Ever since he was a baby, Charlie has been a LOUD snorer. And within the pas year or so, we noticed that he stopped breathing, for 10 second periods, multiple times a night. He would snore, go deathly silent for 10 seconds, and then gasp loudly for air before snoring again. We knew it was not a restful sleep when Charlie would be ready to fall asleep by 8:30 every morning, an hour or so after waking up. I even recorded his sleep with my cellphone after talking with the pediatrician. As soon as the doctor saw the video, he set us up with an ENT for a followup.
In addition to the sleep problems, Charlie had suffered from a chronic runny nose for months. We walked around with tissues in our pockets because we were always wiping his nose. And after numerous rounds of antibiotics, which only cleared up the problem for a week or so, we decided it was time to take a closer look.
The ENT doctor took one look at his nose and mouth and decided that his tonsils and adenoids needed to come out. And we had a surgery date within a week of that appointment.
On the morning of March 7, 2017, Chad and I took him to the surgery center at the Prince William Hospital and waited until they were ready to take him back to the operating room.
He didn't realize what was about to happen and seemed to be content to lay in the bed with his blanket, his lego blocks and his stuffed Rubble Dog. And before we knew it, the nurses came to take him back. I was allowed to walk with him and stay in the room while they put him under anesthesia. It hit me a lot harder than I expected when they held him down and placed the mask over his face. He struggled and kept saying "Mommy, no" and "All done". Fortunately, it only took about 30 seconds or so before he stopped crying and fell asleep. I hurried back out to the waiting room because it was too much to see his little limp body on that big operating table!!
Chad and I didn't have to wait long before the doctor came out to tell us everything went well, and we both breathed a huge sigh of relief. He did mention that Charlie's tonsils were enormous, which we suspected. About 15 minutes later, a nurse came out to take use back to the recovery room and could hear Charlie screaming all the way from the waiting room door. He was not happy!
When we walked in, he was flailing, kicking, and screaming "ALL DONE"! The nurse was struggling to keep a hold on him and she was more than happy to turn him over to us. I tried to hold him and calm him down, but he was not having any of it. He was hysterical. The nurses all assured us that this was a normal reaction to the anesthesia, and he would calm down soon. They also pointed out that the hysteria was good because the medicine would work it's way out of his system sooner. At the time, Chad and I were not amused.
Charlie did not like his IV and kept trying to rip it out. We held down his arms and he tried to bite it out by pulling on the IV with his teeth. The nurses eventually gave in and just took it out. He calmed down for a minute. Then Charlie began to freak out again when they put a bandage over the IV site, because he was bleeding. And once again, the nurses gave in and just removed the bandage. Charlie calmed down and they were more than happy to see us go home!!
All of the stress hit Charlie because he passed out as soon as we put him in the car and slept most of the day.
Once he woke up that afternoon, he was once again a happy Charlie and even began drinking liquids and eating apple sauce. Chad and I were hopeful that it would be an easy recovery, despite the warnings from the doctors/nurses.
That hopefulness was short lived. Over the course of the next week, Charlie threw up nonstop a few days, refused to eat or drink for a few days, refused to take his medicine the entire time (we had to spike his juice and apple sauce), suffered from severe diarrhea for a day, and suffered from constipation a few days later. But the worst moments came while we were in Salisbury for Quinnie's birthday party. Charlie woke up screaming multiple times and was inconsolable. He kept grabbing his head/ear, and screaming "All done"! At one point, Grandpa and I were not even sure that he was actually awake, and I was a little concerned. And just as quickly as the screaming came on, he would quiet down and fall back asleep. This lasted for a day and a half and then he seemed to turn a corner. Looking back, we think that was the period when his scabs from the tonsils fell off and we were warned that it would be painful.
After the first 7 days, Charlie returned to normal and recovered nicely.
The most noticeable difference is that Charlie no longer snores and no longer gasps for air at night. He is a much happier kid during the day, and no longer needs a nap by 9 am. His nose has also improved and we don't have to constantly carry tissues around all day!
It was a rough week, but definitely worth it. I am so glad Charlie was nearly 3 years old when they operated on him, and hopefully he will have no memory of this time. Lauren, on the other hand, is already hoping to have her tonsils removed so she can eat nothing but applesauce and ice cream! Silly girl!! =)
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