So, it was just over a week ago that I found out that Reilly was a prime candidate for ear tubes. I pretty much knew this going into the appointment, but that didn't at all help the immediate anxiety I felt when the nurse came in to schedule the surgery. UM...SURGERY? Couldn't we have called it a procedure?
I was pretty proud that I didn't break down in the Dr.'s office, I held it together until I was nearly home. Then it hit me, my baby was going to have SURGERY. As in, they were going to take him from me, put him to sleep, slice his ear drums, poke around in his nose and then wake him back up, SURGERY. I was so not ready for it.
It was a long 10 days for Monday, April 25th to show up. That's a long time to come up with a million ways something could go wrong. Besides that, I'm not the most patient mommy when it comes to my little man.
Yesterday morning arrived, and we found ourselves at the hospital at 6:10. We were there with 4 other little buddies (who evidently knew that it was okay to stay in their jammies...not Reilly, he was fully dressed poor kid!) and we all go checked in. We headed up to the surgery waiting room about 6:40 and were called back to the room somewhere around 7:00 am. The parade of nurses began and we answered our questions, dressed him in his "very tired tiger" hospital gown and very sassy yellow booties.
The pre-op nurse came in and I knew time was getting short. (The pre-op nurse is a whole 'nother story for a whole 'nother day. Of course, I was crying far worse than Reilly, who was just miffed that his toosh was hanging out and catching a draft, but otherwise quite content. She went through the last minute instructions and procedures and said it was time to go. Since Dave was still holding him and he didn't want to much to do with the hospital bed/crib, she asked if he would be "squirrely" going down the hall. We both shook our heads yes so she called for back up. Great...calling for backup before we've left the prep room.
At 7:30, the operating room nurse showed up so the pre-op nurse could carry Rei down the hall. I of course was a puddle of tears as he was leaving and he was just looking back at us over her shoulder at us like, "C'mon mom and dad, catch up."
We were taken back to the waiting room, where I was still blubbering and people were staring. Nice. We sat out there for about 30 minutes, pretending to be interested in the Today Show and the Royal Wedding. About 8:00, the receptionist lady called me over because the Dr. was on the phone. He quickly told me that all went well and there was a whole heap of disgusting fluid in my baby's ears that would now go away. He said it wouldn't be long before we were able to see him.
About 10 minutes later, we were called back to his recovery room to help him come out of anesthesia. Other than watching my baby go down the hall without me, this was the hardest part. His little body and mind didn't have a clue where he was, what he was doing and why he was there. He was crying. Like, real tears crying. He's not a cryer, so this was so horrible for all three of us. It took him about 15 minutes to fully recognize us and get his bearings. 15 minutes was a REALLY LONG TIME. He was finally able to have something to eat and drink (nutter butters and apple juice!) and we got him settled down.
All of this and we were back HOME by 9:00 am. I felt as if we had run a marathon by 9:00. Talk about an emotionally draining and exhausting day.
If this is the only surgery my boy has to have, I'll be a really happy mom.
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