Tonsillectomy

Austin's tonsils were very large and causing him to have breathing problems when he slept and to snore. He has snored like an old man since he was an infant. Because of that, the ENT said they had to come out. On Tuesday, May 26th he had a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. It is a really common procedure and better to do it at a young age.

He had just learned to swim the day before and was so excited but had no idea what was about to happen. It was really hard to explain to him that he was going to have surgery. We told him he was going to the doctor really early in the morning and they would probably take his blood again (he had it taken at his pre-op appointment like a champ!). We had to be there at 6:00am. The surgery was originally scheduled for 7:30am. He couldn't eat or drink anything that morning which made me nervous because breakfast is his favorite meal and I knew he would be wanting something. He actually did really well with that. Lendi and Jake came down from Oklahoma to spend the week with him. When we got there, Jake and Austin were having a great time in the waiting room. Austin did not see it as a doctor's office. It was more like a place we took them to play. Texas Children's is awesome in that respect by the way.



We were called back 3 or 4 times to see different people before we were close to the actual surgery. The final call back was for Austin to put his hospital PJ's on and wait for the anesthesiologist to take him. They did show him the mask that he would put over his nose to help him fall asleep. He got to pick what flavor he would smell in the mask. I was so very nervous and scared. They wheeled him away at 8:45am in a wagon and Waylon and I were just supposed to wait.

We went to a cafe to get some coffee and were paged when he was taken into recovery. That was the hardest part! When we saw him, he trying to stand up in this children's bed, screaming and totally disoriented. He was trying to take out the IV and pulse/ox monitor. This lasted for a while. I cannot describe the feelings that overcome you seeing your child in so much pain knowing there is nothing you can do. Waylon and I felt so helpless. All we could do is hold him and hope that he would calm down so he could go to his own room. We also felt guilty because we didn't/couldn't prepare him for what he was going to go through. We were also told at that point that he was for sure going to stay the night for observation. He finally calmed down a bit when we put him in the wheel chair (it was a little tiny wheel chair).

Once we got to his room, they gave him some juice and Jakey watched a movie with him.

Austin could have all the juice, popsicles and jello he wanted...little did we know that was ALL. Some doctors will let kids have other types of liquids or a soft diet the next day but Dr. Homs' orders were a cold liquid diet for 24 hours. Besides the IV, this was the most frustrating thing to Austin. When he woke up the next morning, he was asking for waffles and sausage. They brought him one jello and a juice. :(

Every time his pain meds wore off, he would tell his that his mouth hurts. That is still the case 5 days later. I do have to say that he took the pain meds like a CHAMP! During his stay, at about 12am, the nurse came in to give him another dose of tylenol with codine (which tastes like crap). She asked him if he wanted her to give it to him or us. Without saying a word, he gently took the syringe from her, put it in his mouth and pushed the medicine in. We were all stunned! She said that she had never seen that before especially from a 3 year old!. Most kids fight that particular kind of medicine. From then on out, the nurses gave all meds directly to Austin to take himself.

That evening, a girl from the Texas Children's radio show came around with some crafts for the kids. The kids could make their own paper beach ball if they wanted and they would be judged for the best one. Austin was all over this! Give the kid some glue, stickers and colors and he is ready to go.

The girl came back later with prizes and said that Austin won first place! They announced his name on the radio there and it was heard through our TV.

There really was not much he could do at all. We watched just about every movie in his movie case so I bought him some motor cycles. This was one of the few things that made him smile the entire time.

It is now Sunday and he is still in a lot of pain. It actually comes and goes. We have tried to get out of the house to do a couple of things but he over does it and feels bad again. As if my little boy's voice could not get any sweeter....it has. The absence of tonsils and adenoids have left him with the cutest, highest voice I have ever heard. I have read that it is only temporary.