1st Hospital Stay

Monday morning we dropped Jace off at Kathy's(our babysitter) and made our way to the hospital by 7:30. While I checked in, Dan and Camden had some male bonding time playing games on the cell phone(it's a guy thing, I'll never get it).
It wasn't long before we found ourselves back in the pre-op area ready to go. Things ran pretty smoothly and on schedule without much lag time for him to think about food.

After a few minutes of bubbles they had an awesome "child life specialist" come in and get Camden used to the idea of putting the anesthesia mask on his face. They spread some yummy flavoring on the mask and told him to help Mr. Bear smell it. When Camden put the mask up to the bears face, she moved it's chest and made a breathing sound. She explained to Camden that the mask helps Mr. Bear breathe. Camden quickly caught on and would put it on his own face and take a deep breath.

I am a firm believer that each child learns differently. And I'm well aware that Camden takes things much better once explained several times(like his mom). I have found he enjoys role playing and I often use his "baby Eddie" to explain how Camden needs to do things. So for two days before he went to the hospital I explained to him what was going to happen. I showed him on "baby Eddie" as well as himself where his tonsils were and how the doctor would make his "owies" better.

So when they brought Mr. Bear out I thought it was brilliant, and just what he needed. Last time Camden had surgery he cried hysterically when they took him back. This time was much easier. I asked him to hold Mr. Bear and help him breathe and they both would both go back to see the doctor. It worked. He didn't cry, and neither did I. What a relief!

After we got him settled into his room and some good ol' narcotics on board he was a crack up. His voice was several octaves higher(not that it was deep before), and he was in a trance. He immediately wanted out of his room to go for a walk(once again like his mom, not wanting to be cooped up). This is how we spent a good portion of our stay in the hospital.

The nurses insisted on keeping him hooked up to the IV even though I could see he only got 10cc every hour. So we carted that dang thing around the entire hospital. The floor he was on was small and not much going on, so he HAD TO be out and about. We made it down to see the bunnies, trains, pet therapy dogs, cafeteria, you name it we traveled to it.

I now have a far greater appreciation for parents who spend a lot of time in the hospital with sick kids. It is hard! You feel cooped up, your kid feels cooped up. People give you sympathy looks that just make everyone feel awkward. People bend over backwards to help hold the door or move out of your way in the hall(which is all VERY VERY nice, but I just wanted a sign that said "tonsillectomy, he's not dying". It was hard being with a healthy kid in a place where others were mourning illnesses that could be taking over.

This morning Dr. Yin came in and asked Camden how he was doing. Camden said, "I tonsils bye bye". The doctor laughed, gave him a high five, and wished us good luck!

It's good to be home.