jack and joe robbins: Jack's Tonsil and Adenoidectomy

Jack had his tonsils and adenoids removed last Friday, October 5th, 2007 at noon. He has had multiple strep infections - last one was 2 weeks ago (he also was the youngest case of strep at his pediatrician's office ever at the tender age of 12 months), his tonsils were HUGE, he snored and woke frequently at night so we and his doctor decided it was best to take those suckers out! We were SO worried about the anesthesia and surgery to the point of nausea and sleepless nights but once again, Jack surprised us with his bravery and his ability to come out on top seemingly unscathed. He is resilient if nothing else. He also knows how to milk it but more on that later. :) Brent's mom (Great Momma) came in from Indiana just for Jack's surgery and to help out with Joe. Thank goodness she did because her help was so needed and invaluable. She took over with Joe so we could concentrate on Jack for a couple of nights following his surgery. He slept with us so we could keep a check on his fever and Great Momma took such tender loving care of Joe which he LOVED! We also loved having her here and wish she could come more often. It was also her Bday on Sunday the 7th so we had a mini-celebration with cake. Jack was awesome about not getting to eat or even take a sip of water for about 7 hours before surgery. He was scheduled at noon because they apparently take the youngest first at 7 am. If his surgery was at noon that tells you how many kids younger than him went first. He wasn't even considered young at 2 1/2 yrs old! He played in the surgery waiting/play room until it was time for his anesthesia. He cruised around inspecting everything and seemed to enjoy wearing a "dress" -LOL! They gave him a nose spray that was an anti-anxiety med and it was supposed to make him feel something like an adult would feel after 3-4 cocktails. He got really relaxed and happy. The anesthesiologist came to get him and Jack went with him willingly - I started to cry like a baby. We went to the waiting room to meet up with my mom and Vaughan (stepdad) then they and Brent went down to get lunch and coffee. I stayed in the waiting room not willing to budge an inch for fear Jack might need me. Literally, 5 minutes later Jack's doctor, Dr. Palmer came out to find us and my heart stopped. I thought something had gone wrong and he was coming to find me. I asked breathlessly, "what's wrong?" and he replied, "nothing, we're done and Jack did great!" Wow! The surgery was supposed to last 7 minutes, was scheduled for 15 not counting the time for anesthesia and here the doctor was 5 minutes later! We went in to see Jack in recovery within 15 minutes and once again my heart was pounding. I walked through the recovery room full of kids and scanned each bed not seeing Jack. Finally, as we approached the back of the room I saw a nurse standing holding a sweet little boy curled up in her arms stroking her hair. That was my Jack and that was how I knew he was okay - he loves to cuddle on me and play with my hair. The nurse said he never cried when he woke up, he just looked at her and reached up for her to pick him up. Awwwwww! She didn't want to hand him over to me but I was so anxious to hold him in my arms. He slept on me for about 20 minutes then he started to come to and he stood up, we put his clothes on and drank some water. He was cleared to go home, they loaded him up in the Red Wagon and gave him a ride downstairs to our waiting car. Once we got in the car Jack got a Get Well Wish from Miss Teen Hunt County, an autographed photo and a card handmade from a little boy named Daryl. Once home, within 2 hours of surgery Jack wanted to eat, he played outside in his baby pool and played on his swing set. He seemed remarkably well considering. Then, that night after all the drugs wore off he began to decline and start feeling pretty puny and running a fever. We let Jack keep his paci which otherwise is for "night night" only and it proved to be magical. As long as he has had his paci over the last few days, all is good. Now, 6 days later, he is doing great! He is eating pretty darn well, drinking well, sleeping well, no fever and I took him to speech therapy today. He does have this awful stink associated with the adenoid removal that is supposed to last for a couple of weeks and it is potent. We are glad the surgery is behind us and we have our sweet little boy back. Jack checking things out