Not So Fun Times At The Doctor
Henry needs surgery. I need a sedative.
We went to a urologist yesterday just "as a precaution," according to my doctor. It turns out that Henry has a birth defect where one of his testicles is filling with liquid. Apparently, there is a small hole at the top of the testicle that closes around the age of two, but when it does not close, liquid begins to seep in. The result is a swollen, liquid-filled testicle.
The surgery is apparently fairly minor, fairly common, and reasonably safe. What is really freaking me out is that they have to put him completely under. I just can't wrap my mind around that -- the image of my sweet little boy conked out on an operating table while someone cuts him open. I can't get past the fear that he will have a reaction to the anesthesia or will never wake up. Basically I am freaking out. But I am trying my best to NOT freak out in front of Henry.
Fortunately, Henry was born with a complete lack of awareness of other people's feelings, which up until now has been a rather annoying trait, but in this situation it is paying off. He doesn't even notice that my eyes are completely bloodshot and that I appear to be in a coma.
When the doctor told us about the surgery, Henry was fine. He had some questions but he was pretty calm. He was NOT fine when he heard me tell my husband that Henry would have to miss the last day of Kindergarten Camp for the surgery. THEN the tears came rolling. Welcome to the world of a five year-old.
The GOOD news is that there is no choice involved. He HAS to have the surgery, he HAS to be put under, the condition will NOT correct itself, and there are NO alternatives. So at least I don't have to rack myself with guilt about what to do. To me that would be much worse, such as if they told me it MIGHT correct itself and so did we WANT to do surgery.
The surgery is not until August, unfortunately, so I have lots and lots of time to dwell on it. I think I will be okay once the shock wears off. Hnery has already completely forgotten about it. I am trying to follow suit.
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In other news, Quinn is sick AGAIN, so I was cleaning up vomit AGAIN on Friday night. For those of you keeping score, that makes THREE weekends in a row that have involved cleaning up vomit.
posted by Amy @ 9:08 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Sorry to hear about your son's upcoming surgery. It is a scary prospect (we're actually facing something a little less serious this Friday when my son has his tonsils and adenoids removed -- the general anesthesia thing has me a little freaked out!).
I hope that it all goes well!
Callie, we just celebrated the one year anniversary of The Day We Sedated Henry For His Dental Surgery. Which also happened to be the day before his fifth birthday. Happy birthday, son!
I don't say this often, but I know EXACTLY how you're feeling right now. I really do. We found out in February that Henry would have to have the surgery, but he didn't have it until JUNE. And I was freaked out the ENTIRE time.
In the end, everything was fine. But my heart goes out to you. And you know where to find me.
I think you and I have A LOT more in common than we think. Archer will be undergoing surgery as well to fix a circumcision. That's right. Doctor fucked it up. I haven't blogged about it yet but I am scared. And pissed. And really pissed. They have to put him under as well. Sorry about your little man. Hugs, babe.
I'm sorry about the necesary surgery. But you need to remind yourself that if this is pretty common, that means the doctors have done this countless times -- and everything always comes out alright.
My son had surgery for an undescended testicle when he was a year old. It's a tough experience to go through.
The good news is that they gave him a sedative in juice before I had to actually hand him over to the surgeoun, so he didn't cry or fuss when the time came to let go of me and go to them. I wish I'd gotten some magic juice though. As soon as he was out of my sight, I couldn't stop crying.....
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