Saturday, May 3, 2008

Miracle surgery?


We've had a busy few days. Thursday I took Samuel to the ear, nose and throat doctor. He snores, he has alot of difficulty breathing through his nose, and we suspect that he has some sleep apnea. Being able to hear my little five year old snoring when he's upstairs in his room and I'm downstairs, with the tv on, is not normal.



When I told Samuel we were going to the doctor about his snoring, he immediately said, "I don't snore." A few seconds went by and then he said, "Oh, and I thought it was a bear growling that always woke me up."

His teachers at school have noticed that he seems really tired. After three hours, he's done. He gets very winy by late afternoon and if we're in the car for any extended time, he always falls asleep.

Samuel, lover of all things medical, was excited to go to a new doctor. He was hoping to either get put to sleep with sleeping gas or get x-rays. Sadly to the little guy, neither of these things happened. It was a quick appointment. We were asked a ton of questions, to which most I answered yes.
Does he have frequent nightmares?
Does he have difficulty paying attention?
Is he distractable?
Does he have trouble listening?
Is he constantly irritable?
Does he always nap in the car?
Does he snore?
Can you always hear him breathing?

The doctor mentioned that these kids are often very skinny and fail to thrive. For a child to thrive and grow normally, they need deep sleep. Obviously, Samuel is waking up many times during the night. Even when he's sleeping, it's not a restful sleep. He might be in bed for eleven hours but the doctor said it's really more like seven.

He looked at his tonsils and they are pretty big. He said they were a 3 on a scale of 1-4. Because of the enlarged tonsils and all his symptoms, he wants to take both his tonsils and adenoids out. It's a quick out patient surgery. Recovery, at worst, is two weeks. Knowing my son, and his love of being pampered, he will take the two weeks of Popsicles, ice cream, and jello.

So, we scheduled the surgery for May 28. I don't expect miracles but I do hope it helps with his sleeping. And a few extra pounds wouldn't hurt. And having him listen better, pay attention, be nicer to his sister, always respectful, obedient, quiet...

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