No more Tonsils for Charles

Charles went in to have his tonsils removed on Friday, the 6th. He wasn't really ever sick because of them, but he did snore pretty loud and even had trouble talking. His tonsils were extremely large.

He wasn't really nervous about the operation. In fact, he didn't seemed bothered at all by the whole idea. Here he is hanging out in the waiting room before the surgery

After waiting there about 30 minutes, they took us back to a bed that was essentially in a hallway with nothing but a TV playing Kung-Fu Panda and two chairs. This was where we talked to the doctor and anesthesiologist before the actual procedure. Unfortunately, we ended up waiting here for about an hour and a half because they got behind. That was pretty tough, but we made it through playing lots of "I spy" and drawing on the paperwork about patients rights we were given. Charles also got his hospital bracelet here.

Then they finally brought the "goofy juice". I can't remember the name of the drug, but it is in the Valium family. They give this to the kids before they take them back so that they don't freak out when they are wheeled away. After he was taken to the OR, they gave him gas to fall asleep and then inserted the iv. So, Charles didn't have to be stuck with a needle one time while awake. He was pretty funny after he got the "Valium"; he started acting really silly and then would stare off into space. At one point he said "I was dreaming I was in a restaurant." I think he was hungry, poor guy. He kept leaning to the side of the bed looking through the bars.

Then they came and got him for the surgery, and we waited for him in the waiting room. The surgery took about 30 minutes, maybe less. They called us back just as they were wheeling him back to the recovery room. He ate a Popsicle for them before we even saw him, and ate another one while we were with him. He said his throat hurt and kept sucking on his lips. He asked for his glasses right away too.

About 30 minutes later the nurse came in and removed the IV. It was in his foot. Who knew.

After that we were cleared to leave. Steve went and got the car, and the nurse wheeled him out in a kiddie wheel chair. He got to pick a little stuffed animal with the hospital shirt on him. He chose the Cow and later named him Texas.

The ride home was uneventful. He dozed a little, and didn't throw up. When we got home, Steve put him on the coach to watch TV and he was quiet for the next few hours, in and out of sleep.

By the time the boys got home from school, you would have never known anything happened to him except for the fact that his voice is quite a bit higher and squeakier. By then he was running around, jumping, and had eaten jello, ice cream, a bowl of oatmeal and lots of juice.

He is still doing well, but the pain has started to kick in. His throat is scabbed over and he gets pretty sore when its time for his next dose of codeine or Motrin. He also doesn't have much of an apetite and spikes a low grade fever every now and then. We heard that the first couple of days are the easiest, and now know it is true. But all in all, he is doing really great. Thanks for all the thoughts, prayers and warm wishes from everyone!!