Bye Bye Tonsils

There are always those moments when you're like ... DANG IT! I REALLY WISH I HAD MY CAMERA! I had that moment majorly today. And since I didn't have my camera in hand, I can only hope that image will stay in my mind for a very long time.

Today was a big day for Joey .... for us all really. Joey had his tonsils and adenoids removed. All in all, the day has been surprisingly not as bad as I thought. Texas Children's Hospital is AMAZING. That place runs like a finely tuned engine. The only snafu was our expectations as far as wait time. We were told to be there at 9:15 for an 11:15 surgery. On our way down there, they called and let us know there was a cancellation so Joey's surgery was moved up about 45 minutes. YEA! We figured by 11:15 he'd be CRANKY having had nothing to drink or eat all morning so this was fantastic news. In the end, he didn't go back until 11:30 so we were mentally prepared for an earlier start. But, I'm getting ahead of myself ...

I'll start with Gavin. He was Mr. Roll with Flow today. We dropped him off at Aunt Joy's for a ride to school (THANK YOU JOY!!!!!) and Donna picked him up after school (THANK YOU DONNA!!!!!!) for some play time with Christopher and Ethan. When George picked him up I was told he didn't want to come home .... go figure! He had a tough time tonight since Joey was getting most of the immediate attention but I'm hopeful he understands deep down. Before dinner, Joey vomited and Gavin told me he said a prayer for Joey to get better. Such a sweet one he is.

And then there's Joey. Oh, how he amazes me. George and I talked about what we could do to prepare him but in the end decided he is too young realistically so .... we just took it minute by minute today. As I mentioned before, Texas Children's just took my breath away. If it's in our control, any future hospitalizations will be there. The registration area had lots of room for the kids to move around and Little Tikes cars so Joey was in Heaven riding in his car (and bumping into things, not people thankfully!) all around. They even let him peddle his way into the screening area and back out when they took all his vitals. He was so cooperative too. I'm ashamed to admit George and I were a little surprised by his willingness to do all the things he needed to do.

We were then moved into another waiting area. This is where we were ready to wait about half an hour but wound up waiting almost an hour and a half. Joey took it all in stride. He was easily entertained and so content considering he had gone four hours with nothing to drink or eat. By the time the doctors came out to discuss everything with us, he was done and his final and only answer was "NO!" to everything. LOL! All things considered, the two hours and fifteen minutes we spent waiting were surprisingly painless.

When they finally took Joey back for surgery, we weren't able to accompany him so there George and I stood at the double door entry of the surgery suite (or whatever it's called) for as long as the doors remained open. And as Joey peddled himself down the hall on 'his' John Deere tractor with three people from the hospital, he never looked back. I stood there unsure if I wanted to cry or smile or run down the hall to give him one more kiss. And that's the moment I would've given anything to have my camera. That moment completely epitomized my little boy's independence and bravery. Oh how I love that about him.

The rest of our hospital stay is a bit of a blur. There was a rough wake up followed by a lot of snoozing and forced sips of liquid for a couple of hours before we were cleared to go home. Since we've been home, Joey's had a bit of an upset tummy but what's upset him most I believe is that he is unable to eat some of his favorite things. He cried when he couldn't have any Cheetos, bless his heart.

Being at the hospital today served as a powerful reminder for me too. Imagining children and their families that endure frequent surgeries, procedures or treatments ... praising the good Lord for the health of my children will escalate to a whole new level after today. There was also a family near us in the post op recovery area (and I feel completely invasive having overheard this but they were right next to us) and neither the mom nor the dad could be there 24/7 with their baby ... work and other children at home required them to leave at a certain point. All I could think was how horrible to have leave your baby in the hospital to protect your job. Thanking God for the blessings of supportive family and friends will also rise to a new level after today. As will my gratitude for my husband's job and the flexibility it affords him and the freedom it affords me.

I completely did not intend to write a novel about our day. It's just that it was one of those days where you find yourself at each end of the spectrum and probably almost every point inbetween. Today I have been overwhelmed, humbled and blessed ... oh so very blessed.