Bye Bye Tonsils and Adenoids
April 11, 2018
Many times we have been told by our Pediatrician and Dentist that Mav man has very large tonsils and that we would need to consider having them removed in the future. Well the day has come and the future is here. We seen our Pediatrician for Mavericks 4 year well child visit and she recommended a consult with an ENT to discuss removal.
Here is a little history on our sweet boy. He did indeed have very large tonsils, but that's not the only reason for removal. It has affected his sleep in many ways. They believe he is having sleep apnea, along with he grinds his teeth at night, has restless sleep and flops around like a fish out of water ALL night long, and he snores like a grown man. Which leads to a very tired little boy the next day requiring a nap with lots of whining most days if one is not had. He does not have a history of illness or strep throat. So this was the reason I was hesitant at first.
Next Step:
We had a consult with the pediatric ENT and after assessing Maverick and discussing his sleep issues with us she recommended surgery and that it would help him tremendously. She said she could order a sleep study but she s almost certain he has a form of sleep apnea and the recommended treatment would be what we are planning to do so that its not needed. She educated us on the procedure and what to expect. So we left her office with a surgery date 4/11/2018.
Preparation:
We had a discussion with Maverick on the way home from his appointment about what to expect and how much better he would feel. He was not happy about it and completely hated the idea of surgery!!! (My momma heart was hurting for him) So I had decided that we had to make this process as exciting as we can considering the situation. I told him that his big sister had hers out and that he would be tough like her. We went shopping and let him pick out special surgery jammies for that day. We packed a little bag with books and toys to entertain him why we waited that day. We went grocery shopping for popsicle, yogurt, and ice cream. He then started talking about his surgery with less fear and more excitement of saying good bye to his tonsils.
Surgery DAY:
Surgery was at 11 and we had to be at the hospital by 9:30 to check in. Our babysitter came at 8:30am to watch the other 3 kids so we didn't have to take to whole crew. We checked in and he played cars with daddy and we read books while we waited.
They called him back at 10:40. As we sat in pre-op he was such a big boy, but as the anesthesiologist, Dr, and nurses came in to do their checks his smile was fading and he started sobbing. I knew I needed to be strong for him, but it was so hard to fight back the tears. The sweet nurse scooped him up and asked him if he wanted to bring his car and pj mask animal with hi. He smiled and nodded. She then said "lets go and we will see mom and dad in the ice cream where you can eat all the ice cream and popsicles you want." He smiled and bravely went away with her.
We waited about 20 minutes and they called us back for an update -Surgery went perfectly smoothly and there was very little bleeding. His tonsils were very large as suspected. We got to go back as he was waking up. Our sweet boy was very groggy, fussy, coughing a little, but doing great. He drank some apple juice and a blue popsicle. He had a little gagging from the crying and nausea so they gave him some Zofran in his IV before they took it out. All he wanted to do was go home. We got to leave after about 45 minutes and his tears dried up quickly. He slept all the way home. We got home about 1pm. He had a burst of energy as we got home mostly because he loves his sister so much. He was so excited to tell them about how brave he was. He drank some juice and ate an entire soft grilled cheese sandwich. He rested most of the afternoon with small naps but always had a smile when he woke up. He didn't complain much at all!
We were instructed to give him pain meds every 3 hours, alternating Tylenol and Motrin, for the next 5-10 days and as need after that for the next two weeks. He was also prescribed a tetracain lollipop to suck on for 10-15 seconds every 2 hours as needed to help numb his throat, as well as 3 days of an oral steroid to help with inflammation. We were instructed to keep him hydrated with 32-42 ounces of fluids daily. This was more difficult than one would think. He actually ate better than he wanted to drink. He has done really well during the nigh and don't complain much at all. He fights the meds when we wake him to take it but then goes right back to sleep. He still snored for the first week due to all the swelling. He also had a cough that continued days 1-8 but then cleared up. HIs Doctor was ok with cough as long as he had no fever.
Day 1: Surgery day- slept most of the day and ate and drank well
Day 2-5: they were all pretty similar stayed on top of pain with meds every 3 hours. It was hard to slow him down at times he wanted to play hard. Had to make him drink and pushed popsicles but he didn't complain of much pain day or night. Evenings and mornings were the worst but not terrible.
Day 6-9: were the worst. I think these were peak days for pain due to scabs sloughing off. He was uncomfortable every 3 hours as meds wore off. He asked for sucker to numb throat multiple times a day. He was fussy and refused drinking often. He slowed his eating down.
Day 10: Was the turn around// he was back to his happy self and we did pain meds every 6 hours that day and last dos of meds was at 10;30 that night and he has been doing great ever since. He is no longer snoring at night and sleeps so peacefully!!!
So thankful for all the love and support form friends and family through this time. It was a rough few days but so glad to have it behind us :)!!!
XOXO,
Shina
