In general, things are going okay. My little troopers are fairly compliant as far as drinking and medication. This morning so far I’m getting a little pushback. As long as the will take a sip or two of something and their meds, I won’t force anything on them.
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The day after Kate’s surgery, she had a really bad morning. I had opted to let her sleep through instead of waking her for medication. The 30 minutes she was awaken before the Tylenol kicked in were VERY UNHAPPY. But then the meds started working, and she got some fluids in her, and she managed two little pancakes with plenty of syrup.
They had put us in a semi-private room in the hospital, expecting siblings to be sharing it. Instead, they put another family there, so Dan had nowhere to sleep. He went home Tuesday night, with the plan that he would workout, then take M for his surgery. While Kate and I were waiting for her to get discharged, the surgery center called; they could take M early, but he had to stop drinking clear fluids.
I called my mom to give her that happy news. And tell her to lock up the mints.
Then my dad got to the hospital, and picked us up, and we went home. I fixed Kate a smoothie, had a little bit myself, and got ready to nap.
And then Dan called.
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When we had the children evaluated for ear tubes, plus tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy (T&A) (no, really, they officially refer to it as that), the doctor, Dr. M, advised that both Kate and M have the works. We knew we wanted Kate to have everything done, but we decided just to do tubes and an adenoidectomy for M. I was worried about compliance with recovery — we know about 3-year-olds and compliance, yes? — and the doctor agreed. Tonsillectomy requires extended dietary and activity restrictions. I wasn’t sure I was up to the challenge of managing them for M.
Plus, I only wanted one excessively clingy child.
The doctor expressed his concerns (M’s tonsils were huge, he wasn’t sure he could even get to the adenoids); I expressed mine. He understood my concerns.
And when he got into surgery with Michael, he realized what we had agreed upon wasn’t going to work. He stopped the surgery, and went to talk to Dan, who then called me.
M’s tonsils were 1. blocking access to the adenoids; 2. 99% obstructing his airway; 3. so large they were touching each other, like pressed flat against each other touching; and 4. the largest tonsils Dr. M had ever seen.
I expressed my concerns again, to Dan and to the doctor, and then gave consent for the surgery. And then I showered and drove to the surgery center.
Nap status, canceled.
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Surgery went well. I am happy to report that so far compliance has not been a major obstacle. We’ll see what happens when his energy comes back full bore.
The doctor has been great. He called today, even, to follow up. We’ve had some rough patches, but once the ibuprofen or Tylenol kicks in, he’s fine. The children take turns being clingy, so that even works out.
What unexpected stuff had you had to deal with this week?
Red Pen Mama 