tubed

Sorry for the less-than-wonderful cell phone pictures. I had too many things on my mind this morning to even consider remembering to bring a real camera!

Early this morning was a bit rough, but it could have been a lot worse.

We were given instructions from Levi's doctor that he was not to have anything to eat or drink after midnight. I fudged on that a bit, and did nurse him when he woke just before 1 am. But when he woke just after 4 this morning I knew I'd better not push my luck.

He was basically crying on and off or an hour and a half before I finally had Aaron get up with him. They ended up driving around for a little while just so Levi could get a little more sleep. When they got home he was in a great mood and it was encouraging to see him so happy despite having an empty belly.

Aaron left with Levi for the hospital around 8:15 this morning to make sure they'd be there by 9. Just as I was getting ready to bring Camille to school he texted me this photo, with the caption "I'm ready Mommy!"

After dropping Camille off I made record time getting to the hospital. Knowing his surgery was scheduled for 10, and knowing the procedure would only take a few minutes, I was hoping to make it there before he was finished.

Luckily they were running a bit behind, and when I arrived on the surgery floor they had just given him a concoction that included a mild sedative and Tylenol, among a few other things. So I was able to get a few giggles out of him before the sedative took effect, and he relaxed in Aaron's arms until they were ready to bring him back.

They finally took him back at around 10:45, and just after 11 his surgeon came to tell us that everything went well. GROSS DETAILS WARNING! He said that there was an "eruption of pus and blood from each ear" when he made the incisions for the tubes, which was definitely confirmation that we made the right decision to have the tubes placed asap.

About 10 minutes later they wheeled him back to us on a bed where he looked pretty relaxed. But as soon as they picked him up he started crying.

I was able to nurse him, but he still cried for most of the next hour. After nursing him two times, feeding him some pumped milk I had brought and a several ounces of apple juice/water and a couple graham crackers, he finally zonked out in my arms...

...where he stayed until they told us he was able to leave. 

He slept the whole way home, and slept as I transferred him to his pack n' play in our bedroom. I think it was about three hours total (which is a very long nap for him!).

When he finally woke up we gave him some pain killers, put his antibiotic drops in his ears, and he was pretty much his usual self for the rest of the day.

He's happy to be snuggled in his own bed now in his sleepsack, and is resting quite comfortably without fluid pressure in his ears for the first time in several months.

Are ear tubes ideal? Of course not. But, knowing we've tried everything else, we are confident that this will be a positive step forward in curbing Levi's chronic ear infections. 

We thank everyone for the advice, support, encouragement, and prayers offered for Levi during these past few months, and especially today. Even for a minor procedure, it's always a blessing to have your child covered in prayer.

As I was driving out of the hospital's parking lot this afternoon I looked at the clock. 1:15 pm. Exactly the same time we walked into the clinic yesterday for his first ENT consult. It's amazing what can happen in 24 hours!