Tubes

Today we took James Morris into the hospital for outpatient surgery, to get tubes in his ears.  He has had a constant ear infection since January, that no medicine has cleared up.  So, it was time.  We did a hearing test on him two weeks ago, and his hearing was very little.  So it needed to be done.  Many friends counseled us that they have done it with their kids, and they think it was the best thing.  So I was not worried.


Really, not worried at all.  I just wanted to get it done.  The things I was worried about, how am I going to occupy him for an hour in the waiting room while we wait to go in?  I hate that they ask you to show up an hour early.  Why? The doctor only shows up 1 minute before.  I would say that this should be abolished for anyone under 2, out of understanding that littles cannot take the wait, but then I think that adults really shouldn't be put through that as well.  Wait, in the hospital, thinking about what you are about to do.  Silly.


Anyway, so we waited.  I brought a bunch of toys which helped.  The hospital gave us this cute little teddy bear with scrubs on which was just so adorable.  Finally time came when the dr and the sleepy gas person (I cannot spell anesthesiologist - hey, but spell check can!) came and made me sign my son away.  This is when I needed to get dressed in the hazmat suit.  I was to go in the surgery room with him, and in order to do so I needed to put a whole scrub zip up suit outfit on, which was hysterical because I was wearing a big puffy skirt.  I almost asked them to take a picture of us, me in my big zip up outfit and James in his cute purple Johnny with matching no-slip socks, but I figured this would be inappropriate considering my son was just about to get surgery.

We brought him in and laid him on the table and I tried to make him feel comfortable and chat with him like all was usual.  I am actually quite impressed with myself how well I did this, even as they put the gas mask on his face and he started to get a look of terror, but we talked it out and a sleep he went.  My little angel. It was so sad to watch him fall asleep like that, but he did well.  I kept thinking his brother would have been a mess at this point.  A mess.

I waited in the waiting room, and not two emails later were they done.  Rubber cement like goo will be coming out of his ears for days I am told, and he is now on a special steroid to help calm his middle ear, which was a mess the dr said.  But he should be good to go within the week.  It is weird how oddly similar this experience was to my LASIK.  Elective surgery, in and out in a few minutes, and within a week it is like it never happened, but now one of your major five senses is working 8,000 times better than it was before.  Amazing.

Then I heard it, the screaming.  Who's baby is that? Oh right, it is mine.  Wow.  He has never sounded that angry before...  Wow.  If a baby could curse, James would be cursing, let me tell you.  He was mad! it took us a good few minutes to calm him down.  He even refused the cracker I had for him, which meant he really was mad!  The nurse promised he may not want to eat for a while. Not my boy though, because just 45 seconds after his refusal he caught a second look at that cracker and immediately quieted, from constant shrieking to silence, to eat.  The nurse laughed and said he likes to eat, eh?  (and just so you know, this is also where my two sons differ, as Joel Andrew would have come out of this just fine, no crying at all once he saw Mommy again and the nurses, two different kids).

After the cracker was done, more screaming.  I started to get really sad, but not for my son who I knew was being a big baby that I love - but for all the other older toddlers, lined up in the beds, awaiting their surgeries.  Do they know that is what James just did? Isn't he freaking them out right now?  Finally, we were released to go and once we were in the elevator I had a calm boy.  Now he is sleeping in the backseat and I am parked in the car hoping it does not get too hot in here to quick. 

Let's hope he forgets this ever happened, and we can have a great weekend ahead - not to mention some great months without ear infections, and with some good talking and listening!

Ps- the tubes is my magic fix for everything... So I am hoping it works. Waking up too early, tubes should fix that, right? Cranky? He will never be cranky again now! Airplane hassle - our next flight will be a breeze!  No more sicknesses, ever, right?  I should probably reevaluate this.