Baylor's Surgery

After many expressed concerns to Baylor's pediatrician about his developmental delays and problems with his ears, we seeked out an ENT and found Dr. Ryan Boone. Dr. Boone ran several tests on Baylor and found fluid in both of his ears. After a round of antibiotics, the fluid still lingered so he scheduled Baylor on September 13th for tubes in both ears, his adenoids out and his frenulum under his tongue clipped. The anticipation and nervousness killed me as we crept closer to the surgery date. Baylor and I arrived at 6 a.m. to be pre-admitted. Of course he had Boo Boo Monkey in tow with him, along with his Alabama blankie. He actually sat still for maybe 5 mins. to watch cartoons and glimpse through a magazine.

Then the nurse called us back to get his temp and some more medical history from us. She didn't want to scare Baylor so she sent us back out for me to put his hospital gown on him. This is when I began to weep but it soon passed when I witnessed my sweet little man hugging the leg of a complete stranger in the waiting room! We took some pictures as we waited for Daddy to arrive (we let him sleep late)!

Daddy finally arrived and Baylor was super excited to see him! Dr. Boone came in to talk to us before surgery and told us he would update Scott and I as soon as he was done. And then the nurse took my baby and I fought back the tears. Scott and I sat in the waiting room, made a quick call and talked for a few minutes. I went to the potty and when I came out, Dr. Boone was waiting to give us our update on Baylor! It only took him 20 minutes tops to do everything! He told us both of Baylor's ears had fluid, with the right being the worst. The fluid was so thick, it was the consistency of glue, leading him to think that the fluid had been in his ears a long time and we never knew it. He also said his ear canals and drums looked irritated, also leading him to think he's had more ear infections than we knew about. Man my little boy is a trooper! He did clip his tongue and gave him 3 dissolvable stitches underneath. His adenoids were "scooped" out like ice cream and he said he should be fine by tomorrow! I couldn't wait to see and comfort my little man because I knew that Dr. Boone said he would probably be very upset, groggy and confused from the anesthesia. They finally called us back to see Baylor and when we walked in, a nurse was trying to rock him as he cried. Then, I cried again. I hated to see my little man so uncomfortable and immediately the nurse handed him over to me so I could rock him. He cried and moaned off and on as I rocked him for the next 20 minutes. Poor little guy kept scratching at his little nose thanks to the fentanyl making it itch so much. The nurse finally released us and Scott helped us get settled in the car for the ride home. Then he got in his truck and headed to work, leaving me with Baylor. He did pretty well in the car, still groggy, he crept in and out of sleep with periods of moans and cries, but finally we made it home in 15 mins.

We got in the house and went straight for the rocker. He was out in one shake of a lambs tail and slept for 2 & 1/2 hours. Then he got up and watched tv on the couch with Mom until Dad came home for lunch to check on us. Then he went back down for a nap from 1 to 230 P.M. As the day went on, he felt better and better. By bed time he was 60 % of himself again. Surprisingly, he slept through the night!

I am so grateful to Dr. Boone for taking the extra steps to see what was going on with Baylor and finally having it resolved. His hearing was muffled in his left ear up to 30% and in his right 45-50%. Now it is 100% clear in both ears and I can already see the difference in him! I am also thankful for all of the prayers from our family and friends during this time as well, they surely helped!