Ear tubes and adenoids

Last week was the week. T's surgery. I have been waffling since the EN&T doctor said he needed tubes in his ears over whether or not he really needed to have it done. On Thursday, we dropped S off at the new daycare provider's house, and T was quite upset that she got to stay and he did not. S got upset that T was upset, T got upset that S was upset, and once again I wondered if would ever be possible to create some kind of portable, soundproof bubble or barrier that would insulate the outside world from my kids and their jet plane decible screaming. I also realized that I only have about another year that I will be physically able to pick up T and move him from place to place. This kid is tall, muscular, and very strong.

T has a habit/reputation/determination to be very difficult when going to any sort of medical professional. But honestly, between his split finger, practially broken nose, and dog bite, who can blame him? Yet, I find myself counting silently to 50 and wondering if I really have the fortitude to ride this out and deal with it again with S, who is showing signs of upstaging T in sheer volume and feistyness. What doesn't kill you may make you stronger, but there are definitely times that I'm pretty sure this is going to kill me.

After the dramatic and nerve frazzling start to our day, we made it to the hospital quicker than I thought, and found a parking place I might actually be able to get into and out of without the 20 back and forths it usually takes. There is construction going on at the hospital and on our way in, we got to watch the crane be hooked up to a bundle of metal materials and lift it up to the roof. T was excited about that and I hoped that this was a good sign for the pre op stuff. To my surprise, T was pretty well behaved for the three and a half hours we were stuck there mostly waiting. We talked to the anesthesiologist first, who explained the procedure and risks involved and got T's weight (21.5 Kg, or about 47 pounds). It was the first time in about a year that he actually cooperated and stood on the scales to get his weight. Usually, R or I have to weigh ourselves, then hold him and weigh. It was off for the hearing test next, where we waited for almost an hour with no one in the waiting room being seen. So we left and tried to get into see the surgeon, at which point we saw all the people that had been waiting for their hearing test begin to trickle down into the lobby. The patient liason we were assigned took us back up to the hearing test area, where we got in within 10 minutes. Interestingly enough, they had no special considerations for kids, so I have no idea how she figured out if his hearing was okay or not. Once we finished the hearing test, it was back down to the surgeon, where he said that T's ears looked clear. After a brief discussion, we agreed that tubes would not be put in unless they were absolutely necessary. And then we left.

Friday morning, we had to leave the house by 5:15 to get gas, drop off S, and then get to the hospital by 7 am. German hospitals don't have private rooms, so there was another little boy in there getting ready for some type of surgery as well. He was calm and well behaved, so T was calm and well behaved. They put numbing cream on his hands so the IV wouldn't hurt, and gave him a drink to make him sleepy. I got the good task of putting a suppository in his tushie - I think for pain. Within five minutes he was dopey and sleepy, and they rolled him out of the room and down for surgery before 8 am.

They didn't bring him back until almost 10 am, and he was fighting and crying. There was blood coming out of his mouth, nose and ears, and T was determined to get out of the bed. They did put tubes in both ears and removed his adenoids, and I was unprepared for the blood and for T's reaction to the anesthesia.

Now would be a great time to mention that there is no air conditioning, so between T being so upset and the weather, it was pretty miserable for both of us when he wanted to be held, which was constantly. He was so tired, but was fighting sleep, and would cry every time he swallowed. When one of the Dr's came in around 12, he suggested giving T more pain medication, which we did, then he finally fell alseep and slept until after 2 pm. When he woke up, he managed to eat, drink, and go to the bathroom and we were out of there around 4.

R, who had been away at a training class, pulled into the parking lot as we were walking towards it, so that was really exciting for T to see his Dad after a week. We got in our cars to head home, only to find out there was something wrong with the parking lot exit mechanical arm. I, who was at this point, tired, hungry, frazzled, and very, very hot, was less than polite when the repair guy told me that it would be 50 more minutes. R got out of his car and then the guy told him 5 minutes, and I just lost it and told him he could either raise the arm or move so I can drive through it because either way, we were leaving. He called his partner, and they raised the arm, and we left.

It's Sunday, and T is eating and drinking okay if he has some Tylenol or Motrin in him, but we only had to give him two doses yesterday, so we are hoping that he will be feeling better by Monday. When he's not in pain, he's normal as can be, and we have to think of creative ways to keep him calm and quiet. R and I both will be so relieved to get back to the states and to be able to choose medical care.