First Surgery

Eli had surgery a couple of weeks ago to have ventilation tubes put in his ears. He's basically had fluid/infections going on since Christmas, so when they suggested tubes, I was all for it. This is the first surgery that either of our boys have had, and other than an after-hours visit for what turned out to be croup, we had never even taken our kiddos to the hospital.

Let me just say that Children's Hospital in Omaha is excellent. Everything from the phone calls to get medical history to the check-in process to the care Eli received was just great. Everyone was so nice and they went out of their way to make sure we were all comfortable and had everything we needed.

Micah spent the morning at a friend's house, and Josh and I both took Eli to the hospital. Our check-in time was 8 a.m., and poor Eli wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything all morning because he would be having general anesthesia and they don't want to risk him vomiting.

There was some concern about a fever that Eli had been running for a couple of days. We had a weird virus go through our house, first Josh, then Micah, and then Eli had fevers with really no other symptoms. We weren't sure that they would go through with the surgery, but we were told to show up and they'd make the decision once the anesthesiologist and the doctor checked him out. Luckily, they let us go ahead.

Since Eli was sick, they brought some toys to our room for him to play with, rather than letting him play in the playroom. He was so adorable in his little hospital gown with his diaper sticking out the back. :)

We waited and played, and eventually the nurses came to take him to the operating room. As I predicted, he pitched a fit when they took him away from me (the same fit he throws when I drop him off at the church nursery or even when I put him in his crib for the night). Then Josh and I waited and watched t.v.

It was only a ten-minute surgery, then they kept him in recovery for another half-hour or so. When they were bringing him back to our room, he was pretty mad. He was crying and babbling. The nurses said he was chewing them out, and I think they were right!

Once he saw me, he grabbed me and laid his head down on my shoulder. It took me a little while to get him calm, but eventually he settled down enough to drink some apple juice, which helped a ton. Then the nurse brought him some graham crackers and they were friends again.

At Children's, each kiddo is given a teddy bear that is next to them when they wake up from surgery. Eli has never been attached to any stuffed animals before, but he really loves that bear! He carries it around and hugs it, and he likes to sleep with it, too. So cute!

We had to put antibiotic drops in Eli's ears for three days, which was no fun because they stung his ears. Several times it took both of us holding him to get the drops in how they were supposed to be. But tubes are so worth it.

I think Eli hears a lot better now. He sure does jabber a lot more, and it seems like he's understanding us better and communicating to us better than he did before the surgery. I'm sure he feels better, too. And since we spent the first three months of this year visiting the doctor every two weeks trying different things to get rid of the fluid in his ears, it's definitely easier on our schedule to have the tubes in.

So there's the story of Eli's first surgery, and although it was a good experience, I hope he doesn't need any more. :)