Colin's Tonsil Removal

Back in October, I wrote this post describing our visit to the ENT throat doctor and the decision that was made to have Colin's tonsils and adenoids out. He has always had enlarged tonsils and smaller passageways but it had gotten to the point recently where they were so enlarged, they were preventing his ears from being able to drain fluid (particularly his left). Symptoms that Colin had been experiencing due to this were worsening more recently (he was not sleeping well at all lately, complaining a lot about loud noises but had difficulty hearing, and some of his other behaviors indicated he wasn't feeling well). While we knew it was going to be a difficult recovery, we were anxious for the improvement he would experience from relieving the other symptoms. 

 

 

Colin's surgery was yesterday and we were anxious going in because the day prior, we noticed that he had some minor congestion. This is pretty typical for him as he does go through cycles of seasonal allergies but the doctors were still concerned and did several checks before deciding that it was ok for them to proceed with the surgery.

 

We did explain to Colin the day before that he would be going to the doctor to have his throat "fixed" but we did not give any further details as we knew it would make him nervous. He actually enjoys going to the doctor for his various checkups and will do everything that is asked of him without any complaints. We put his "doctor pajamas" on and then the nurse gave him some "giggle medicine" to help calm and relax him before taking him to the back. This time was quite entertaining for us as he put on a little show with his antics due to the medication.

 

 

She explained that it would make him feel heavy and after a bit, he kept trying to sit up or shift in the chair but looked like a turtle that had been flipped onto his back. He kept making straining noises like he was trying to move really hard but he wasn't actually moving anywhere. After he finally settled in the chair, he was singing and carrying on with a conversation we couldn't always understand. We were laughing quite a bit and he kept smirking at us and saying "what're you laughing about?".
 

It was comforting for us when it was time for him to go back because we actually knew one of the nurses from our church, so she was the one who actually carried him back and then was in there with him the whole time. The procedure only took about 20 minutes so he was gone and back with us within an hour. He was wheeled to us in tears because they said when he woke up, he was immediately looking around for us. He settled down pretty down quickly and was taking sips on his juice right away. The rest of the day was a little difficult because you could tell he was in pain but he's pretty tough in how he handles pain. There was a lot of sad crying and snuggling but he did eat a tiny bit and took sips on a drink all day. At one point, he even asked to sit and work in a book after watching Kailey do it for awhile.

Last night, he slept from about 9:30-3:30am and has pretty much been up since then. The day has been very up and down with bursts of him almost being his normal self and then times where he is really weepy and needs to be held. Throughout the day, he would put his arm around me and pull me in for a kiss on the forehead, like he was assuring me he was ok.

At one point this evening, he was even up kicking around a soccer ball after watching something on Netflix about soccer.

He's a trooper and hanging in!