Time for an Andrew update.

Well, it wasn't easy taking him in on Wednesday morning for his surgery. He was happily playing with the toys they provided him in the room, especially the ball popper. He was laughing hysterically and putting things in there that weren't even balls.



That was fun. The balls were going all over the room. My mom also showed up to be there for Andrew, and for us, and it was great (because afterward, she really helped by grabbing things that we needed as I was lying in the little bed with Andrew).



My mom, left, Elise, and me:


When they gave Andrew the Versed, that was a little strange because he started acting a little silly, woozy -- drunk, basically. It was strange to see my little 3-year-old under the influence of a narcotic.

About a half hour later, they had me gown up and we took him back for the surgery. They laid him on a bed and strapped him in and as they put the mask over his face, I just held his hand. Surprisingly, I kept my composure. I gave him a kiss and told him I loved him and he was out within a minute. I walked out and we waited.





The procedure took a half hour. The surgeon/ENT came back and told me it went well and he had minimal bleeding. His tonsils and adenoids were both a 3, so pretty big (this is on a 1-4 scale).

A little while later, the nurse came back and said she was wondering who would be able to help when Andrew is restless. "You mean, thrashing?", I asked. "Yes", she replied.

I went back there and I could hear someone crying/screaming, but it didn't even sounds like Andrew. It sounded gargled and different (because of his throat being numb). I got into the bed with him and held him but he was basically delirious. They said kids wake up from the procedure very confused and that this was normal. I just held him close to me and kissed his head and pet his hair while the two nurses helped keep his arms and legs still (very tough to do when he's so strong). He was very scared and asking if he could get down. They told me that he couldn't because he would just fall as a result of the medicine. Eventually after about 15-20 minutes, they gave him some morphine down his I.V. and he fell asleep in my arms. We were wheeled back to the original room where I continued to hold him.

He eventually woke back up and would not take a popsicle or any fluids. They eventually gave him some through his I.V.





He was just so miserable. They said we'd be there for 1-4 hours, and we were there for the maximum time, mainly because he wouldn't take anything in. Just before we left, he threw up all over the place.

Andrew is getting his I.V. out here. I just loved his little hospital outfit -- it had tigers on it and was a little too big for him:


It's been a rough 3 days for us. Andrew will not take the oral antibiotics or the pain medication (Tylenol + codeine) so I've been giving him Tylenol suppositories (I called the nurse advisor and that's what she suggested). He threw up two more times on Wednesday so I pretty much said "enough is enough" with those stupid prescriptions.

The meds wear off about an hour before I can give them again and Andrew cries and says, "I need you, Mom" during that time and it's especially bad at night because he's been spiking a fever.

We got him to eat some ice chips on Thursday morning, a day after the procedure, and that was really the first time he took anything. Then, he ate some soup for lunch (yay!) and some homemade mashed potatoes and gravy for supper.

Surprisingly, this kid has not wanted popsicles! He normally loves them in the summer but I have not had much luck now. He did take most of one yesterday. He will not willingly take ice chips, but if I set a cup of them next to him on the couch, eventually he'll snack on them.

Thursday evening, he actually ran down the hall a few times and picked on his sister.

At night, he makes all these sounds because he has so much fluid back there -- he had the end of a cold when the procedure was done. For the first couple of days, he wouldn't even swallow his own saliva.

I have a feeling he'll be back to his old self in no time. It's just rough to think of how bad his throat must hurt right now and I pray that this surgery does fix his sleep issues. Most of his time now is spent on the couch watching his Penguins of Madagascar DVD.

Thank you all for your positive thoughts. We really appreciate them!

Surgery postponed, for now . . .

We are going to get a referral for Andrew to have a sleep study done first. We as parents want to be confident we are doing the right thing. Tonsil and adenoid removal surgery, while quite common, is still considered a major surgery. He will be put under general anesthesia and there is a small risk for bleeding -- but it's there nonetheless. The biggest thing (for us) would be keeping Andrew still in the recovery process because he's so hyperactive. That, and making sure he gets enough fluids are our biggest concerns.

So, we wait. The Pediatric Neurology department will be calling me back once they get the official referral from ENT. Apparently they don't normally do sleep studies on kids? From what I can gather online, it is quite common elsewhere to have the sleep study done first and maybe I'm just a proactive parent, but I don't want them to cut body parts out (regardless of "necessity" of tonsils and adenoids) if we don't have to!

My thoughts for doing the sleep evaluation: he doesn't snore all night. He is not a mouth breather (like the typical kids who have this surgery are prior to having it). He has never had an ear infection and his hearing is just fine. He doesn't talk like he has a cold all the time.

He may be hyperactive, but is that just his personality or is it related to sleep deprivation? Some kids just have large tonsils and that doesn't mean they need to be removed.

S0, let's say they do the sleep study and find out that he does have disrupted sleep and his oxygen stats drop and he stops breathing "X" amount of times in an hour -- I will feel MUCH better with proceeding with the surgery than I do now. There's too much uncertainty.

Wish us luck, and thanks for following our journey. There's always something going on with us, it seems . . .

Well check and surgery scheduled for Andrew

First off, the kids had their well checks last week. Andrew (3) is weighing in at 31 lbs, 3 oz. and 39" (3 ft, 3 in.) tall and Elise (6 mos.) is 18 lbs, 5 oz. and 25 3/4" long! Andrew's pediatrician said he is going to be really tall and he also referred us to an ENT for his snoring. We had some video of it and the way he is breathing when sleeping (very labored and deep chest breathing) is like he has an obstructed airway.

So, the same week, we got Andrew in to the ENT and he said he would be a good candidate for tonsil and adenoid removal surgery because it does sound like it's affecting his sleep and he viewed the video as well. I am nervous, as any parent would be with putting his/her child under general anesthesia. We are hoping this helps with his daytime sleepiness (he is really hard to wake up) and overall behavior (30% of kids who are termed "ADHD" actually have sleep apnea and the behavior is corrected with the surgery). I'm still not 100% -- I mean, this surgery is not necessary, and the recovery is not fun (10 days) and he doesn't snore ALL night long, so do we really need to do this? I observed him last night while he was sleeping, with the camcorder again, and counted 22-24 seconds of not breathing after he started coughing/choking, keeping in mind that he doesn't have a cold -- this is just something he does. Sleep apnea can affect oxygen levels, which in turn can cause problems down the road, so I do think we are doing the right thing.

He's so vulnerable. It makes me sad to think that he won't even know what's coming and he's going to wake up from the surgery feeling like shit. I can't really prepare him for his because he's too young to understand. It'll be same day surgery -- it takes about 45 minutes, and then he'll go to recovery before finishing up in Pediatrics. They said the biggest concern is dehydration so they want to make sure he gets enough fluids in.

Surgery is scheduled for Wednesday, September 15th. I will know more details this week because they are sending a packet from the clinic.

Do any of you have experience in this?

Just so this post isn't totally doomerish, here are some pics of the aforementioned children: