Grant's Surgery

Grant has always had a reallllly sensitive gag reflex. He snores, breathes through his mouth a lot, makes noise when he eats, and tends to get sick more than the rest of us. The straw that broke the camel's back was the size of condition of his tonsils when he had strep throat back in March. The doctor said those tonsils and adenoids had to GO.

I had my tonsils out when I was 25, and it was absolutely awful. Everyone says it's easier on children, so I've always advocated that if either kid needed them out I'd rather do it sooner than later. Still, I dreaded it for Grant knowing the pain and frustration and length of recovery. I would absolutely rather give birth again than have another tonsillectomy, and the ENT said that he hears that all the time!

Still, it needed to happen and I clung to the promise that it would be better for him than it was for me. The recovery is a solid two weeks, and with the vacations and camps we have planned for the summer it looked like the best time to do it was immediately after school ended. So literally the very next day we went in for his surgery.

Big dinner of his choosing the night before surgery!

Grant hadn't exactly been looking forward to it, but he had approached the surgery with relative calm right up until it was time to change into the hospital gown. At that point, he got understandably nervous and a little upset. He didn't freak out, but he got teary-eyed and clung to me and said that he was scared. It was hard. But really, he was so brave. The nurse asked if he'd rather go to sleep with a gas mask or with medicine in an IV, and he said he would do whatever was best - he just wanted it to go smoothly.

They let me go into the operating room with him just until he went to sleep (with the mask), then I had to wait in the waiting room. It was a fast surgery, and in just a few minutes the doctor came out to tell me that all was well. He said Grant's tonsils were big, but that his adenoids were ginormous and he couldn't believe Grant didn't have more trouble breathing! After a little while in the recovery room, we came home to rest and heal.


It's been a week since the surgery, which has largely been spent with popsicles and TV, snuggles and naps, books and Tylenol. Grant has had some moments of very uncomfortable pain, but he's bearing it like a champ with way more strength and grit than I gave him credit for. His appetite is slowly returning, and now that he can talk more his funny little personality is showing again.


In fact, yesterday he cracked me up for the first time in a few days! He usually wakes up between 5:30 and 6:15 in the morning, but yesterday (and today) he slept until 7:40am! He stumbled out of his room, made a funny face, and said "Well, I guess you really got your money's worth out of that tonsillectomy!"



I'm eager for Grant to feel all the way better soon. Next week he gets to go to Cub Scout camp with Daddy, which is supposed to be a fantastic time!