Poor Poor Mason

Mason had his tonsils and adenoids removed in September. He had been snoring and gagging on things all the time, so we had a doctor check him out. The Doctor said his tonsils were huge and suggested we get them out. Mason was really nervous, and we did our best to prepare him, but he didn't like to have to drink any medicine to help him relax! That's what got him all wound up. The nurse came in to give him an oral med to help him relax and go to sleep. He freaked out. He took it, but he was completely tense and upset after that. They took him to the OR, which was so hard for me (and him). About 20 minutes later, one of the scrub techs came in to get me. He said they couldn't get an IV started and Mason was really worked up and crying and fighting them. They let me in the OR to try to calm him down. He looked so sleepy, but he was so scared and wouldn't let anyone touch him. The Doctor told me that he did really well for the first 5 pokes, then had enough (understandably). So I just held him and tried to get him to fall asleep. And I fought the tears back the whole time. Mason could barely keep his eyes open and couldn't hold his head up. He just kept whimpering "Moooommmyyy." The anesthesiologist was ready to call it quits and have him come back another time. Yeah right, like he would ever let us put him through that again! Mason was almost asleep so I asked them to try again. The RN finally got an IV started in his foot. Mase was so drowsy he barely flinched. He was finally out. So I went back to the room with Preston to wait.

Mason just wanted to be left alone when he was done, which was totally fine! But before he could relax too much, he asked if he could take his shirt off. He hates to wear a shirt. His oxygen was a little low, so we kept it blowing on him while he slept. He sat up and threw up one time, then went right back to sleep. He slept for over an hour, and didn't ever wake up when the aid checked his vitals. The Doctor came in and told us that everything went well once they got him under. He said his tonsils were really large, but his adenoids were huge. So I'm glad we got them out.

I had hoped that he wouldn't remember getting poked over and over while they tried to get an IV, but he remembered the whole thing. So sad! He couldn't wait to go home! They kept him there for a few more hours, just to make sure he was ok. He threw up once more, but it wasn't bloody so they let us go. They suggested we keep the IV in just in case he wouldn't drink and got dehydrated. We definitely didn't want to have to bring him back for IV fluids and have to start an IV again, so we just left it in.

Mason hated to drink ANYTHING, but did it anyway because he was terrified to go back. He only had a few Popsicle's, which surprised me. I thought he would want them all the time. I couldn't even get him to eat yogurt or ice cream. It was a fight every time to get him to take his medicine. But I had to stay on top of it, because it was even worse to get him to take medicine when the previous one had worn off. He drank apple juice better than anything else, and we didn't have to take him back in for dehydration. He was so happy when I took the IV out! He missed 5 days of school, and his teacher brought him a present and a get well card that his class made. Mrs. Sagers is a great teacher, and he missed her. He hasn't had a snoring or gagging problem since. And even better, he hasn't woken up in the middle of the night in a panic. He had quite a few times that he would wake up panicked, and we couldn't calm him down. He would just cry and kick his legs for 15-20 minutes. The doctor said it could be from sleep apnea, and getting his tonsils and adenoids removed should help. So far, so good. Mason enjoyed getting anything he wanted, and watching movies/playing video games all day long:)