Getting Very Nervous

Tomorrow we will wake up at 5:00 AM to get to the hospital at 6:30 AM for Mason's surgery check in time.  Surgery is at 8:00 AM.  Tomorrow, Mason will be getting his tonsils and part of his adenoids removed as well as get tubes in his ears.  I am nervous...to say the least.  I have read a lot of stories online and they are pretty much all horror stories.  So I've stopped reading them.  

Last night Chris told told me that this is happening.  He told me we'll go to the hospital and he's having surgery and then it'll be done.  He said we'll get through it and soon it'll all be over and everything will be fine.  He's right.  But it's hard not to worry.  

Mason knows something is up.  We don't talk about it because it really upsets him.  The last few weeks I've noticed he has more anxiety in general and it's sad.  He hears everything we say at his doctor appointments when we're asking questions and learning about the surgery.  So I try to ask most of our questions through emails with his doctor so Mason doesn't have to hear.  Since Mason was 2 years old (probably sooner, but I feel like they really get what's happening at age 2), he has a very real fear of going to the doctor's office.  Nothing traumatic has ever happened that I can think of, except getting shots or getting his blood drawn, so I guess those things have left quite a mark on his memory.  Anyway, because of his anxiety over this kind of stuff, I am absolutely dreading telling him what we're doing in the morning.  But like Chris said, it's going to happen and we're going to get through it.

When Chris gets home I'm going to run to the store to stock up on popsicles, rainbow sherbet, soups, jello, etc.  I'm also going to do my best to find a stuffed pterodactyl for Mason to get in the morning after he learns about the surgery to take with him to the hospital.  And also a special toy to unwrap after the surgery.  

So....why is Mason having this surgery?  There are a few reasons.  Mason has signs of sleep apnea.  Mason's tonsils are huge.  Because they're so big, it's affecting his breathing at night.  His breathing is extremely loud.  Chris takes him camping now and then and because they sleep next to each other all night, Chris has actually heard Mason stop breathing at times and then gasp for air before breathing normal again.  Often, Mason has a restless and uncomfortable sleep.  He'll wake up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat and sleeps with his mouth wide open.  Sometimes he wakes up crying at night and then won't tell us what's wrong which is very frustrating.  So then during the day, Mason is tired and has little energy.  For a very long time, we just figured this is how Mason is.  But once we put all of the clues together we learned that something can and needs to be done.  Along with his breathing difficulties, Mason has trouble hearing.  When he gets a cold, it takes months for his hearing to fully return and it seems to be getting worse.  We took him to get a real hearing test a couple weeks ago and learned that Mason has definite hearing loss because of fluid in his ears.  Getting part of his adenoids removed might solve that problem but he will be getting tubes in his ears to make sure the fluid is drained and he will finally be able to hear normally again.

 As you can see, Mason has very little breathing room in there from those gigantic tonsils.

So this is a good thing.  Mason getting this surgery is a very good thing.  We are super excited that Mason will be able to get a good nights rest each night and that he will be able to hear again.  I just wish we could fast forward the next 2 1/2 weeks.