On Friday, Elijah went to the ear, nose, throat specialist person that the regular doctor sent us to. Apparently, the medical term for how is tongue is, is tongue tied. (His tongue looks just about like the one in the picture on that page.)
We’ve figured he’d need to get it clipped for some time now and it’s finally going to happen. We’d rather it get done sooner than later. So on August 7th, I get to go to the hospital here at 7.30am and he’ll go in at 8.30. I’m not nervous about the surgery itself so much, the doctor said they do have to put him out but the actual procedure should only take about five minutes. Then within an hour, he should be feeling fine, maybe have some Tylenol or something; she said there’s not many nerves in that area, so there should be very little discomfort/pain.
What I’m nervous about is just the whole thing. I’ve never had to actually admit myself or anyone else to surgery. I’m hoping Steve can get the morning off to help out because I also think Elijah might freak. For some reason, when we’ve been going to the doctor these last two times, he’s been saying saying things like, “I’m not going to sleep at the doctor’s,” and “I don’t want to get on a die bed.”
I’m not sure why originally, but a few weeks ago, we were watching Scrubs and it was the episode where Dr. Cox has hurt his back and he’s got Carla taking him out to the parking lot on a hospital bed with a sheet over him like he was dead. Elijah said something about that, referring to the bed as a “die bed.” I tried to tell him that a hospital is a place where people go to get better and all that jazz, but he continues to call it a “die bed.” On the bright side, however, I think he thinks death is just a temporary, non-moving state - like most four-year-olds do, I’m sure.
So I’m just a bit concerned about the actual giving him the gas mask and his going to sleep. I’m sure things will work out just fine in the end, but that part still makes me a bit nervous.
I had a friend in high school that was tongue tied - it was her silly human trick. I don’t believe she ever bothered to get it snipped.
I will be sending you lots of comforting mommy thoughts. Thank goodness it is such a quick prodecure.
Good luck little man. And good luck mommy.
I had no idea E had that, wow. I’m sure the procedure will go fine if it’s as routine as the doctor says it is. And hopefully you can get E to stop calling it “die bed”, that’s not really conducive to not being scared of surgery. :)
Aww, I’m sure things will be fine. I can understand how, as a mother, that sending him in for surgery would be difficult. I freaked out before I had my surgery (3 total) but they’re not that bad…I’d have to guess that the pain is the most difficult part in the whole thing.
Keep reassuring him that it isn’t a “die bed” and maybe that’ll make things smoother.
Oh, and one of my friend’s mom is a pediatric anesthesiologist, and she told me about asking for a “flavored” mask for the face while going to sleep. I guess they line it with some kind of fruit-flavored/smell jelly to make the air not seem so “stale”. I don’t remember it being bad, but children have a way of not liking stuff like that.
I’ll keep your family in my thoughts.
Ah, doctors are used to dealing with children his age, so, if he happens to freak, they’ll handle it like professionals. Nothing to worry about. Of course, telling a mother not to worry is like telling the sun not to be HOT AS HELL! *cough* Hot sun sick person = very angry sick person. So, yeah, don’t worry.
Thank you all for the words of encouragement. :)
I have been working with him a bit telling him that soon he will go to the doctor’s and get his tongue “fixed” so that it will be like Mommy & Daddy’s. He seems to like that idea. Everything has to be like Daddy these days. And Steve plans to take at least the morning off that day, if not the whole day (depending on how things go) so that will be so nice to have him there to help.