Under the Knife

Andrew had his surgery today. You may remember his sleep study showed severe sleep apnea. A diagnosis of laryngomalacia was given and today the surgery was to correct that.

Going in we knew that there would be at least one surgery for sure and a list of possible others. The possibles would be assessed after a scope of the airway was done. The doc was unclear as to whether the tonsils and adenoids needed to come out. That was one of the possible “others.”

We had to be up very early to make the trek down to the hospital. I really never understood why they tell you to be there so early. We had a 7:30 arrival for a 9:30 surgery, which was moved to 9:45, then 10, and I think we finally were back in the OR by 10:30.

Sam’s aunt came over and watched Ella for us while we were there. We were very grateful for her coming at the last minute. Some other family issues came up that forced us to change plans.

We had smooth sailing all the way to the hospital. Once we were checked in, the waiting began. There were plenty of people in the waiting room – kids and adults.

Andrew is not a patient kid. He likes to be walking or running or exploring. He is not going to sit still. So, Sam and I took him and walked around the halls a bit while we waited to get to the prep room.

Once in the prep room, he was gowned up and the Child Life folks brought in some toys. They kept him occupied for a short time, but he hated being confined to the room.

They told us that there were some wagons/cars in the hallway and eventually I walked him through the halls.

By this time he was exhausted from the early morning wake up and he fell asleep on Sam.

I was the one who went with him to the OR, so they could put him under. They brought me one of those white “bunny suit” gowns to wear in the OR. They did this for me when Ella had her ear tubes, too. This time, thanks to my 40+ pound weight loss, I could actually zip it up!!

Sam passed him to me so I could take him down. I had hoped that since he was sleeping, they could just put the mask on him and he’d stay asleep. He didn’t. He woke up and I held him while they put him under.

After the scope, the doc came out to say they were just going to do the one surgery because the tonsils and adenoids looked ok. After that surgery, he came back out and asked if he choked on his food or drink. Lately, he had been doing this, so we said yes. He found a small abnormality that he was able to fix while he was still under.

The doc came out afterward to say that all went good and it would be about 30-40 minutes before we could go back to see him. While we waited Sam got a text saying that he was doing well in the recovery room. We continued to wait.

Finally, they let us back. If you have never seen a child waking up from anesthesia, it is not pretty. When Ella woke from her “twilight” she was head butting, fighting and screaming like we have never seen her before. Andrew was similar, but he was mostly squirming and screaming. It was not easy to see him that way. Nothing seemed to calm him down.

They wasted no time getting us up to our room, which was already set for us. The nurses on the floor were a bit surprised that they didn’t keep us down there longer, but we all rolled with it. Andrew eventually fell asleep on Sam and that extra sleep helped him a lot.

Sam noticed that they must have had a difficult time getting an IV. He had two pokes in both hands, and the IV was in his foot. Not that it mattered much – he pulled the IV out when he woke up. We thought they were going to have to put a new one in, but the nurse said if we could get him to drink some fluids, we may not have to do that.

Well, the poor kid hadn’t had anything to eat or drink since 9pm the night before. So when he was handed a sippy cup, he drank from it. When handed a popsicle, he chowed it down. When he was offered Jello, he ate it like it was a gourmet meal! No need for another IV!!

He had three EKG leads on him to monitor his heart. He also had a pulse oximeter on his toe to watch oxygen levels. These basically had him tied to the room. He didn’t want to just sit. He didn’t want the equipment on him either. He promptly starting ripping those things off. We pressed the nurse call button and waited for 30 minutes. Finally we just took him to the hallways to walk.

He squirmed in our arms, so we let him walk on his own, which led to him running through the halls and into rooms. Sam and I got our steps in today. It had to be a sight watching us chase him around!!

We’re glad the surgery is over and now we wait to see if this helps with his sleep. Next step is his echocardiogram next week to see if the apnea has caused any damage to his heart. We pray that all is ok.

Tympanostomy Success!

