Post Op One Week

Adjusting Back to Home

We brought Bradley home a week ago today.  And the for the first couple of days it was if he had never had surgery.  He was eating like a trooper, putting away the food, and his regular food.  He wasn't as interested in the Ice Cream as I had hoped, and after mowing through a few Popsicles at the Hospital; not so thrilled by the mega box of Popsicles we had at home for him.  The girls?  Seventh Heaven!  Someone other than Mom has to eat all that stuff right? 

Saturday dawned and he had mucus and was congested...how is this possible?  The kid is on an Antibiotic...but there it is - attack with the Saline Spray...yeah that's SO much fun!  Come Sunday he wasn't interested in food and starting this weird choking he does only when he is really sick and can't get his throat clear.  With the Fundoplication he can't throw up or really spit out stuff in his throat...so he's at a real disadvantage.  At three years old, the concept of clearing his throat is merely something he does if he can copy Dad or one of his sisters.  Mom does it and he gives me this pitying look at my pathetic attempts.  We also were introduced to our Demon child.  Yes, I said Demon child.  I met a boy Sunday morning that I had never met before.  He was kicking and screaming when he wasn't trying to head butt and bite.  And that was just trying to get him to lie on the table in order to vent his tube and change a diaper.  Monday was no better, and by the afternoon we were anxious to see his pediatrician.   Bradley's pediatrician was thrilled by Bradley's progress and explained why he was in the PICU and why he is having so much phlegm and mucus. 

His surgery has a higher rate of complications...so they watch him a lot closer than they do other kids.  The Mucus...yeah well, the tool that created almost no blood, left large white scarring where his tonsils used to be.  Now, his body is desperately trying to protect him and covering that area until it can heal up some more.  As a result, he has more than he can handle.  So we resorted to the stronger medication for pain...the less he hurts, the less he cries...the less he cries, the less he creates...  Good news?  Yep.  He ate a pancake and a Popsicle yesterday morning.  Another Popsicle for lunch and then one after dinner...the girls watching with a mixture of joy at his progress as he takes considerable bites and concern as the Popsicles are looking to disappear much sooner than they had anticipated.  Mixed bag for them really. 

He has forgotten what it means to sleep through the night; in truth, he seems to think it is no longer necessary and the day should in fact begin at 4 am or so.  And it's not just the slow moaning that comes first like singing...no, he likes to stand up in the crib so I have no doubt that he is wide awake.  Sadly, I am not so quick to reach that wide awake stage.  So it's been one of those weeks...where there is no sleep in it, and no relief in sight.  We spend the evening rocking him to sleep so he doesn't crawl out of his crib, whenever he wakes in the middle of the night - we rock him back to sleep...and during the day when he needs a nap - I rock him to sleep.   Bradley, who was learning to put himself to sleep, no longer remembers how or has any inclination towards trying. 

These are the days of contradictions.  He is sleeping horribly, but rather than falling behind in his developmental progress - he's showing leaps forward.  Yesterday morning, he put together a 6 piece puzzle.  His educational goal is to do a three piece by his Year Re-Evaluation in Dec 2013.  Over-achiever right?  :-)  HAHA.  Making some progress at the ABCMouse pre-school program, and signing every word the girls say that he knows the sign for.  Then today, he turned his nose up at his beloved Raviolis and instead pushed for pieces of Mom's BBQ Chicken.  Loved it, and kept munching tiny pieces of chicken.  Huge success there because I swear I saw some chewing before the swallowing.  He takes bites off his Popsicles, he doesn't need it mushed up in a bowl...in fact, he won't eat it that way.  When he takes a bite I see tongue cupping and I see chewing...it's truly a beautiful thing to see. 

So overall, he is doing much better now.  He is improving and he's showing signs that he will do much better without the tonsils and the adenoids.  The hearing test showed normal which is fantastic news and he is already doing better with the tubes.  So a good decision to have the surgery, give us a few weeks and we might be back to our routine and maybe even doing a bit better!  Just plugging along for now.  How's your week?