Max's surgery is today. I'm writing this in advance as I don't expect I'll have much time to write about it today. I figured I'd spend today explaining the surgery and how we came to this decision.

It all started with my Parenting: The Early Years magazine. I have a subscription and there was an article about pediatric sleep apnea and how children that had their tonsils removed showed an improvement in their sleep. Max has always been a loud snorer and both Dusty and Auntie Katie have heard him appear to choke in his sleep. So I setup an appointment with our pediatrician to get her thoughts on the article, Max's sleep tendencies, and if she thought he may be a candidate for surgery.

If you know me, I'm a researcher, and I never went into that appointment thinking we'd be scheduling a surgery a month later. If anything, our pediatrician almost seemed to agree with my thoughts. When she gave me a referral to see a pediatric ENT it was to discuss the article and Max's sleep.

When the surgeon looked into Max's throat and saw how large his tonsils were it appears the surgery was a done deal. They rank tonsil size on a scale of 1-4. They ranked Max's left tonsil as a 3 and his right as a 4. We were already aware that they were large so it wasn't surprising to hear they were although surprising to hear they were that large. The surgeon explained that they remove tonsils for two reasons in small children. One is because they continue to get strep throat, and the other because of loud snoring and apparent signs of sleep apnea. So surgery it was. (He'll also have his adenoids removed and if you're curious, they use the cut and cauterize technique.)

This is where I was caught off guard. I never expected surgery to be suggested and I sort of assumed there would be some process to confirm he is showing signs of sleep apnea. Of course, I also struggle with this because I don't hear it. It isn't that I think Dusty or Katie are wrong, I fully believe they've heard him showing the signs, but I don't sleep with my son, nor do I sleep with my hearing aids, so I've never heard him choke and that makes me nervous. We're obviously continuing even with my hesitations.

Max has been struggling a bit with this news. I've already explained about his sudden anxiety. On top of that we've been having issues with doctor visits. He starts crying the minute there is mention of any shot or other things that may cause him pain. He doesn't like changing into the little gowns as they are itchy to him. It's really unpleasant taking him to the Dr. right now and I don't foresee it getting better soon with all the pricks and shots he's been having.

On Monday he had his Pre-Op appointment with our pediatrician. He had to do a blood draw for the paperwork. You guys? It was horrible. He went into the room crying and I told the nurse we'll probably need a second one to help restrain him. Max was kicking and flailing so badly that they ended up calling in help from a third nurse! I had him in my lap with my legs wrapped around his to keep him from kicking and I was holding his head and chest against me. There was a nurse holding on to each arm while the one drawing the blood held his wrist while drawing it. And the whole time? He was cry/screaming either, "I hate you Mommy!" or "Don't do it Mommy!" It was rough.

When we were leaving though? After he got his sticker and calmed down? He turns to me and says, "That didn't hurt so bad Mommy." What could I do? I laughed so hard it echoed down the building. This boy, he is something else!

So if you could send some good thoughts our way, it'd be appreciated. I'm sure the surgery is going well but I am pleading with the Gods that I will not have to fight him the whole way to the surgery center today. I'll be sure to update as soon as I can with a photo of our recovering boy!