I’ve been meaning to post about Jasper’s big/little surgery on Monday, but I’ve been struck down with some sort of stomach bug, which has aggravated my morning sickness. You can imagine how THRILLED I AM.
But anyway, here goes. It’s a bit long, lol.
After seeing him for a few months with no real improvement, Jasper’s ENT had recommended that Jasper have his adenoids taken out and clear his nostrils to improve breathing and airflow (an adenoidectomy and a bilateral turbinoplasty). We knew Jasper was a really nasally little guy, probably ever since birth. He had a tendency to use his mouth to breathe, and has had a hard time learning things like breathing in through his nose and smelling/detecting odours (weird huh?). His speechie and I agreed that it was probably effecting his speech too. We didn’t want it to effect him in the long run, and did agree that he needed to go in for the day surgery.
So on Monday, we drove over to the day surgery centre in Chatswood where the ENT operates out of. (There was a private hospital down the road from us we could of gone too, but didn’t have a billion dollars spare unfortunately). It was super early (7am) so the parking station was quiet and Jasper thought that was pretty fun.
We checked in and waited our turn, we knew we were 2nd on the list and would go in at 8:30am so we took it easy and talked to the other kids there. The nurses triple checked his details, made sure he wasn’t allergic to anything and that we knew the risks etc. It was good to get that kind of confirmation on all sides, rather than just ‘oh come in and we’ll stick these things inside your baby’s mouth, no worries’.
Before we knew it, it was Jasper’s turn and Regan and I go into the little prep room. Only one of us can go in with Jasper when he gets his anaesthesia, and we agreed beforehand that Regan would go in. Luckily he did, because apparently Jasper DID NOT WANT and was really scared. Of course, we knew he would be okay and didn’t harp on about it for days beforehand. We told him what was going to happen in a clear and positive way (for a 5 year old) and that it was okay to be scared because we would be around to take care of him.
I was already sitting back out in the waiting room when Regan came back in, and told me that Jasper was now under. I flicked through a couple of old issues of Vogue and munched on a sandwich that I had packed (of course) while we listened to the other kids crying in the recovery room next to us.
Not much than 25 minutes later, the nurse pops her head out of the door and says that Jasper wants his Dad. So quick, I thought, but glad it was over and there were no complications.
A few minutes later, the nurse says that Jasper wants his mum now and I go in to swap places with Regan. Jasper is crying his little eyes out, being held in his daddy’s arms. Regan hands him over to me after I sit on the recovery bed (I’m not supposed to be carrying Jasper, but can sit with him). Regan leaves and Jasper is screaming and crying and spitting and trying to clear his throat. He’s using his legs to push me away, he wants to ‘go back into that room’ because he thinks that’s the way out and is really working himself up.
He’s not settling as quick as the nurses like, so they let us go into the second recovery room where Regan can join us. It takes him another 45 minutes to calm down enough to have some codiene (he says his got a headache and is sore), and he finally wants to eat his lemonade iceblock and have some apple juice. He just wants to go home, but we can’t leave until he calms down.
His doctor comes in to check on us, and let us know that it all went good. The adenoid was huge apparently. We’ll see him in 6 weeks for a checkup.
Jasper has finally stopped crying and we’re able to go home. Luckily it’s after 10am now, and the morning peak hour traffic has subsided. On the 45 minute drive home (it took over an hour to get there at 6am!), Jasper throws up and is not happy. Regan does his best to calm him down while I concentrate on the road. Thank goodness Regan came along because I couldn’t do that on my own.
We arrive home and Jasper plonks down on the couch (covered in towels, next to a bucket, just in case) and falls straight to sleep. I head out for an hour to get his antibiotics and more pain medicine for him, and by the time I’m back he’s sitting up eating icecream and playing the iPad. It’s a miracle!
By the time Jovie is dropped home by Grandma, he’s running around playing and talking like normal. Hallejuah!
It’s 3 days later now and he’s still doing great – a little bit of a sore throat/nose but otherwise in great spirits.
I’m so glad it’s over for him because I was crapping myself on his behalf. He can be a really anxious and scared guy, so I wanted to make it as positive of an experience as possible because it’s not a fun thing to do. I think he did great and remind him that he was so brave. It’s been a great learning experience for all of us.
