Ian's Surgery

Ian had his tubes put in yesterday. Let me tell you, he was an absolute trooper! We got to the surgery center at 7:15 Monday morning and Ian was taken back about 7:45. It was the worst feeling in the world watching the nurse take my baby back in the back. They had told us to dress him in loose fitting clothes, no onsie. So, he was wearing a long sleeve t-shirt and a pair of pants. One of the nurses brought us a t-shirt and suggested we change him into that. It was huge, but it was so cute on him. So, they take him back and about 20 minutes later, the surgeon comes out and tells us that the surgery is over, everything went fine, and we just needed to wait for him to come out of the anesthesia. About 10 minutes later, the anesthesiologist came out and told us Ian was awake, crying and angry, "just like we like them." He also said not to be surprised if he was crying when they brought him out. He wasn't. He had a concerned look on his face, and did cry a little when he saw his juice box. He was fine once he drank his apple juice. We were home by 9:15.



Ian has not acted like anything out of the ordinary has happened. He did take a 2 hour nap yesterday, which is a little longer than normal, but other than that, he's the same happy, carefree kid. I stayed home with him all day yesterday, and then today, Jim had him in the morning and I took a half day in the afternoon. Tomorrow, he will go back to daycare and things will be back to normal.

ENT

Ian had a visit with the ENT on Thursday. He has had an ear infection and fluid in both ears since December. He's been on 4 different antibiotics and we can't seem to get it under control. After our last visit with the pediatrician, she recommended we see the specialist. So, after meeting with Dr. Reidy, we decided that the best thing for Ian would be have ear tubes inserted to allow the fluid to drain. He did say we could postpone the surgery and try allergy medicine, but he was almost positive that he would have to have the tube, regardless. While Ian doesn't act like his ears bother him, I know they must be uncomfortable at the very least. And, I'm concerned that he's not speaking yet. We don't even get a consistent Mama or Dada, when kids his age normally have 2-3 words in addition to those. In speaking with the doctors and my speech therapist buddies, I know the fluid is affecting his hearing. I'm sure he's hearing everything we say as if we're underwater. I know he can hear me because he understands and responds to questions and his name, but I know it's muffled, making mimicry difficult. The consensus seems to be that, barring anything else, he should be talking relatively soon after the tubes are inserted.

So, with that being said, we're going in on Friday, March 12 for the pre-op hearing test and registration, and then on Monday, March 15th, he'll have the tubes put in. It's only about a 10 minute procedure, and the doctor does not use general anesthesia, but gas, so the recovery should only be about 90 minutes. I know it's a simple procedure, but I still feel bad that he has to go through it. He's a trooper, though, and I bet he'll do better than me!