Thursday, March 20, 2008

Longest Day Ever

Yesterday, Chase had surgery to get his ear tubes. You might recall from reading a previous post that we were told that this was not likely to be a relaxing day since we could expect our child to emit a serious of screams and cries for hours after the surgery. It makes sense then that we were dreading the arrival of this day for many reasons. First of all, we had to get up at 5 so we could leave by 6 to get there at 6:45 for the pre-surgery sign in and prep work. . This meant that we had to wake Chase up at 5:45 when he doesn't usually arise until 7. Then, once he was up, he couldn't have his milk or eat his Crispix. Then we'd be in the car for 40 minutes after which we would find ourselves in a hospital setting, and we all know how much little kids love people in white coats with shiny instruments poking and prodding them. Then there was that whole surgery, general anesthesia, waking up around strange people, being annoyed because someone had done something funny to his ears thing. Just thinking about it made my head spin and my heart hurt, but I had done much self pep talking to mentally prepare myself for the trials that lay before me.

All that mental preparation? Yea a total waste of effort. Here's why. Monkey didn't seem to mind being awakened from his slumber early, and I don't think it ever even occurred to him that no one had given him his sippy cup full of milk. He was a little grumpy in the car when he saw Mommy eating a sausage biscuit, but once I gave up and put my unfinished tasty treat away, he was all smiles again. Not only was he okay with entering the surgery center, he was positively giddy when he saw the fish tank in the waiting room. And then he only mildly protested when the nurse took his temperature and preformed other pre-op tests.

Once we were checked in and cleared for the surgery, they sent us to a toddler waiting room that had lots of bright colors and toys to play with. Noodle had a blast in here being Mr. Social flitting from toy to toy while trying to convince the older patient in the room to play with him. He can be quite the outgoing soul when it suits his mood. Oh, and he looked awfully cute in his hospital gown with his diaper peeking out the back, don't you think?



Soon it was time for him to head to the OR for his procedure. His dad went in too, so that he could be with Chase until the gas did its job and knocked him out. I'm sure that wasn't a pleasant job for Drew, but he is better at handling those types of things than I am. I probably would have asked to be gassed myself if I had to watch my little guy fighting the mask that they placed on his little face.

Fifteen minutes later, Dr. H came to tell us that the surgery went well and that she had to suction a multitude of fluid from his ear canal. She reiterated that he definitely needed the tubes and that we made the right decision in going forward with the surgery. She then handed us a fistful of prescriptions, babbled a string of post op instructions, and said she'd see us in a week and a half for the follow up visit.

After that, we were ushered into the recovery room where an alert and happy Chase man was charming the pants off of the nurses. They all kept saying what a cutie he was and how relaxed and at ease he was when we woke up: apparently he looked around, yawned and then placed his hands behind his head and assumed his standard lounging position. I bet he was thinking, "What's the big deal? I mean it's just surgery and general anesthesia--a walk in the park guys, just a walk in the park."

We spent about 30 minutes in the recovery room while the little guy downed two cups of Apple Juice and watched cartoons. Then we were given the all clear to head home. I looked at my watch expecting it to be around noon--it was 8:40. We were home by 9. The entire rest of the day, Andy and I were worn out and always thinking it was 3 hours later than it actually was while Chase was a ball of happy energy. The only sign that he'd had any kind of medical intervention was that he occasionally rubbed his ears. That and the little collection of prescription medicines gathered on the kitchen island.

All in all it was a pretty smooth process which I attribute mainly to Chase's go with the flow personality and the efficiency with which the surgery center operated. Even so, the day was exhausting for me which I ascribe to stress, worry, and lack of sleep. Not getting to finish my sausage biscuit certainly didn't help matters either.

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:05 PM

    I'm so happy that all went smoothly and I'm not surprised that charmer Chase had the staff bowled over. Chase you look absolutely adorable in your pre-op garb, see you Friday love Grandma

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  2. Anonymous10:38 AM

    What a trooper Chase was! You both must be pleased on his delightful mood from all the trauma! Now, put your feet up and relax!
    Molly

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  3. Anonymous2:18 PM

    I'm so glad all went well with Chase's surgery. What a little trooper he is!
    Teresa

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  4. Anonymous7:39 PM

    Hooray for Chase! What a tough guy!!
    Hopefully, you will have an ear-infection-free summer, now! :o)

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