Tough Guy

Cole was such a tough, brave kid when he had his tonsils and adeniods removed on September 18th. He was nervous the days preceding his surgery and asked a lot of questions, but he was excited the night before when we let him pick out a Build-a-Bear to take with him and a new Lego set to put together in the hospital. He decked his owl Build-a-Bear out in a surgeon outfit and hugged him while he was in pre-op. Of course he also brought along his lion pillowpet and tiger blanket-he felt pretty at home. I was so proud of him- when it was time for the surgery he took the anesthesiologists hand and walked back to the OR without a tear or complaint. I was pretty nervous-I know it is a routine operation,but he is still my baby boy. All went well, and before I knew it I was hugging my groggy boy in post-op. His surgeon wanted him to stay overnight because of his apnea, so we got a chance to check out the new rooms in Cardon Childrens. They were so nice, but the bed for me was horrible. Cole was pretty groggy the day after- poor guy looked like he was swallowing glass, but he faithfully ate his popcicles and icecream. During the night he woke up with tears streaming down his face because of the pain and it broke my heart. The next day he was sent home on antibiotics and vicodin for the pain. He was tired and loopy the first week from the pain meds, and I was worried about him not drinking enough. I did not want him back in the hospital again, and the threat of an IV was enough incentive for Cole to drink despite the pain. After the first week he started to eat a little, and by the end of the second week he was starting to eat more normally. He was not a heavy kid to begin with, and by the end of two weeks he looked pretty skinny. Luckily Grandma came through and stuffed him with cookies and brownies! It has been a month, and he seems to sleeping better. I hope that the surgery was the cure we were hoping for!