Surgery Day

Today was Zach's ear tube and adenoid removal surgery.  ENT#2 was doing the surgery at the Utah Valley Medical Center in Provo.  We were suppose to be at the hospital at 7am, which meant we needed to leave our house by 6:15am.  Grandpa Gray graciously offered to watch Logan at our home while we were with Zach at the hospital.

Zach had no idea what he was in for....in the end neither did we.  Last night we told Zach we needed to go to Provo today early in the morning.  We explained it would just be mom, dad and him going - he was super excited it was just us and no Logan.  He kept saying, "I am going to Provo with Mom and Dad!".  So this morning when we exited the freeway in Provo Zach asked us, "So why are we going to Provo?".  Dustin and I just looked at each other.  Jen explained to Zach that we were going to see the ear doctor and he wanted to put the tubes back in his ears to make them stop hurting him.  Zach physically knows what ear tubes look like because he saw both of his last pair fall out.  Jen remembered the first set of tubes Zach had were blue in color - so she tried to make the tube event 'fun' and tried to make Zach guess what color his new ear tubes would be...and tried to convince him to ask the doctor.  We arrived at the hospital and Zach was starting to get worried, because the last time he was at a hospital they took blood and he didn't want his blood taken out.  We explained no blood was being removed this time.

We checked in and Zach was still pretty cautious.  The nurse we were assigned took all his stats, and showed us the 'room' Zach would be in pre/post surgery.  She gave him stickers, paper and crayons and showed him he had his very own TV in his room with a remote!  We got Zach to change into his gown.  The nurse then gave him some purple drink that was suppose to make him drowsy...boy did it ever!  He was a happy, giggly, very relaxed boy.  The ENT and the anesthesiologist both came and met with us to explain what was going to happen and answer any questions we had.

At 8am they wheeled him away for a 30 minute surgery.  We read magazines, played on our phones, tried to make chit chat as we waited and waited and waited for them to bring Zach back.  We knew what to expect when Zach came out of anesthesia from his first ear tube surgery two years ago (a non stop crying kid).  What we didn't expect was for the nurse to come to us at 8:30am (when we thought Zach would be getting out of surgery) to tell us the ENT was on the phone in the OR and he wanted to talk to us.  We both had a look of panic and the nurse could tell - she said, "the doctor wants to talk to you about his tonsils".  Jen walked over to the phone and talked with the ENT - he was recommending Zach's tonsils come out.  Apparently Zach's right ear (the one he keeps getting infections in this last round) was pretty bad.  It was full of so much thick gooey fluid.  When the ENT removed Zach's adenoids he wasn't convinced the ear problem was strictly due to the adenoids.  Zach's tonsils were swollen during surgery so he recommended they come out while he was already sedated to rule out any interaction with his ear problems.  Knowing Zach has had strep throat twice in the last year, and when he does get strep throat he gets severe sleep apnea we agreed with the ENT and had Zach's tonsils removed....as we expected they would have to be removed in the next couple years anyway.

We had another 30 minutes before Zach would be back to us.  We were still in a state of panic - we were prepared for a three day tube/adenoid removal recovery.  We were not prepared for a two week tonsillectomy recovery.  We spent the time scouring the internet on what to expect for a tonsillectomy recovery in a four year old.....our hearts sank at what we were reading.

Zach made his way back to us - in the non stop crying and inconsolable state we expected.  He just kept complaining of his throat.  He kept trying to clear his throat and force himself to throw up because he felt like there was something stuck inside.  The nurses tried anything and everything to get him to drink.  He did have some water, and a slushy.   After an hour - literally an hour of Zach crying, whining and not calming down they said he was free to go.  He drank and had normal stats.  We were discharged.

Sure enough as soon as we walked out of the recovery area in the hospital - Zach calmed down.  His poor face was so swollen from being upset (and probably some from the surgery).  Soon after we got in the car to drive home he fell asleep.  We were in no hurry to make it home as long as he was asleep.

Zach was pretty calm the rest of the day.  He chilled on the couch.  He drank what ever we would give him.  He wouldn't eat.  He took the pain medication easily, which made things bearable for all of us.  We watched movies.  We talked about things that would spark his interest.  He got a kick out of his dog stuffed animal he brought with him to the hospital.  The hospital staff dressed the dog up when Zach went to the OR.

We had a few visitors stop by with balloons for Zach.  That brought a BIG smile to his face!  Grandma Twogood had one of her good friends that lives in the area drop off these balloons for Zach.  Dustin's co-workers also all pitched in for balloons and a big bag of candy for Zach to eat when he felt better.