Tubes

Well, I am sure everyone knows by now but Ryan had to get tubes in his ears. Monday, June 7th daycare called me and told me Ryan was running a fever. I knew he had been teething but they said it was 102. So, I took him to the doctor that day (he still had a low grade fever but it wasn't 102, I really don't know if they are taking an accurate temperature any more after them telling me several times he has had one and I have taken it and he hasn't, but that's another story). Turns out, he had another ear infection. The doctor put Ryan on a different antibiotic and recommended we see a specialist about getting evaluated to have tubes put in his ears. We met with the ENT on Friday. He took one look at Ryan's ears and his history (of many ear infections and all the different types of antibiotics we have tried) and said he highly recommended we have tubes put in. He said he would give us some time to think about it but Jonathan and I had already discussed that we thought tubes would be for the best. Neither of us wanted Ryan to have surgery but we both knew that we had to do what was best for Ryan to get him healthy. The doctor recommended we do it as soon as possible because one ear was pretty bad and was probably impairing his hearing. We set the appointment up and Ryan had surgery on Tuesday, June 15th.



We had to be there at 6:45 am. They do the surgeries based on age and Ryan was the first one for our doctor. They took us back around 7. We sat in one of the rooms for a couple of minutes, answered some questions and played with Ryan trying to keep him occupied so he wouldn't get fussy (he couldn't eat before surgery and he usually eats at 6:30 so he was hungry). They had a little car that we pushed him around in and that seemed to occupy him. When the nurse came and got him he whimpered a little but she distracted him by pointing out all the neat things along the way to the operating room. Jonathan and I stood there until the doors closed to the OR and then went to the waiting room, this was at 7:22 am. We weren't out there very long at all before they called us back to talk to the doctor. He came in to a consultation room and told us that everything went really well. Ryan had a lot of fluid in one ear and a little in the other but that they cleaned it all out. We only talked to him for about a minute and then waited for them to call us back to see Ryan, looked at my watch again and it was 7:32 am. It wasn't but another minute or two before we got to go back to get Ryan. The nurse was holding him and he was starting to wake up from the anesthesia. I instantly took him and held him close. He was still very tired but was only fussing a little bit. I quickly fed him as I knew this would help comfort him. He slowly woke up while he was eating with minimal fussing. I think that nursing him helped a lot because there was another little girl there who did not wake up to the anesthesia very well at all (she was still crying when they left). He slept on the car ride home but once we got home he was back to normal. He ate his breakfast and then played the rest of the morning like nothing happened.



I was so surprised by how quick the whole process took. I had talked to many different people (and done my own research) and all had said that getting tubes put in was very simple and easy. Even though everyone told me this I had a hard time believing it. Ryan is my baby and I was very nervous about him having surgery; even if it was a minor surgery. I worried about it all week but thankfully God gave me the courage to be brave the day of surgery and I was surprisingly calm. Ryan did amazingly well! I was worried he would fuss from not being able to eat but he didn't. I was worried he would cry when the nurse took him, but he did really well with that. I was worried he would get sick from the anesthesia but he didn't. I am so thankful that everything went so well! We have had to give him ear drops twice a day for the last five days and he hates them. I thought that the eye drops were bad but for some reason Ryan hates the ear drops even more. He cries so hard that I really think they must hurt but thankfully he got his last dose of the drops today. Hopefully, we will be ear infection free from now on!!! We take Ryan back for a follow up visit on June 30th.


Here are a few pictures from the day of the surgery.


Riding in the safari car before surgery.





Sitting on the bed like a big boy.




Playing at home after. He loves putting his toys in the little compartment on his walk-n-ride and then getting them out.