The Procedure

 While I felt I was prepared for what to expect regarding Lake’s, “bilateral myringotomy with tubes”, (ear tubes in both ears) nothing can prepare you to actually handle the day with energy and patience.

Before I get into how the day went, here is a bit of an explanation of the procedure:

“A myringotomy with tubes is ear surgery done under general anesthesia. A small hole is made in the eardrum so fluid can be removed from the middle ear. A tiny, 2-mm tube is then inserted into the hole. This allows air into the middle ear which prevents fluid from building up again.”

I’ve learned from a friend’s experience, and the information the surgeon gave us, that tubes do not prevent all infections. But they often reduce how often a child gets infections.

Our day started at 4:30 AM. The cut off for Lake’s last meal was 4:45 so I set my alarm to wake him up to feed him. I knew he would not want to have a spoon of food crammed into his mouth, so I used one of the medicine droppers and force fed him like I do his medicine. He hated every minute of it, but I got him to eat at least a ½ jar of food.

The cut off for breast milk was 6:45, so we were back up early enough for me to nurse him. Then I just hoped and prayed that we could survive long enough without eating until the procedure.

Check in was scheduled for 10:50. Tim and I got there in plenty of time and I don’t know, I guess I was expecting to be taken back within a few minutes. Ummm no. When we checked in, one of the volunteers greeted us and let us know the surgeons were a little behind. We waited and waited and waited. About 45 minutes into waiting (with no update) I overheard another family go up to the desk to check on what was going on. They were told it would be at least another ½ hour. They were there before us.

Lake was squirmy and bored so after Tim and I took turns carrying him around, I finally took him into the play room. Finally about another 15-20 minutes we were taken back. But then we waited another 20-30 minutes for the anesthesiologist. Exhausted and hungry (all of us!) we finally got started.

Because the procedure was going to be so fast, Lake got to keep his clothes on and he didn’t need an IV. I think all of that really helped me keep it all together. I laid him on the table and they warned me that as the anesthesia was given, he might start to cry/scream. Not my baby. He got the biggest smile on his face and giggled (The anesthesiologist said they have never seen that J ) I stroked his face and when he started to squirm, I held his hands. As he settled into sleep, I gave him a kiss and then they escorted us out.

The procedure was supposed to take less than 10 minutes. At the 8 minute mark, I kept checking the time after each additional minute or two went by. Finally about 15 minutes after it started, they brought us into the recovery room. Lake didn’t look like my baby. He had a thing in his mouth that kept his tongue from rolling back. The nurse told us that if he didn’t wake up on his own in 15 minutes, they would start trying to wake him up. After we took a seat, Tim mentioned something about the Seahawks and I don’t know if it was daddy’s voice or what, Lake started waking up. He was upset and I started nursing him. You could tell he was starving! The nurse told us to fill our prescription for ear drop antibiotics since he indeed did have a double ear infection when they went in to place the tubes.

After we got out of there and into the truck, I gave Lake a food pouch, which he sucked down. Then he screamed the entire way home. By the looks in his eyes, the anesthesia was still affecting him. I sat in the back with him and he kept reaching for me. I felt so bad that I couldn’t hold him. Tim and I were both starving too so we drove through Taco Bell and by the time we got home, Lake was asleep. It was nap time for mommy too!

After he woke up, he was a little delirious, but after he got his bearings, a smile came to his face. He was ready to eat and play! We hung out for about 1.5 hours ( I was really entranced by the news coverage of the authorities finding, “suspect #2” from the Boston Marathon Bombing, hiding in that guys boat). I took Lake grocery shopping with me and he did great. We picked Kaydriana up from daycare and when we got home, they played and he was doing so well!

He went to bed just fine, but then at 2 AM he woke up screaming. Tim was at work since he signed up for OT before we knew about the procedure. He was almost back to sleep when Kaydriana woke up crying. The double whammies are the worst! So I put Lake down in his crib and he was not happy. But I knew if I didn’t tend to Kaydriana soon, she’d cry louder or come upstairs and then there would be no hope of Lake falling asleep. She wanted a snack and water. After I got that for her, I came back upstairs to find Lake inconsolable. At one point, I laid down on one of his blankets and used his boppy as a pillow next to his crib. We held hands (wish I could have gotten a picture!) until I thought he was asleep. He wasn’t. Basically after 2.5 hours of us being awake, I did the only thing I was capable of at that time. I brought him into bed with me and nursed him to sleep.

So basically I didn’t sleep, which is awesome when you’re the only manager on duty for Saturday. Adding insult to injury, I’m now sick and I’m pretty sure I have an ear infection in my right ear.

Yesterday was a really long, hard day and today will be too. But I’m feeling very optimistic about the future of Lake’s health. And now if we can survive teething, we should be good!