Canon Goes Under the Knife

Though I haven't written much about it, Canon's chronic ear infections have been a big part of our lives for the last few months. Since Christmas, he's had at least three, and there were a few others before that. When he began running a fever a couple of weeks ago, we decided it was time to visit the ENT. As we suspected, the doctor recommended that Canon have tubes put in his ears. I was relieved. Besides the ear infections, he's had a runny nose since last July, and his balance just isn't getting any better. (Yes, I realize that this might not have anything to do with his ears, but a mother can hope, can't she? I'm certain DHR will be knocking on my door soon to question the dozens of bruises on his forehead).
They say that this kind of procedure is worse on the parents than the child, but I have to say that I wasn't worried about the actual surgery. I was worried, however, about two things: 1) Canon's behavior on the morning of the surgery, and 2) the possibility that we will have to go through it more than once (still worried about that one, actually).
We were told at our pre-op appointment that Canon would not be allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight the night before his surgery. I may not have mentioned this before, but Canon is the type that likes to be fed IMMEDIATELY after waking up. When he was still taking bottles, I used to have one ready for him when he woke up so that he could drink while I changed his diaper. Otherwise, he would pitch a royal fit and just ruin both of our mornings. Since the bottle has disappeared, I still fulfill his thirst and hunger needs IMMEDIATELY before progressing with any other part of our morning. As you can imagine, I was worried that this particular morning would go particularly badly.
Fortunately, the worst did not happen. I woke Canon up and raced him to the car before he had time to protest. By the time we reached the hospital, he seemed to have forgotten about breakfast altogether. His normal morning moodiness did kick in eventually, so the nurses took us back to our room a little early.
I wasn't expecting it, but they had a little baby hospital gown waiting for us. It was so cute, as you can see. I just love his big belly!

I normally don't let him play with my cell phone, but I felt sorry for the little guy this time. He also enjoyed playing with the bed / TV controls.

Before long, the nurses came in and gave him his "loopy" medicine. He didn't do anything ridiculously hilarious while under the influence, but it was pretty funny just to watch him. He would look at Barry, then shake his head a couple of times (kind of like a double-take) before looking at him again. His head would bob up and down, as if he couldn't quite hold it steady. Again, so cute!!! He was very affectionate, which I loved. My normally independent toddler actually wanted me to hold and hug him - priceless!

When they came to get him for surgery, I walked with him to "the doors." I'm so used to handing him off, saying "Bye, Bye" and getting away quickly before he gets upset that I really didn't take much time to reassure him before going under. It wasn't until I was half-way back to the room that I realized I could have been a little more sensitive with my departure. Note to Self: Work on Walking-Away techniques.

The doctor called back to the room after the surgery to tell me that everything had gone well but that it was pretty disgusting. When he cut the eardrum, lots of gunk flowed out. I'm not surprised - his pediatricians have been noticing lots of fluid back there lately.

It wasn't until the nurses brought him back to the room that I felt like a completely incompetent mother. Because he wasn't allowed to have anything to eat or drink before the surgery, I didn't pack a sippy cup for fear that he would find it in his bag and get upset. A horrified "No Sippy Cup?" from the nurses made me want to cry, so I did what any paniced mother would - I blamed it all on Barry (because they knew him!) who showed up heroically only moments later with apple juice, a cup, and a straw. Canon, who had never drank from a straw before, sucked down two cups of apple juice in no time. He also ate a bowl of Fruit Loops and a cereal bar before we were discharged.

The poor guy was exhausted, but after a one hour nap, he was back to his old self again. We spent the rest of the day playing and hanging out. I also held him as much as he would let me . . .