Back at it

 

 

Here is Joseph finally eating after 17 hours without food.

As you can see, he is back to his old spunky self!

Well, almost.  He is still a little bit wobbly (as his ears adjust to the new pressure), clingy, and tired.  But he did throw his bowl on the ground repeatedly while laughing, so that has to be a good sign, right?

The surgery went really well- very routine, no complications.  From the time they took him out of my arms (no parents during anesthesia administration), to the time the doctor came to tell me that he was done, was only about 5 minutes, tops.  I was filling out paper work the whole time (a very smart distraction technique on the part of the medical center, I am sure.) and didn't even have time to go to the bathroom before he was back.

The nurse had warned me that he would be sleepy/snuggly/groggy when they brought him to me.  At that point, she said, most children will start to come out of it slowly, but stay very sleepy and cuddly.  Some children, however, will be very angry, disoriented, and combative.  Which route do you think Joseph chose?  That's right, he was screaming even as they brought him to me- although his eyes were closed and he was still limp.

He fought and arched his back, and kicked and SCREAMED!  He wasn't in any real pain, just mad, mad, mad.  Finally, the nurses said that we could go- even though it had only been 10 minutes, and we were supposed to be there more like 30.  I guess they figured that a kid who can look you straight in the eye and scream at the top of his lungs is going to be okay.  Also, I am sure that he was upsetting the other patients...

So that was that.  Oh, but did I mention that he woke up at 4 am this morning?  Last night I said, "Please, God, let him sleep until 6 so that I can just get him and go, and he doesn't have to be awake and hungry."  Well, either God has a sense of humor, or I didn't annunciate well.  In any case, Joseph was up from 4 o'clock on and was very whiny and hungry.

I am just glad it is over, and can't wait to see what relief / positive attitude changes this might bring to him (us.)

Is it too much to hope for a 6 am wake up?  Dare I even ask...?