May 30th, 2017
It’s a warm, Spring evening here. I’m sitting beside our oldest on a hospital bed in a German surgical center. This is our second stay here in the past two months due to our little man’s BIG tonsils (which are not so big after being shaved down this morning). Our first visit was for a sleep study and today was surgery day. Here’s a look back at how we got here…
Last August, the boys’ pediatric dentist noticed Ethan’s enlarged tonsils. She is Puerto Rican and often speaks to me in Spanglish. When she took a look into E’s mouth, she called me over. “Mama, mira! His tonsils are muy grande!” Shortly after, we followed up with our family doctor. Since his tonsils were not red or swollen, she thought he just had large tonsils. Her own daughter has large tonsils and they hadn’t caused any issues. She told us to keep a close eye on him if he got sick and complained about a sore throat. Otherwise, we were good to go.
In January, we were back at the dentist office for a six month check up. The boys’ dentist was still concerned about the size of E’s tonsils and told me I needed to see a specialist. She stepped out of the room for a moment. Shortly after, she came back and told me the Ears, Nose and Throat Office was on the phone waiting for me to make an appointment. Well, alrightly then. I know better than to argue with a Puerto Rican!
A few weeks later, we were meeting with the ENT specialist. I was impressed with him from the first moment he sat down and put E at ease. After an examination and talking through E’s medical history, he recommended a sleep test. Due to their size, we needed to rule out if the tonsils were causing breathing issues at night.
On April 11th, E and I came to this surgical center for our first slumber party. Thankfully, most of the staff here speak English to some degree which helps tremendously! E got several sensors attached to him and was hooked up to a wide variety of monitors that would take readings throughout the night while he slept…or at least that was the hope.
When it was time to go to sleep, E asked me, “How am I suppose to sleep like this Mom?” I had no idea!
To our surprise, he managed to fall asleep and I climbed into another bed nearby. In the middle of the night, I awoke to him crying out when the tech pulled off all his forehead sensors. They had stopped working because he got hot in the night and started to sweat. An entire new set was stuck back on. He was quite the trooper. He loved his hair style the next morning and scored a lunch with his Daddy alongside a day off of school.
At the beginning of May, we met back up with our ENT doctor. He told us E had Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome. His tonsils were blocking his airways causing his brain to stay constantly “on” in order to find better sleep positions for breathing. It was detected that E stayed in sleep stages 1 and 2. He did not dream, experience sleep stages 3 and 4 or REM sleep. Our little man was definitely NOT having a good nights rest. Hearing this helped us put some pieces together that have been puzzling us for a while. Since E’s tonsils were not “sick,” the doctor recommended shaving them down to a reasonable size versus completely removing them. He told us it’s what he would do if E was his child. Our doctor has an excellent reputation here so we trusted his experience and recommendation and set up a date for surgery.
Its June 4th now as I continue to write this post…such is life.
On surgery day, E was brave in the midst of his fears. He told us he didn’t want to be there but complied with all that was asked of him. My heart was aching for him yet I was proud too. As I sat on the surgery table, holding his legs on my lap before the anesthesiologist came in, I was reminded of all the times my own mother was with me when I had surgeries over the years. I blinked back tears. Within minutes, E had a gas mass over his little nose and mouth and I was holding his hand, telling him how much I loved him. When he was asleep, I was escorted out to the waiting room.
I was relieved when the nurse came and allowed me to sit by E as he awoke from anesthesia. There was more blood than I had expected and his poor nose was incredibly itchy (a strange side effect from the gas). However, I was so grateful to see his little eyes open and focus again on my face. Again, he was a trooper! We stayed two days and one night at the surgery center before coming home for the rest of E’s recovery. The German staff were very kind and took good care of us. E had an endless supply of popsicles at his finger tips!
When Daddy brought lil’ brother for a visit, the nurse brought two popsicles for them to enjoy together!
Recovery has been slow but E’s making progress. On Friday, he ate a cheese omelette. That was the biggest meal he had since the night before his surgery. It was a relief to see him eat something more substantial again. Yay!! He has scabs on his tonsils that will eventually fall off and allow swallowing to be much more comfortable again. He is still struggling at night with a comfortable sleep. God-willing, his continual healing will also usher in sweet dreams.
We are so thankful for all the love, prayers and encouragement we have received from our family and friends back home. We have also been cared for here, within our small community. My sweet friend, Amy, brought dinner over for our family, one of E’s schoolmates gave him a get well card and gift, our neighbor “sat in the wings” to care for our youngest if we needed her and the school principal (pictured below) stopped by our home and delivered ice cream for the boys. All reminders that wherever you go, you can find amazing people with big hearts!
Walking through all of this in another cultural context has pushed us further out of our comfort zones. The language piece could have been a huge barrier. Thankfully, the Germans are much more adept at languages than we are making communication much smoother for us. We have seen a different approach to healthcare through this process and appreciate the similarities and differences we experienced. Our little man was cared for professionally and personally and we are hopeful for a good outcome. Our gratitude runs deep!
