Well our buddy Liam is now back home after having his tonsils and adenoids out. The folks at Children's St. Paul were fantastic, but boy are we glad to be home. Liam did super with the surgery. The hardest part for me was the anesthesia. I had to suit up in sterile hat, coat, etc. and go with Liam into the OR. I held him on my lap as they put the mask over his face and helped him breathe deep until he literally passed out in my arms. That part really unnerved me. Logically I understood of course, but the primal parent in me just literally wept at my buddy breathing in gas so rapidly that he literally collapsed in my arms. I was whisked away as they took him out of my arms and put him on the operating table. I was glad, however, that I got to be there when he went to sleep, whispering in his ear that I loved him. The surgery was over before you knew it and the doc said it all went well and that indeed his tonsils were alarmingly huge - to the point where they actually had to get a bigger jar for them than what was in the OR and that the folks down in pathology were excited to see such a uniquely large "specimen" as the doc put it! :) His adenoids were large as well and so it is good that those went away. The sleep apnea should resolve now as well as the chronic sinus infections.
Poor Liam had a bit of a reaction to the anesthesia when he came out of it. In short, he became terribly aggressive and combative. He screamed, kicked, and punched wildly - thrashing around with an upsetting glazed-over look on his face. There was no calming him down at all and it was VERY loud and painful as he landed a few kicks and punches in our attempts to hold him immobile so he would not hurt himself or pull out his IV. We are talking get out the straightjacket kind of crazy!!! :) It was tough, but he soon settled down and began ingesting popsicles and ice cream as fast as we could provide the treats to him. We think he has a bit of an opposite reaction to his medication than most kids - some kids get a bit hyper on codeine, apparently, and that certainly appears to be the case with Liam. He did not rest the whole day. We watched movies, ate frozen treats, and played cars on the hospital bed tray. It was a bit tough for him because he is a lefty and they had the IV in his left arm which was then wrapped in a cast of gauze and cloth to prevent him from ripping it out, so he had quite a bit of frustration with that. Nick left late Friday night and I stayed overnight with Liam.
Of course, as soon as Nick left, Liam decided it was party time. He refused to sleep. Between him being so overtired, agitated by the meds and the IV, feeling yucky, not wanting to be in the hospital and more it was a, shall we say, interesting night. And then of course it would seem that as soon as he WOULD start to drift off, in would come the nurse with medicine, a vitals check, an IV change etc. It was NOT restful and by this morning I no longer had a son in the hospital, I had a demon-in-training. :) He was a madman. Screaming, flailing, and yelling "NO" at whatever option was presented to him. "Liam, do you want chocolate ice cream FOR BREAKFAST?" "NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" "Liam do you want a popsicle?" "NOOOO!!!!!!!!!" "Liam do want to leave the hospital, and go home but first stop at Target and pick out ANY TOY YOU WANT?!" "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!"
Wow. Clearly. He was in a "no" mood. He has been for most of the day, even here at home. We all got a small nap in this afternoon, but now the challenge is getting him to stay hydrated now that he does not have the IV. He is not comfortable and his throat hurts a lot, of course. His voice is even different - which is very strange for us to hear. He does not want to drink, no matter how we dress it up. Shirley temples, water, chocolate milk, apple juice - cool swirly straws, fun cups or not. He is not terribly interested. We have to push that lest he wind up in the hospital needing a hydration drip as that is the biggest risk with kids his age refusing to drink.
The crankiness continued through the day until Uncle Pak and Jillian came by. They were sweet in helping to take the edge off of the Liam Crankfest. Finally now, at 5pm, after playing cars on a new track that Pak and Jillian set up, Liam is calm (knock on wood). He is now having a blast sitting on Nick's lap helping him "steer" with the Wii steering wheel while playing "MarioKart". He loves it. It is nice to see him smiling again.
SO - surgery a success. Liam cranky but on the mend. Will let you know the status of his muppet voice as things heal. :) God bless all the parents who have truly sick children that have to live in a hospital environment for longer than one night. God bless the nurses that help take care of them! What a tough situation and tough job that must be. I had one night and I am a total zombie today!
