery sitting at home with his friends Scoutie, Furry Longhorn, Woody and Buzz Lightyear. Look at that smile. They must give out pretty good drugs.)
(click the little play button to see the video)
(video 2)
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