After ear infections that were not responsible to antibiotics and the past 2, eight weeks apart, that ruptured, today was our day for Brandon's ear tube surgery. I knew what to expect so in that sense it was a little easier than with Brooke, but it still wasn't fun. We had to cut him off of all food and liquids at midnight the night before his surgery (no biggie since he wasn't night nursing anymore). We got him up at about 5:50 and were at the hospital by 6:30AM. He was scheduled for 7:30 and they took him in right on time.
The doctor and the anesthesiologist stopped in before the surgery. Our doctor is great, but you could tell the anesthesiologist didn't work with little kids too much. (A little bit of nervousness set in for me at that point, really the only thing that I don't like about the procedure is that he has to go under) He came up to Brandon and was trying to show him tricks with the stethoscope and telling him to hold is a certain way.....ummm yeah....he is 15 months old....then while he had it on Brandon's back, he told Brandon to take deep breaths and showed him how like he was 5 or something....Eric and I both started cracking up as soon as he left.
It was actually much easier to keep him happy (while he was hungry) before the surgery than I thought. I went into the OR with him while they put him under, glad I was there for him, but he still wasn't a happy camper. I had to put on all the OR gear while looked funny to him and they wanted me to lay him on the table while they put his oxygen saturation thing on his foot. (It would have been much easier if they let me hold him while they tried this because as soon as I laid him down he started kicking his feet). Obviously he didn't like the mask, he fought it, and he cried, but in about 30 seconds he was under.
20 minutes later, with me standing at the door of the waiting room, they called for me. As soon as they opened up the doors to the recovery room I heard his poor little cries :( This is the part that I wasn't looking forward to. I ran right over to him and grabbed him from the nurse who was trying to hold him in the rocking chair. Eyes closed, pushing me away, crying, trying to stand, pretty much all over the place, inconsolable. At that age they just really don't know what is going on. For the first 30 minutes it was like that, then he just wanted to be held and not bothered. I knew it was coming but you feel pretty helpless because there is nothing you can really do to help them, or snap them out of it. Around the 50 minute mark, he started to drink a little and act normal again. He went from sitting still zoned out to drinking a whole juice box, eating a pancake and part of a banana in about 5 minutes. We had him dressed and we were on our way out of the hospital at about 9AM.
We made an attempt to go to music class but he fell asleep in the car on the way there, and I wasn't about to wake him up.
Overall successful, his ears were draining a little (Brooke's never did) but that is normal. Ear drops 3 times a day for the next few days to keep the tubes from clogging and a post op in 2 weeks.
I almost forgot to write this part, our little man must have sensitive skin because he has tape marks on his eye from where they tapes them shut :( (why do they do that anyway) and he has marks all across his chest from the adhesive on the electrodes they put on him...which 2 of them they left on in and I had to soak him in the bathtub to try to loosen them up, which didn't really work so I had to rip them off his little chest :(
Glad it is over.
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