Tubes Round 1

Our little guy had tubes put in his ears today.

We've known this was coming.  Dexter has had entirely too many ear infections, usually two at a time, during his short 2 years.  In a way, it was a blessing.  Hopefully this will bring him some relief, and frankly, allow him to HEAR more clearly.  But let's face it, no parent wants their child to have surgery.

He was such a trooper.  We had to report to Children's Hospital for 10:30, but he didn't end up going back for surgery until closer to noon.  He wasn't allowed to eat anything past 8:00pm the night before.  He could drink water up until 8:30 that morning.  He was not very happy with us this morning.

Once we arrived, they processed us very quickly.  We headed to an exam room where my son decided to crawl/run around telling us the colors of all the floor tiles.  The nursing staff came to do a pre-op physical, which he wasn't thrilled about, but didn't fight.  Then a very kind anesthesiologist (with a very heavy accent) talked us through the procedure. 

From there, we went to the playroom.  Dexter had a whole section to himself and had an absolute blast!  For him, the time flew by.  For us?  Not so much.  We were a bundle of nervous energy and just wanted to get the tubes in and go home.

Finally, around noon they were ready for him.  Quick kisses goodbye, and they put him into a car (not unlike one he has at home) and wheeled him into the OR.  He never cried.  He never even looked scared. 

They told us the whole procedure would take about 10 minutes and then they'd take him to recovery.  He could sleep for 5 minutes or even up to an hour.  Once he woke up, they'd come and get us.  Literally, at 12:15, the doctor came, told us how great everything was, and a few minutes later, we were back with the boy.

How was he???  Crying a little because he was confused, but mostly HE WAS HUNGRY.  He sat and ate a popsicle, fruit snacks, a fruit bar, and the first of 4 graham cracker cookies.  We were discharged and headed home.  Dexter was sleepy in the car, but as soon as we walked in the house, he was a bundle of energy.  You would have never known anything had taken place.

Kids amaze me.

Pictures to follow!