Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Hi-Ho-Hi-Ho-Hospital we go ... September Surgery - Tonsillectomy & Ear Tubes (again) ... Day 1

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So ........  August 2nd Nathan had his big surgery on his boy parts ... the healing process of that was .... left to be desired, but it was a necessary surgery, but it was definitely rough on him.
The week before surgery, we all got the flu.   It wasn't a happy time, and had me worried that we'd have to postpone his ENT surgery.  Luckily - we were all better a few days prior to the surgery and we decided not to postpone it.  Especially since it was Nathan who got sick first, and was better longer.  It was me that was still feeling craptastic ...

This time we decided we'd just pack for Daddy to stay too.  Nathan really likes it - obviously - when we are both there.

We let Nathan sleep until the last possible moment.  He had crawled into bed with us that night anyway ...

So ... we had to get up and leave at 5:30 ... so we're in the car, on our way...



On the way there, Daddy says "oh, I forgot to put more money on the Good To Go Pass" .. which is a pass that allows you to just pass the toll and they take it off the little pass thing you have on your front window.  So we had to stop at the toll, and it wasn't that bad.  There are mornings it's crazy backed up.

This is where things got back.  We were supposed to be at the hospital at 7:30, it usually takes no more than an hour and a half to get to the hospital.  This particular day ...... everything was against us.....

It was like the traffic fairy threw up all over the streets .... then threw up again .......... and again ... it was practically a stand still.....

Of course I just had to start messing around....
I look like I am holding up a crescent roll up to my face, really, it's just my hair...

C-R-A-Z-Y .....


7:30 rolls around, we're literally - just pulling into Seattle and have at least another 30 minutes to the hospital ...

Nathan did sleep all the way there, and we got to the hospital at about 8am....  I went in hoping they wouldn't say "well we can't do the surgery today now" cuz we were more than 15 minutes late - you know how they do that when you are late for an appointment.  They can make you wait an hour, but if you are 15 minutes late, you are screwed.

He got taken back right away ......

Things went a lot quicker than last time...


Daddy forgot to grab Nathan's blanket, so Daddy's blanket had to do ....  he went back watching the tablet ... Daddy took him - it is just easier that way.


Of course he wasn't happy .....  he knew what being in there, especially after the gown and Daddy changing into the monkey suit  - meant..... but as long as he had youtube, he was okay ...

OBJECT OF THIS SURGERY:  New ear tubes, the left one has completely fallen out, and did shortly after it was places during his cleft palate surgery in May 2012.  Since then he has lost hearing in that year significantly due to issues w/ fluid.   Dr. P replaced BOTH tubes, but since the right one was still in, he just put a new tube in.  With the left one, he actually anchored it in, I guess, putting cartilage around it to make it stay in place - hopefully - longer.  HE also had his tonsils taken out.

The anesthesiologist listened to us ...  we told him how he struggles soooooo bad after surgery with vomiting, and the last time (surgery beginning of August) - even though it was better, he was still vomiting.   So he said he had an idea and ended up doing a combo of what they did last time, and something else.  And as a note, no vomiting yet!  He woke up super crabby - but no vomiting - and apparently not a lot of nausea too....

We decided not to mess with what worked last time - so Daddy took him back.  But the things that were changed was the whole medicine used to put him under and various nausea meds to help battle that after surgery sick he gets.  What they did last time worked better, but it still didn't work 100% ...

So we were told it would only take about a half hour.

About an hour later .... we were talking to Dr. P ...  he said everything went brilliantly.  They replaced the right eartube (which had still been in, but they took out the old one placed almost a year and a half ago and placed a new one) ... the left eartube went as they planned.  They put cartilage around it to help keep it in place so it wouldn't fall out again right away.

Then he goes on to say that he was surprised by his tonsils.  He said when he looked at them in clinic, it didn't look that bad, but once he got in there, the tonsils were very swollen.  He said that the tonsils increased the size of his throat by 20% - which is a lot.   He also said he looked at the adenoids, and there wasn't much adenoid tissue at all, so he didn't mess with them.

We waited a little longer and got a room number for him.  We did some things, I ran up to the gift shop to get him some slippers because we got out of the house and on our way, and realized I had no slippers, no socks, no shoes for him.   Whoops!

And it was then that I saw this....


Um.......... really?  WOW!   Guess no balloons for Nathan :/

So Dennis and I moved the car over to the hospital side, and then drug up all the luggage and pillows, blankets, etc....   and we waited.
Picture of Nathan's room while we were waiting ...

About an hour or so later ...  Nathan showed up  :)   He was actually pretty good - he was alert (but extremely upset), acted like he was going to sleep at first, and then said he wanted the tablet.  He was in a lot of pain, he was crying a lot, saying his throat and ear hurt...  and so he got more pain meds almost right away.  Nathan came into the room just crying and absolutely miserable. He said his tummy hurt (nausea) ... his throat and mouth hurt (tonsillectomy) and his ear hurt (the wrapped cartilage around a new tube to keep it in place (hopefully) ... and his ear is all kinds of bloody

Asked Nathan how he was feeling ......  well, I guess that ... yeah....


BUT .....  he was allowed liquid for lunch and let me tell you ........  HE ATE!  This is why I said not a lot of nausea.  If he was really really nauseated, he wouldn't have tired to eat.  SO he drank apple juice and he had cold broth....  and he drank/ate it all!  I WAS SO PROUD OF HIM!!!


His Auntie Bridgett sent him a farting pen....... yep, that's right........ it farts!

Watch this video ........ to see it in action!

SO sick of hospital food so Daddy went on a hunt, and then sent me on a hunt.... we got a list of places that delivered to the hospital...  and we got Chinese ..... OMG it was so good....  fortunes!

Day 1 ....... Nathan is in a pretty good mood.  We're actually very happy ....


For the most part he was in his tablet/video world most the day.  As long as he had the headphones on and the tablet in front of him - he was okay.  You could tell he was pretty miserable though and they kept him on some good pain meds.

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