I had big plans for our summer and it is already August(!!!!) and I don’t feel like I’ve check off any items on the wish list. Granted, some of our (outdoor) plans were postponed due to 21 days of 100º+ days! It’s been a HOT June/July for summer 2018.
What has occupied us lately: It’s been eight days since Corbin had a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. It is every bit as brutal as you hear about. My little guy is a tough kid. This surgery has taken a toll on his body and spirit.
We told Corbin he was having his tonsils “fixed”. They were blocking 75% of his throat. He was rated a 4 out of a 4 rating for enlarged tonsils. He wasn’t eating well at all, he stopped liking foods he has always liked and his obstructed sleep apnea was shocking. We knew he snored (like a grown man!) but I finally witnessed how severe his OSA was one morning. My poor boy lay there with his chest rapidly rising and falling but no air was going in until eventually he gasped and rolled over. That is how my child was sleeping. No wonder he was tired all of the time. I think even he was ready.
We told Cor he would go to sleep at the doctor’s and would wake up with a sore throat. Obviously, we couldn’t tell him he would be in severe pain but even The Hubs and I were not prepared for how rough the recovery would be. Corbin just knew he was going to get his throat “fixed” and be able to eat allll the ice cream.
Surgery day he was prepared. They wheeled him back and away he went, no tears. He was probably gone 35-45 minute and they called us to recovery. I had been warned that he might wake up from anesthesia angry and so we were “ready”. We did not experience anger or confusion, Corbin just rolled around A LOT and itched/rubbed his face (tangled himself in every cord) but slowly, he came around. Again NO tears.
After about an hour and a popsicle, we were headed home. He took a short cat nap on the car ride home but for the rest of the day Corbin watched movies and ate ice cream. Overall he seemed really good.
Days 1-4 post op weren’t good but they weren’t bad. He was prescribed hydrocodone/acetaminophen combo and was supposed to take it every 5-6 hours. Corbin was barely making it to five hours without being in quite a bit of pain and started to really resist the medications around day four/five. Since he didn’t want to take the pain medications, he said they were “spicy”, Corbin started to really slow down on eating or drinking. By the evening of day seven, he was refusing everything. I slept with him that evening and he tossed and turned until we we woke him up in the middle of the night to give him a dose and about an hour later, he vomited. His stomach was very irritated due to the pain meds and no food. He continued to toss and turn all night.
The following morning, Corbin still refused anything to eat, drink and his pain meds and he hadn’t gone to the restroom in almost 24 hours. He wouldn’t talk to me, he would hold his ears and cry. After multiple calls to his surgeon, we decided to go to the ER.
He received pain meds, nausea meds, and two bags of fluids. And two popsicles. As an example as to how tough Corbin really is, he didn’t flinch or cry when they put the IV in his hand. The extra nurse that was there to hold him down assist, even commented that he did amazing. Yet this recovery has literally brought him to his knees crying. After his ER treatment, Corbin really perked up. When we got home he was asking for more to eat and consumed two large servings of chicken noodle soup!
What a bummer. The doctor told us it would be a rough two weeks but we were NOT prepared for this.
Today is day nine post op and Corbin slept well last night. He woke up still holding his ears. NOTE: you’re wondering why his ears hurt so much when the surgery was in his throat….it’s referred pain. There is a nerve that runs through all of those areas, that are affected by the swelling. The ER doctor said, think about a scab and how, as it heals, it pulls on the skin in the surrounding area. OUCH.
Every child is different, so each healing journey is not the same. Corbin was also on an antibiotic for a sinus infection prior to his surgery. I put this out on my blog/the web so if your child is needing these surgeries, I want you to know how our recovery has been so far. The Hubs felt the doctor could have prepared us better, essentially, scare us. I’m not sure how effective that would be either. 🙂
We are really hoping and praying that Corbin has turned the corner and is on the upside of recovery. Weston has acted out a little bit. I hoped he would be understanding and empathetic but he’s a four year old boy. Not so much. Weston has been going to school and field trip without his bro and doesn’t really like all the extra attention Corbin is getting. The Hubs and I keep trying to do one on one things with Weston but I think he is also ready for everything to go back to “normal”.
June and July just zoomed by and we’re on the tail end of summer. (Although in the South, warm swimming weather sticks around until forever September.) We have a family/friend swim day on the calendar for next weekend, a camping/fishing trip with more friends in a few more weeks and counting down (44 days) until our B E A C H vacation to Destin!
XOXO
theallennuggets 