Thursday we were up early and took Ella in for her surgery. She had her Tympanostomy (the fancy medical term for “tubes in the ears”) done and it was a success. It was probably the fastest surgery I ever waited through!

Sam got the call Wednesday night that the surgery was scheduled for 9:40 Thursday morning. She was told to be there two hours prior. We live an hour from the hospital, so it was an early wake up for all of us. We had hoped that Ella might just fall back asleep on the way down, but that didn’t happen. She wasn’t allowed to have anything to eat or drink after 10pm, so we were worried that she would be very cranky and hungry when we got there that early.

We arrived at 7:30am and checked in. The gal at check in kept giving us the “stank eye,” and it didn’t take long for us to figure out why. Whoever called us was supposed to tell us to arrive at 9:40. I know exactly what this gal was thinking, because I feel the same way when patients arrive an hour early for their sleep study.

It worked out to our benefit, or so we thought, because they ended up calling us back to Pre-Op early because two patients had not showed up. Naturally, they showed up late and threw everything off in the back. Factor in there was an emergency during one of the operations that slowed everything down for everyone else, and the wait became VERY long. Thankfully, we brought plenty of stuff for Ella to do while we waited.

I love the gown they put her in. It had all kinds of cartoon fishes on it. Despite being hungry, she did really well. She started to cry when the nurses came into the Pre-Op room, but I think that is just her associating nurses to shots. They brought in one of those hair nets and a zip up body gown for one of us to go back to the OR with her while they put her under.

Sam was naturally worried and upset about her having surgery, even though she knew it would be an easy one. I decided I would go back with her. I’ve never seen anyone go under, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. So when the doc finally came in to check paperwork and such, I was told to get ready so they could take her back.

Funny visual. The zip up gown is all white. I put my legs into this thing and could immediately tell that this thing was not meant for fat guys like me to wear! I was able to zip it up about half way to belly and the zipper totally popped off! Sam and I chuckled and I just threw that silly net over my head. Unless they had a gown sized “tent,” this was the way I was going into the OR!

When it was time for us to go, I was actually surprised that she let me take her. She’s been such a mama’s girl lately. She kissed Sam as she came to me and I could see her tearing up. It was a short walk to the OR and they had me lay her on the table. She was already upset. I held her and sang to her as they put the mask on and she drifted off to sleep.

Tympanum with tube in left lower quadrant. This will help drainage of fluid behind the eardrum and help prevent further ear infections.

It took me about 2 minutes to get back to the Pre-Op room to get Sam. It took another 2-3 minutes for us to get to the waiting room. We hadn’t been sitting down but maybe 5-6 minutes and the doc came out to tell us she was done and that all went well. It was probably less than 5 minutes and they took us back to recovery where she was coming out of the anesthesia.

In all honesty, that was the worst part. They warned us that kids tend to cry a lot when they come out of it, and she was. One of the nurses was holding her when we went back, and they immediately handed her to Sam. She calmed down a little, but you could tell the anesthesia was still wearing off. We stayed back there about 30 minutes and we were free to go.

She was very snuggly when we got home, as we expected. By the end of the night, she was back to her old self. She was so happy and chatty this morning when she woke up. She ate a big breakfast, and played a lot. Nana came by with a little present for her, an easel/chalk board to draw on. She’s been all about sidewalk chalk lately and we’ve kept it outside. Now, however, the chalk is indoors. This means that the couch will have plenty of chalk on it until we can make sure she knows it goes on the chalk board.

Pondering just what to draw on the chalkboard ……

When Ella was born, she did not pass her hearing test as a newborn. Later, she did pass it, but they said that the ear that did not pass the first time would be prone to ear infections. When we saw the ENT, he told us that the ear drum wasn’t really moving like it should and that the tubes will not only help with ear infections, but with that, too. They told us that sounds would be a little more noticeable for her now, and things that didn’t used to bother her, may for a few days. I’m guessing with both ears hearing well, she will begin to talk more and more.

I know it was a very easy and routine surgery, but I was still thankful that it all went well.