Surgery

Having been through ENT surgery with two other kids, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. I also really like Dr. Kitsko so I knew Seth was in good hands.

Seth's arrival time for surgery was 6:30am. He made it through fasting just fine. Seth hasn't had much of an appetite with these ear infections anyway so that made it easier, I think.

They checked us in, gave me the rundown about what would happen and the risks associated with anesthesia, and then they let him play in the waiting room for a little while. I was a bundle of nervous energy about the anesthesia, then I just felt bad because he had no idea why any of this was happening, and there was the unknown about recovery. Would he have issues like Sarah did following surgery (vomiting) or would he just wake up and be himself. I still remember the anxiety of not knowing and the anticipation.

They finally took him back right around 7:30. The nurses told me Dr. Kitsko would come out to talk to me in about 10 minutes. I'm not even sure it was that long, before I heard Seth was headed to recovery.

Dr. Kitsko said Seth's left ear was still infected. That was after 7 courses of antibiotics and this was Day 10 of the most recent. They should have been clear. If I ever doubted the surgery that was the final affirmation that this was necessary.

Dr. Kitsko also said the surgery was routine and no problems arose. I was told to expect some drainage, including blood, but other than that Seth was good to go. He needs antiobiotic ear drops twice a day for five days, and then it should be cleared and healed.

I gave him a bottle and we cuddled for a little while and then finally we got the all-clear. The nurses told me that we needed to talk to him and read a lot to him so that he could re-learn sounds and words since he wasn't hearing properly up to this point. That's easy enough to do.

We were discharged about 8:15 which gave us plenty of time to get to St. Ursula for Mass, which was especially important because Sarah was reading. I try to make Mass every Friday, and I didn't want to miss it since she was participating. I had given the girls the heads-up that I wouldn't be there since I really didn't think we'd be discharged in time so it was a nice surprise for all of us.

There's no way for Seth to tell us how he's feeling or if the tubes made a difference, but when the church bells played at 9am he looked around for the sound. It should have been a familiar sound to him since we go to Mass so often, but it was clearly new to him. The girls were so excited to see us. I had tried to reassure them, but the word "surgery" sounds scary to them so this way they got to see for themselves that he was doing just fine. He was fussier than normal, but that's to be expected.

When we finally got home he took a long nap and seemed more like himself when he woke up. I did catch him looking at me funny when I spoke to him so I tried to keep my voice a little softer, and be sensitive to the fact that many noises were new and probably sounded louder than they ever had before. Right away I noticed his appetite was better, and he took bottles eagerly. I can't imagine how much pressure and even pain he felt before.

I'm just so relieved that we can close this chapter. It's a weight lifted knowing that he will be much healthier here on out.