Tubes

Last night it snowed a couple of inches; this morning I was up shoveling the drive at 5. We needed to be on-the-road by 6:15 for the boys 7:00 surgery appointment at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia–a minor procedure to place tubes in their ears.

Once out of the neighborhood, the roads were in pretty good shape, and we arrived at the hospital a little early. Alex and Adam were the first patients of the day, so we went right in to pre-op and changed the boys into their little yellow hospital gowns. The little yellow booties, dubbed “Big Bird Feet” by the CHOP nurses, didn’t stay on too long, as neither Alex nor Adam took a fancy to them (we swapped ’em out for their own little socks).

After their vitals and a short conversation with the doctor and the anesthesiologist, the nurse gave them some “giggle juice” (Versed) to soften their anxiety over being taken by the nurse for the operating table. It did make them both a little loopy–Alex more so than Adam.

The procedure for both boys was over in about 15-minutes. We joined Alex in the recovery room. He still had the airway in and was sleeping soundly. Adam soon joined us, and was before long, awake and crying–likely due to the disorientation he was experiencing. I stayed with Alex while Mommy consoled Adam. Alex awoke soon after, but wasn’t as upset as Adam was–thankfully.

After the post-op instructions from the nurse, we dressed the boys and were heading home once again.

I can only imagine what it must be like for the boys–especially Alex–to actually be able to hear sounds without it sounding like they’re underwater.