Good Bye Tonsils

At a BYU Party (read about that here) where McKoy got very sick suddenly, Dr. Poulter suggested we see a ear, nose, throat doctor as soon as possible because McKoy's tonsils were HUGE and given the reoccurring strep throat, we would probably need to get them out.  I scheduled an appointment with Dr. McGee in Blackfoot for the 16th.  He agreed with Dr. Poulter-tonsils needed to come out asap!  Luckily, the boys had Spring Break coming up so we scheduled it for the 30th.  The hospital called the night before and asked us to be there at 7:00 AM, and thankfully we have an awesome Grandma Baldwin who was willing to be out our house bright and too darn early so we could take him in.  Damien took the day off from school.  I brought along the camera, but of course, left it in the car, so we snapped a few pictures using Damien's phone. 

McKoy was all smiles while waiting to go in for surgery.  The nurses gave him some coloring pages and he worked on them until it was time.  (He is an EXCELLENT color-er.) 

Afterwards, he was not so smiley and cried and moaned and groaned...It was awful and we both felt very helpless.   He was madder than mad and had a hard time coming out of the anesthesia, a trait he obviously inherited from his mother.  He kept crying for me, "Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy..." which is very unlike my tough little six year old but made me feel so useless and needed all at the same time.  My heart goes out to all parents who have had to stand by and watch as their child suffers from health problems, accidents, or sickness.  After eating about half a cup of red jello and drinking a little apple juice, they let us take him home.  I'd like to say that he bounced right back and was his old self again, but the truth is it took him about 2 weeks to feel good again.  Nights were the worst-it really tested his mom and dad's patience to remember it really does hurt and he really did need to cry!  He used up the whole bottle of Lortab pain medication that first week, never missing a dose and even asking me if it was time for more yet.  Honestly, I was a little worried he was getting addicted to it, but was reassured by Dr. McGee's nurses who said to keep giving it to him as long as he needed it.  At his check-up with Dr. McGee, he got a thumbs up and the go ahead to eat whatever he liked and do any sort of activity he felt up to.  He missed only four days of school, thanks to Spring Break.  He is glad he never has to do it again, and hopes they never grow back!