Tomorrow
G has sleep apnea.
At his last dentist appointment his dentist observed the size of his tonsils, and asked if he snored a lot. While the answer had been “yes”, we’d never thought much about it — I mean, people snore right? There’s no age where it’s supposed to officially start. She proceeded to ask if he stopped breathing at night. This one had us go “uhmn… dunno!” She recommended we record him sleeping at night, and if we discovered he did, in fact, stop, to reach out to his pediatrician and talk about next steps.
At the time, it was peak allergy season, and G blessed with seasonal allergies was downing Claritin nighly to keep his snot in check. We didn’t think too much of it, I guess? But S dutifully snuck into his room, and recorded him sleeping (thank you, iPhone). Sure enough, he stopped. So a short email exchange later with Dr. M, we had an appointment to be seen.
We walked away with an upgraded prescription for Flonase and a referral to an ENT.
We, luckily ended up at the same ENT that did S2’s surgery a few years back. She referred us to a sleep study.
G and S spent a night at a sleep clinic with G hooked up with all sorts of wires. He looked something like this:
Ok, I realize he looks kind of pitiful, but what you don’t see, is that he’s actually staring at an iPad, as part of his bed-time routine.
The sleep study showed he does, indeed, have apnea. So we’re off to the next step: surgery. G is having his tonsils and adenoids removed, along with his nasal passages scraped a bit to be enlarged. And it’s happening tomorrow.
I have trepidation, but it’s not about the surgery itself. I know it sounds strange to say that, but my concern is three-fold: 1) having him taken to the OR/waking up without us there; 2) recovery; 3) will this surgery change him?
While it was the same with S2, when he has his ear tubes inserted, the idea of seeing G walk away with a “stranger” to an OR all on his own makes my heart hurt. OR’s can be scary for an adult; what will he think? I also remember S2 waking up. He cried, and it was so tough to hear, because while he was waking up, he wasn’t himself, and he didn’t recognize us. Will G do the same?
I’ve had my tonsils removed. S has as well. But while I remember the ice-cream consumption for the day/day after, I just don’t recall being in pain, uncomfortable, or on a restricted diet for a whole week. We’ve been advised this will be his reality this upcoming week. I’m not thrilled to be around a grumpy G for that long, and the idea he’ll be in pain… ugh. They also advised that he be only moderately active for a few weeks? Have you met this child? Moderately active is only possible with a tranquilizer dart. He’s the kid that will kick anything that rolls, around the house, come 7pm… and that’s WITH a day at pre-school. Can you imagine a day of rest? Me neither!
We are very fortunate to have Grammy out here with us for the week to stay with him. He’ll be in good hands.
The last one is a little strange to explain. As much as his constant fidgeting can be perturbing at times, it’s also who he is — he’s a ball of energy. If sleep deprivation (brought on by apnea) has an effect of making him hyper, what happens when he’s finally able to sleep through the night un-interrupted? Will he stay hyper-active? Stay himself? I can’t help but wonder if this will change his personality in any way.
So there you have it. And it all happens tomorrow.
…Ok, I lied. Maybe I am worried about the surgery too.
Oh man. Good luck!