We spent the rest of the week preparing him about what would happen and stocking up on lots of popsicles, ice cream, and soft foods.
Wednesday morning we headed to the surgery center at 9:30 to get checked in. After we got him changed into his cool hospital pj's, we sat and waited while he watched TV for about 30 minutes. A few nurses came in and talked us through everything, as well as his ENT and the anesthesiologist. When it was time to go, he was so brave and held the nurses hand and only looked back once as we parted ways (insert crushed heart here). I was so proud of him, and even more so myself for holding it together! Cory and I waited in the waiting room for about 25-30 minutes before a nurse came and got us to wait to talk to the Dr.
Everything had gone great and as planned. The Dr. was impressed by the size of his adenoids. He said that they were beginning to grow into his nasal cavity and causing at 80% obstruction. No wonder he was snoring and so exhausted! I wish he would have done the surgery last November when we took him in, you know, before our deductible reset ;-)
So we went back to the waiting room for them to come get us when he was starting to wake up, which didn't take very long. As we were walking back, we could hear him crying. It was all I could do to not knock down the nurses to run to him! They warned us that when he comes off of anesthesia, that he will likely be really upset and angry...which was completely true! He was sitting up, refusing to lay down and when he saw me he practically jumped into my waiting arms. I got to climb up into the bed (all while fighting tears, because seeing your child so upset and scared just rips you heart out) and he curled up on me. He continued to cry and yell that he wanted to go home NOW! Haha pretty sure the whole place knew he wanted to leave. After getting him to calm down he passed out and slept for a little while on me, then he woke up and drank some juice and took some pain medicine. By 12:45ish we were booking it out of there to get home. They warned us that the car ride home may make him a little sick, and luckily I always travel with ice cream buckets in the van for such occasions. He did throw up a little....and ewwww....that's all I will say!
We got him home and settled and he had some juice and popsicles. They really stressed the importance of keeping him hydrated. The first few days were a breeze, I was actually starting to wonder if they actually had taken his tonsils out...so I did the one thing the nurse warned us NOT to do....I looked. BIG MISTAKE! So nasty! Luckily I kept my face straight so I didn't completely freak Lucas out. It's safe to say that his tonsils are gone ;-)
After the first few days passed, the pain really started to kick in. But honestly, he is one tough cookie and still really doesn't complain. He is eating and drinking well, he just seems a little more lazy/snuggly and is super quiet. The first few nights we woke him to give him pain meds, but after spending 30+ minutes arguing with a hibernating bear and him screaming (which seemed kind of counterproductive), we decided to just let him sleep. If he is in pain he wakes up and takes him meds without a fight and goes right back to sleep with an ice pack in hand. Easy Peasy!
We are a week post-surgery and he is doing well, I am ready to have my feisty, happy boy back! He still sounds super funny (which is normal with the adenoid surgery) and he may for awhile, but we know this was the best decision for him and we can't wait to see him improve all around!
We are so proud of our brave, strong little boy!