How not to be brave for your son and keep your composure in a stressful medical situation, by Kelsey Webb
Our two and a half year old big boy had surgery on Friday. It was the last big item on my my nesting to do list, immediately following get bangs, which was crossed out after having made a previous bad decision to eat some macaroni salad.
In light of all of the sickness, recurring ear infections and disconcerting amount of antibiotics given to Henry in the past year, we were advised to get tubes put in and have the adenoids removed. Though I was fully aware of the commonality of this procedure and the amount of times per week our surgeon has been performing it for the past 15 years (10-20x per wk), nothing could make me comfortable with the idea of Henry going under general anesthesia. Having been so consumed with worry over that part, I did not really have time to think about the torture of him not being able to eat anything before the 11:45 AM operation. Normally by then, Henry has had 1-2 breakfasts, a snack and has moved on to lunch. I was not anticipating one of the most heart breaking moments of the morning to be when I looked back at him in the car on the way to the hospital with his huge tears streaming down his cheek, saying, "Mommy, I really need a banana."
Thankfully, they were running ahead of schedule and were ready for him after we checked in and filled out all of the necessary paperwork. As soon as the doctor came in to tell us what to expect and what exactly they would be doing, I could not stop my tears. Henry was laying on my shoulder distracted by Sesame Street on TV, so he did not notice I was breaking my deal with Greg to not cry until he was in surgery. There is only so much I can control with these crazy pregnancy hormones. Greg was allowed to go back with him until he fell asleep in the operating room. As he carried him away, Henry was not a big boy at all. He was my little tiny baby being swallowed up by a hospital gown and drenched in scary florescent light. I could still see his lips moving, quietly saying "Peanut butter cracker, please." At least I waited until then to really break down.
He ended up doing great and we have all since recovered from the experience.
Pre-op snuggling
Post-op snuggling
Henry's favorite part, getting presents from Grandma
In light of all of the sickness, recurring ear infections and disconcerting amount of antibiotics given to Henry in the past year, we were advised to get tubes put in and have the adenoids removed. Though I was fully aware of the commonality of this procedure and the amount of times per week our surgeon has been performing it for the past 15 years (10-20x per wk), nothing could make me comfortable with the idea of Henry going under general anesthesia. Having been so consumed with worry over that part, I did not really have time to think about the torture of him not being able to eat anything before the 11:45 AM operation. Normally by then, Henry has had 1-2 breakfasts, a snack and has moved on to lunch. I was not anticipating one of the most heart breaking moments of the morning to be when I looked back at him in the car on the way to the hospital with his huge tears streaming down his cheek, saying, "Mommy, I really need a banana."
Thankfully, they were running ahead of schedule and were ready for him after we checked in and filled out all of the necessary paperwork. As soon as the doctor came in to tell us what to expect and what exactly they would be doing, I could not stop my tears. Henry was laying on my shoulder distracted by Sesame Street on TV, so he did not notice I was breaking my deal with Greg to not cry until he was in surgery. There is only so much I can control with these crazy pregnancy hormones. Greg was allowed to go back with him until he fell asleep in the operating room. As he carried him away, Henry was not a big boy at all. He was my little tiny baby being swallowed up by a hospital gown and drenched in scary florescent light. I could still see his lips moving, quietly saying "Peanut butter cracker, please." At least I waited until then to really break down.
He ended up doing great and we have all since recovered from the experience.
Pre-op snuggling
Post-op snuggling
Henry's favorite part, getting presents from Grandma
posted by Kelsey at
4:16 PM
5 Comments:
Oh, Kels, this made me cry. Except for the part about you breaking your promise to Greg and crying. That part made me laugh. xoxox
I was pretty sappy until the part when Henry asked for a peanut butter cracker, please. glad to hear all is well.
we miss you!
i cried thru the whole thing...so glad this is over and just a memory for you all...
those snuggling photos are so precious.what a good mommy.
way to make me cry, and I don't even HAVE babies!!
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