Tonsils

Our kids have big tonsils.  I mean, really big.  The kind of big that causes breathing problems, which then causes sleeping problems, and snoring problems, and jaw problems.  Josh and Sara both had their tonsils out when they were 3.  It was pretty miserable.  Three year olds don't make great patients.  Nate needed his tonsils out, but we waited till he was a bit older so it would be easier on everyone.  He is proving to be a much better patient than his older brother and sister were.

We picked the Friday before Thanksgiving to have his surgery, so he would miss as little school as possible (he has the whole week of Thanksgiving off school).  Sadly, he had to miss his big Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast on Friday, but he got to bring home his fancy pilgrim and Indian costumes the day before and modeled them for us.

Friday morning Scott's Mom came to stay with the kids and get them all off to school, while we took Nate in for his surgery.  We had to leave the house at 6:30, so it was still dark.  We got checked in, and Nate got to spend a little time decorating his breathing mask with fun stickers.

Then they wheeled him off, and Scott and I spent the next hour in the waiting room.  Next time we saw him, he wasn't looking quite as happy.  He was extremely sleepy and had a hard time waking up.  I snuggled him in the big chair for a bit, till he was more awake.  The first words out of his mouth were, "My throat hurts" and then "WHAT HAPPENED?!"  Poor kid.  He was hurting a lot and was really restless.  Finally, he told me he wanted me to get out of the chair, and he made himself comfy on a bed of pillows.  We were able to get him to drink a little bit, and got some pain medication in him.  He was very nauseous and threw up while we were in recovery.

He had an awesome nurse, Erin, who turned out to have a 5 year old Kindergartner at Nate's school (just in the other kindergarten class).  She told him that when she's at her son's school next time, she'll look for Nate and say hi to him. 

When it was time to leave, Erin gave Nate the option of having Scott carry him out to the truck, or riding in a wheelchair.  It was the first smile we saw out of Nate.  He was really excited about getting to ride in the wheelchair.

Nate threw up again when we got out to the truck.  Poor kid.  When we got home, we made him a bed for him on the couch and kept a bowl close, because he continued to throw up all day long till bedtime.

I was starting to get really worried about him, because he hadn't kept anything in all day.  But, then right before bedtime, he asked for some macaroni and kept it down.

Since that first day, he has done pretty well.  He has spent most of his time on the couch watching movies. 

We've all tried to be extra nice to Nate this week.  Sara made a giant get well card for him.  I've given him all the Danimals, otter pops, and milkshakes he wants.  And yesterday Savannah pulled him in our little red wagon on a walk to feed the horses.  I think he's really feeling the love from all of us. Sara even made an extra comfy bed on the floor for him one evening to watch a movie with her.

We are hoping recovery continues to go smoothly, and that in the end Nate's quality of life will have been improved.  We love this little boy and hate to see him feeling crummy.