Jack the Patient

Today was a big day for our Jack! After months (maybe years?) of battling random viral infections, snoring, sleep apnea, speech difficulties, etc., it was decided by all doctors involved that it was time for Jack to have his tonsils and adenoids removed. We knew this would help him in a huge way for the long run, but it was not an easy decision to make or follow through with.

I woke Jack up at 6:00am and he cheerfully got dressed and put on his backpack with a few toys - even though it was still dark outside! Jack and I (joined by our dear friend Teddi - our adopted grandmother) headed for the hospital and left George sleeping with Josh. (This part was almost as hard for me as seeing Jack go through surgery!)

We checked in and Jack opened a special gift I had been saving for this morning - a new Thomas and Friends book and the Gordon train. He was the light of the Same Day Surgery area - the nursing staff all enjoyed stopping by to say hi to Jack and ask him about his train.

Our nurse Judy gave Jack some medicine to make him a little drowsy...and it also made him silly. When I started to see him go "loopy", I began to cry. I hated seeing him be changed by that medicine. He smiled a lot and even sang to himself and his train, he played with the anesthesia mask they had given him to get used to the smell, but ended up wanting to eat it, so we had to take it away. He was totally mellow, but still wanted to be cuddled by me. When they wheeled him away (after I prayed over him), he was just laying back on the bed, relaxed, tightly gripping his Gordon train!

The surgery was done fairly quickly - just as I had heard. But it took our little guy a while to wake up. He was so pitiful looking when they wheeled him out...it just broke my heart.

It was not pleasant when he did wake up. He began screaming and pulling at the IV in his arm, the blood pressure cuff on his other arm, etc. I held him and once he got his first vanilla popsicle, he settled down a little. Within a half hour (and once all the medical "stuff" was removed from him) you could barely tell that anything had been done to him. He wanted me to read some more and he happily played with his train.

So, we are home now. George and Josh did well without us. We've had a few really difficult moments with Jack when he is in obvious pain and doesn't know what to do and can't stop crying, especially upon waking up from naps. But we know these things will gradually get better and that we will have a healthier kid in the end.

Thank you for all of your prayers and support. We covet them during the next two weeks or so of the healing process!