Tubes Are In

In my previous posts (here and here), I have written about Marco's continuous ear infection that has resulted in the need to have tubes put in.  We did that today.

At our hospital, they schedule the procedures in order by age, so since he's only 2, he was the first one of the day.  This was good because he wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything, and waiting any later would have been a problem.  We got to the outpatient center at 6:15am.  

After registration, they took us to his prep room, where they gave him a hospital gown and some socks.  They weighed him and took his temp and gave him a warm blanket to snuggle up with in bed.  We put on the Disney channel for him, and he was good to go.  But this was the worst part... waiting to be called in.  It took almost an hour and a half to be called in.  During which time, Marco repeatedly asked us for "wawa" (water), "gabba" (yo gabba gabba) and to jump.  An hour and a half is a LOOOONG time for a 2 year old.  

The anesthesiologist and doctor came to speak with us, and then the nurses came to take Marco.  They had a little car for him to sit in, and he immediately jumped in and they whisked him away.  He didn't realize we weren't with him till after he was around the corner, and I could hear his confused, "Mama?" all the way down the hall.  It made me nervous.

They lead us to recovery and we sat down at 8:01.  My stomach was in knots and I kept wondering if he was fighting the doctors or if he was scared or crying.  By 8:07, the nurse came to tell us the doctor was on his way and by 8:10 he was telling us that the procedure went smoothly and instructing us on home care.  It was THAT fast!!! 

We went back to see him and he was still asleep but trying to wake up.  I got to sit in a rocker, holding him until he woke up.  Once he came to, he was groggy and whining... like a confused cry, not a full blown scream.  We shared a recovery room with another boy (separated by a curtain), and he was screaming at the top of his lungs.  The screaming began to make Marco nervous and he started to think that the crying was from Jonas.  He cried, "Brother... brother" and didn't understand why we weren't going to get him.  Mauricio took him to look out the window and he spotted all the birds and cars and he was no longer scared or confused.  We were released at 8:30.

Once we got home, Marco was beginning to act more normally.  But he was on his version of slow motion... which for most of us is not slow at all.  Like, if he's always going at 100 MPH, then today, he's around 93.  He's taking a long nap now, and once he wakes I expect he'll be just fine. 

This was not a big deal at all.  All the hospital staff made it a priority to make us comfortable, ease our fears and treat our baby with loving care.  My anxiety was probably the worst part.  Thank you, Jesus, for taking care of my baby!

Oh, and in case you were wondering... Jonas was at home with my amazing mother-in-law that came to visit.  We didn't forget about him!