Thankful for a...tonsillectomy.

Strange, I know, but when you have a kid who has suffered from chronic ear infections, sleep apnea, and a case of pneumonia which landed him in the hospital for three days (just to name a few), you appreciate a good old-fashioned tonsillectomy. It’s never fun to take your son to the hospital, knowing that he’ll be poked, prodded, and put under anesthesia. Especially since tonsillectomies are considered somewhat of an elective surgery these days, but in the end his doctors and even his dentist agreed that Luke was as good of a candidate as any for the procedure. We set up the appointment for the Thursday before Thanksgiving to keep him from missing too much school. I, I mean Luke NEEDS school. :) Everyone kept asking us if he was nervous or scared, and I would reply honestly that he was thrilled. Seriously, ecstatic. You’d think it was Christmas coming early. At least once a day he would ask if it was time to go to the hospital. Yes, we were really talking it up. And yes, we read lots of Curious George Goes to the Hospital. And yes, he still had very fond memories of his stay in April, but geez!!!

My mom, being the overprotective grandmother that she is, decided to hop on a plane and come to help. I assured her we had it under control but she insisted, and I must say that it was very helpful to have the extra set of hands. Not to mention, the cute child-sized scrubs and Curious George stuffed animal dressed in doctor garb. (Thanks, Mom!) Steve and I were able to leave Zach with her while we spent time with Luke in the hospital. This picture was taken during our very long wait…

Trust me, these pouts were fake, at least on the little one’s part. (I think Dad was a tad nervous.)

Luke was all rammy (a word my grandmother uses to describe stir crazy children…pretty sure it’s not in the dictionary *), and Steve was equally impatient. My husband has a ton of wonderful qualities, but patience is not one of them. So what else would two rammy boys do but start a game of imaginary baseball, right? I’m not even kidding. I sat there and watched about three innings of the pair playing out a surprisingly realistic game, complete with fouls, strikes, injured players, the works. Before long, baseball turned into football and there were soon penalties, false starts, etc. It was then time for the nurse to take him away. This was sad. I guess I didn’t quite know what to expect, but in an instant they carried a protesting Luke off through a pair of double doors. Looking back, this was probably for the best. Especially considering the last time he had an IV put in, I was the one to pass out. Not kidding.

Steve waited in the recovery room while I ran out for balloons and post-surgery toys. Before I could even get back, I got the call that he was out of surgery and fine, but that he would be staying in a post-op room until he woke up. He was soon carried in to us by a nurse who said they had been cuddling for quite some time. I didn’t ask, but I wondered what that meant. Do they really have a nurse hold the children so they don’t wake up scared or alarmed? I decided that sounded so incredibly sweet and mind-easing, that I would just go with it. The nurse passed him to Steve, and the two sat in the big not-so-comfy recliner/my-bed-for-the-night until Luke was ready to be moved to his hospital bed. The following hours were filled with Luke drifting in and out of slumber, nurses drifting in and out of the room, and me trying to figure out how to work the monstrosity of a recliner. Grandpa Tom came for a visit that night with the movie Up in hand. Good job, Grandpa – it was a hit! Luke stayed up long enough for his visit – the longest stretch since he came out of surgery – and just long enough to spy the gift from his teacher Ms. Kendall, that he had been waiting so very patiently for since it was given to him the day before. By patient, I mean he only asked to open it about a hundred times. Needless to say he was extremely happy to be given the okay and to find a very cool pterodactyl-like gadgety bird-thing to play with. (Yeah, I’m not very good at describing – or even figuring out – boys’ toys.) Thanks, Ms. Kendall!! It’s still a big hit around here. No other pictures were taken in the hospital, but here’s one from his stay last April (just to even out the type to photo ratio) :)…

The next day came fast and we were home before we knew it. Luke and I had already done a big shopping trip to purchase "surgery" food. You know, pudding, jello, popsicles, etc. He didn't want much at first, but in no time at all he was requesting Cheetos. Silly kid!

Zach getting a taste of Luke's milkshake...

Did I mention that Zach was really enjoying the sick treatment?...

The next few days went surprisingly well. My mom continued to be very helpful with Zach, and my dad taxied her back to the airport (yes, they’re divorced but get along great…maybe even better than when they were married). Luke’s recovery was going smoother than I ever could have guessed, so I even snuck out one night to make these cute turkey cupcakes with my friend Amy…


Gobble, gobble!

Luke continued to take his Tylenol with codeine which had quite the mellowing effect on his normally rambunctious nature. Wait, does that sound bad? :) I just mean that since I expected the worst, a very calm and quiet three-year-old was actually a huge relief. That is until Day 5 set in. You see, all of the post-op paperwork warns that Days 5-7 would be the worst as far as pain and side effects. What they should tell you is to expect the most horrific whininess you ever did hear. Ugggh! I am very happy to take care of my sick son, but when my sick son is whining, “Moooom, Mom, MOOOooooM!”, every two minutes to complain about his sheets bunching up, or the piping on the couch cushion being too scratchy, or the straw in his milk being too short (I’m not even joking), I started feeling a little nutty. But then I was reminded just how darn happy I was to have him alive and well, that the rest didn't seem to matter at all. Before long, Thanksgiving was here and Luke was grooving on Grandpa’s famous pumpkin pie. We had a very low-key Turkey Day. In fact, I’m pretty sure I never even got out of my pajamas – gotta love that!

Not sure what the five is for. Maybe the number of pie pieces he ate that night? :) ...

Zach and Grandpa Tom. Love those shades! This is a perfect picture to demonstrate Zach's current need to have three to six things in his hands at all times...



And the next day, we were off to Grandpa Boese and JuJu’s house (Steve’s dad and step-mom). We had a great time there, as usual. Julie had made a tepee for the boys to play in which was very cool, and they played all their usual games with Granpa’s golf balls, the nesting Houston Rockets (picture the Russian dolls but with basketball players instead), the sandbox, wheel barrow rides, and so on! We had a very nice visit with them, and Julie’s son Phillip was a huge hit with the boys. We’re looking forward to another Boese Family gathering next month to celebrate Gary’s 70th birthday. Should be lots of fun!

Zach, getting the royal treatment...

I think Zach is wondering, "What are these silly grownups doing?"...

The boys loved the teepee! Thanks, JuJu!...

"Uncle Phillip, can I sleep on your bed tonight?"...

Hangin' with JuJu...

Holy Blog Post, Batman! This is getting LONG! Stay tuned for our exciting trip home and annual visit to Evergreen Farms (you get the hint of sarcasm in there, right?).

Until next time...

xo,

Jess

*I decided to Google “rammy”. Among other definitions I found this one: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Rammy Yikes! I might need to rethink using it in this context. He He!!