Carter is on the road to recovery!

The short version of this blog post is that Carter's surgery was a success, he is doing great (playing, eating, drinking but a little cranky...could be sleeping more) and we are so thankful that everything went so well. We hope this surgery provides him long term health and a great reduction in snoring :-)

Surgery Day - Wednesday, March 23rd
Carter had his tonsils and adenoids removed early Wednesday morning by Dr. Janning who travels to Slayton every month from Willmar. We filled out some paperwork, Carter got his scrubs on and we waited in the pre-op room with some other families and little ones. Shortly after 7 am I went into the surgery room with Carter for when they put him to sleep. Biggest mistake ever. That experience was so traumatic for both of us - I was a bawling mess! If I ever have to do this again with Carter or another one of our hypothetical children, I won't be there to watch or hold them. It's just too hard. So, the nurses consoled me and reminded me that he will be healthier for having this done. I pulled myself together, wiped my face dry and Jesse and I waited in our assigned hospital room for about 15 minutes until Dr. Janning called saying that all went very well (very little bleeding) and he did great. A huge wave a relief for me (and Jesse too I think). We went back to the recovery room and Carter was carried in shortly after. He was a little out of it due to the sedation still wearing off and was really fussy (just wasn't himself which was normal). That lasted about 20 minutes and we eventually made our way to our hospital room as they have little ones under the age of 3 stay overnight for observation. It was a long day! But, Carter did amazingly well - man, kids are resilient. He snarfed down 2 popsicles and 1 freeze-pop that morning and the following throughout the day:

• 2 puddings
• 1 yogurt
• Mac 'n' cheese
• Another popsicle
• Jello
• Sherbet
• Ice Cream
  

He drank well too (which was again, a huge relief). Oh, and thanks to the IV he had several extremely wet diapers - so wet he leaked on me!!! Needless to say, he was sporting night-time diapers the rest of the day.

Hallway Obsession
I continuously lost to the ever-popular hallways. He wanted pretty much nothing to do with our room and he could open the door to the hallway too. So, we spent a lot of time in them. But, that's a toddler for ya I guess. He was occupied with the basket of toys that the nurse brought in off and on, and especially took a liking to the yellow truck pictured here. He loved that truck and zoomed it up and down the hallways.

Guests
Grandma and Grandpa Zens stopped by and gave Carter 3 little tractors that he played with some (but again - they also lost to the hallway!) And Carter loves tractors!

Overnight
Carter did well going to sleep and slept in his own hospital b ed and I slept in my own (Jesse slept at home - lucky duck, hee hee). Carter woke up a few times and was ready to get up for the day at 4 am (ugh). We got him some Tylenol and he fell back asleep until a little after 7 am so I thought he did pretty darn good.

Is the snoring gone?

We aren't sure about his 'snoring'. The tonsils and adenoids removal should take care of it but he still has a loud breathing but isn't quite a full-blown snore. There is still inflammation, etc. so it may still go away. Time will tell.

See ya Murray County Hospital

We were happy to leave Thursday morning - Carter had a clean bill of health with every temp and oxygen level check all day yesterday, last night and this morning and Dr. Dan gave him the green light this morning at around 10 am.

First Day Home (Thursday, March 24th)Carter has done well today (except for sleeping....he only napped for about an hour this afternoon). He ate some yogurt and drank juice this morning, had 2 helpings of mac 'n' cheese for lunch plus chocolate pudding and he had some more yogurt and a popsicle for a snack. He also tried out my new pasta recipe tonight that he actually liked! Score! My mom is here spending time with us and helping out and she helped make it. It was a little more work than I had anticipated but definitely a recipe I'll make again. He had fun playing some with his new truck and watching his videos on You Tube. I found these musical books on there from Barefoot Books and he just LOVES them. His favorite is this one about tractors. I'm getting a little sick of it but he just sits so contently and will watch this one and others over and over and over again. However, he still has no interest in TV. Go figure.

4th day today - a little rough
Today has been Carter's toughest day. He just hasn't been himself, hasn't eaten as much and had a temperature of 99.6. He didn't feel like eating this evening but did enjoy his You Tube videos again. I, on the other hand, am growing very tired of them and find myself singing the songs when I am doing things around the house.

In closing, a big shout out to my wonderful husband Jesse. He is just so responsible and supportive (well, except for when he wanted to watch Dukes of Hazzard while Carter was running rampant in the hallways and the hospital). He just does everything I ask of him and more. Such a great dad and hubby. Love you!