No more tonsils or adenoids for Drew...

So, over the last half year, we've had several medical professionals note the largeness of Drew's tonsils, giving us reason to meet with our ENT again and get his opinion. Without hesitation, he recommended they come out...on a scale of 1-4, Drew's were a size 4. He hasn't been overly sick lately, but the Dr. said they were the reason for his snoring - which has been found to relate to poor sleep/not getting into the deep, restorative sleep needed - causing children to be either zombies or over-active...leading to learning and development issues. That sounded like enough to us, but to add to it, there would be a very high probability that once exposed to strep, he would never be rid of it since the tonsils were too large to clear it out, just making him sick over and over again once he was in school. He also mentioned it could be the cause for some certain food avoidance due to difficult swallowing, etc. So, the surgery was scheduled and performed August 31. There was every confidence that it would go well and my biggest concern was getting him to get enough fluids and food in him...

Mommy and Drew were able to have a special day the Monday prior to surgery as we had the pre-op appointment in the morning (Noah going to daycare) and a day to spend, just the 2 of us! We had the BEST day! Drew was incredibly sweet and kind in his words and actions all day, and amazing at the visit. We had fun playing in the toy aisles in the store, and I didn't even have to rip toys out of his hands in protest to not buy any! We had a yummy lunch at Baker Bros. and ended with a delicious treat at Sweet Sammies! I'm looking forward to more days like this some day!

Drew was all ready to go in his Spiderman PJs that morning, with no worries...until we walked back into the pre-op rooms! He wasn't really cooperating with the nurses taking his vitals (though he'd been PERFECT on Monday for the exact same thing!) and refused the hospital gown - until he got the giggle juice, which took his resistance out of him. That and an hour of watching PBS Kids while we waited for surgery!

The Dr. performed the surgery by coblation - ice cold saline water and ultrasound waves 'melt' the tissue away vs. cutting them - less blood and scabbing, less painful! Hoorah! The anesthesiologist stated prior to surgery that research has shown that red-heads require more anesthesia for their size than any other - whether that was the case or not for Drew, we don't know for sure. But we do know that when he woke up from surgery, instead of slowing waking up, he was awake and upset! The nurse "needed some help" from others and Drew was brought to us quicker than 'normal'. It was an interesting and tumultuous 30-45 minutes - Drew was definitely agitated! But with some extra drugs to help counteract the side effects of anesthesia, popsicles and Sesame Street, he was calmed down and we were on our way home only 4 hours after arriving - not bad!

Noah was at daycare for the day so we could focus on Drew - little did we know he'd want to camp out in front of the TV in our bed for the day - leaving little need for us at all except to change movies, and prompt him to eat and drink - but that wasn't even that challenging! He was a true champ! He was even taking his pain medicine pretty well and never threw up, despite the medicine apparently tasting "yucky!" The Doctor said to not "baby" him in that he could have whatever he wanted to eat as soon as he wanted...so he wanted chicken nuggets, and that's exactly what he got. He didn't eat it all, but really did pretty well considering...

There have been a few days of concern with the pain and not drinking enough, but it hasn't been all that bad in that regard. I'm writing this 1 week post surgery and the biggest issue we are having is with sleep - this we did not expect! He has woken up every night 2 or 3 times, initially it was due to pain as best we could tell, but lately, it's just been incredibly odd, with screaming, overall uncomfortableness, odd complaints of pain in feet, and simply not wanting to be alone...ending with Drew joining us in our bed on more nights than not! Even naps are ending in a similar fashion. :( Drew in general is not known for his amazing ability to handle pain, or anything that makes his world less than 100% amazing, and has always been one to desire our full attention and presence, particularly at nighttime, so this isn't helping the matter any!

The eating and drinking continue to be something we have to push slightly, but really, no concern for severe effects. We've stopped giving pain medicine, even normal Tylenol he doesn't want, or seem to need. But the sleep - oh, how that has room for improvement. We are sure the weaning off sleeping with us and off the movies during the day may be the hardest part of all of this! Until then, we are a bit sleep deprived, and in general tired of a particularly whiny 3 year old boy. I think one part that makes this even more difficult is his limited understanding and ability to communicate what really is going on in his little body. We are trying to give him the benefit of the doubt that something just 'isn't right', but not wanting to set up a situation where we are being completely manipulated! :) Needless to say, we know it will be worth it in the long run, and there are things so much worse than this, but we are happy there is only ONE set of tonsils!