Update on Froot Loop: What Happened On the Day of Ear Tube & Adenoid Surgery

Holy cow, it was a long day. Froot Loop was up way too late last night because he was worked up and "excited" about his surgery. That set back everyone elses bedtimes and I got to bed late too. Then, of course, it had to storm all night. So, I got two hours of sleep, plus a little bit of dozing between 3-5 AM. 

Honey Graham woke me up at 5. I had pulled Cocoa Puff into bed with me sometime between 1 and 3 because he wasn't settling down, so I was just able to roll over and feed him and get him to go back to sleep. When I came out, it was 5:30. My mother-in-law was here and ready to go (she was going to watch Cocoa Puff), and I got Froot Loop out of bed and got his socks and shoes on and into the car. I had put everything we needed into the car last night so I didn't have to remember to grab anything else. 

We arrived at the hospital at 6:15 and got checked in very quickly. Honey Graham and Froot Loop went to the bathroom and then we went upstairs to the surgery area. Froot Loop dragged us around for a little bit, and before we knew it, it was our turn to go back into the surgery prep/recovery room. 

We had several people come in and out. We had nurses, anesthesiologists, the surgeon, and others come in and out. I signed a bunch of forms and reviewed a bunch of documents and told probably 8 different people that he hadn't eaten or drank anything since 10:00 last night and went to the bathroom a few minutes ago. They checked his vitals and got him hooked up to the oximeter. Froot Loop brought his favorite stuffed cat and his stuffed Enterprise with him so the nice nurses got those two hooked up to oximeters as well. I also brought a new blanket I made for him and he wanted to be wrapped up in that too. 

We got all ready to go and turned on the TV to watch some cartoons. Froot Loop loved that the remote had a speaker in it and listened to that for a long time. He was doing fine and only started getting scared the last few minutes before they came to get him. About an hour later, it was finally our turn and they came in to wheel him out to anesthesia. We gave him big hugs and kisses and out he went. Sigh. So hard. We couldn't go with him into anesthesia, but I do understand that. He was so brave. 

Honey Graham was hungry so he went downstairs to get some breakfast. I had brought bagels and I just decided to eat a bagel. I left the cartoons on and checked my email and played a game. Before I knew it, the surgeon came back in and told me everything went great. Froot Loop handled the anesthesia like a champ and there were absolutely zero complications. His adenoids were pretty infected and had been for a while, so it was a very good thing we had them taken out. His ears were absolutely filled with fluid too, so the ear tubes were absolutely necessary as well. 

They moved him to recovery, which was the hardest part. I could hear him waking up and crying and screaming. He was coughing and gagging and all of that expected stuff too. The crying and screaming is totally normal coming out of anesthesia and they actually prefer that so that it gets out of their systems faster. I was doing okay until I could hear him screaming that he wanted Mama and Daddy. It took way too long for them to wheel him back in our room and I was starting to lose it and was only about a minute away from walking around the corner to get to him. 

Finally, he came in and he was really upset. He still had his IV in and the chest monitors and the blood pressure cuff around his leg. The oximeter was still on his finger too. I hugged and kissed him and tried to calm him down. The next task was to get him to drink something and keep it down. He didn't want anything to drink and it really took some doing to get him to take a drink. After that, we got to work taking all the monitors and stuff off. That was not fun either. He was still yelling and screaming at us and fighting us, which was all expected, but it was still not fun. I gave him his two new plush cats and he was excited to get them, but also didn't care at the same time. 

Finally, we got all the stuff off of him, his clothes back on, some liquid down him, and got him on my lap in a wheelchair. The nurse wheeled us down to the entrance and we got in the car. He was freezing, so I wrapped him in his blanket and we talked and listened to Star Trek music all the way home. We got home at 9:30 AM! 

I had prepared the living room ahead of time. We had toys and books and crafts and all sorts of stuff ready for him. I had snacks and light food and drinks all prepared too. He wanted to gather up all of his stuffed cats and bring them out, so we did that and then got settled onto the couch. My mom came over and Honey Graham ran off to the store and post office and pharmacy for his meds. My mom finished feeding Cocoa Puff his breakfast and we worked on trying to get some food and liquid into Froot Loop. 

It was a rough morning. Froot Loop was absolutely bouncing off the walls. He ate a bunch of junk food and drank some juice and kool aid.  We watched Star Trek, Price is Right, and some PBS Kids. I tried to get him to eat some lunch but that didn't happen. I got him settled in to rest for a bit and feed Cocoa Puff and put him down for a nap. Cocoa Puff was like, Hey I'm totally not napping today and so I had Honey Graham come in our room and snuggle with him after about 30 minutes. I was really enjoying the snuggles, but I needed to get back out to Froot Loop to give him his medicines and try to get him to take a nap as well. He did not want to take his medicine, and getting the ear drops in was a total nightmare. My mom and I had to wrap him in a sheet and hold him down while I wrestled with him to get the drops in. He screamed at me the whole time. Finally, I got him to settle down and rest for awhile. He wouldn't sleep. He would not nap. After 2 hours of this, I finally sent him to his room, where he dropped off to sleep almost immediately! I had a few minutes to myself and I feel asleep watching Gilmore Girls too. 

We both woke up around dinner time and I tried to get him to eat but again, not really happening. He ate some bread and that's it. My parents came over for a bit and he went bouncing off the walls again. So now. we're watching Cupcake Wars on Netflix and eating a snack. I'm pooped and really just want to go to bed. He has been talking NONSTOP all day, and we're SUPPOSED to be keeping him still and quiet. He ABSOLUTELY will not listen to a word I say and I'm trying my hardest to be patient with him.

Annnnnd, he just dumped a full glass of water all over me just before I finished writing this. Sigh. 

More updates later. 

How are you doing?