HOLEY EARBALLS (pt 2)

We are now one week post tube/adenoids surgery.

I don’t want to oversell the success of last week…..but I totally will for 2 reasons:

1) 4 hours post-procedure, Hutton asked for the TV to be turned down. [ D O W N ! ]

and – could it even get any better? YES –

2) he woke up from anesthesia completely potty trained.

True story.

Like….went in to surgery wearing a Pull-Up, came home requesting underwear. (To which I replied with confused upward inflection, “Um, no? You’re not even fully awake from, like, being put under and getting things shaved out of your nose and stuff?”)

But this is Hutton we’re talking about. Unique is his middle name, and his timing is always spectacularly random.

(Like the first time he tried to potty train at 17 months old, 2 weeks before Brooks bro #3 was born.

…………nah, bruh. That’s what diapers are for.)

While the timing is random, the results are concrete: 1 full week of semi-restored hearing, 1 full week of undie-coated toddler buns.

I see you, 3-Day Potty Training Boot Camp! books, and I raise you general anesthesia.

As far as the surgery itself, things couldn’t have gone better.

For starters, instead of choosing a construction or firefighter or cowboy hat at the hospital, he copied the little girl in front of him and went back wearing a “Strong and Courageous” shirt….and a pink tiara.

hello, senior slideshow.

The time from his being wheeled back to my joining him in recovery was a little over an hour, during which our family’s newest love, Dr. ENT man, came out to tell me how everything went. (Great.)

I was also able to ask a pressing question about Right Ear.

me: Earlier in the week, Hutton discovered that when he sniffs really hard, his holey ear sucks in air and makes a gross noise. And it’s now his go-to party trick/conversation starter. Is that normal? Or okay?

ent: Yes. That is…that is…that. is. AWESOME. That is a great trick. <insert laughter>

Hutton cried exactly one time during our hospital experience, and that was when he woke up from anesthesia. Not immediately after, while he was discovering his newfound toilet proficiencies, but a few minutes later when I told him we had to leave before he could consume a FIFTH popsicle.

He ate 4 in the amount of time it takes most kids to eat half of 1.

The nurses kept saying, “Wow – he’s doing great. We legally have to keep you for 30 full minutes, even though it’s only been 7 minutes and *eyes the pile of empty Pop-Ice wrappers* we can see that he’s tolerating liquids well.”

Yes, ma’am. He’s nothing if not hungry.

The only other dicey moment in recovery was when Hutton asked when he would see “his doctor man” and I realized that, as much as I had talked up getting to see him, Hutt did not actually recall spending time with him. (Sedation, and all.)

Thankfully, the doc made another round, Hutton thought he was seeing him for the first time that morning, and all was well.

He even told Hutt he could take home the mask used to put him to sleep; a new “toy” that – in addition to smelling like cherries – has been used by the brothers to put each other under pretend-anesthesia no less than 12 times this week.

We should really get out more often.

All in all, as much as we have debated and prayed about what to do with this guy’s earballs, we’re so thankful last Thursday went well. He’s hearing better, talking more clearly…it was definitely the right move.

More to come in the future, but for now, we’re ecstatic.

Also?

Taylor was gone all week on business.

He hated being away. We hated him being away.

But if he wouldn’t have been away, we wouldn’t have experienced the abundant blessings of our people.

Coming to wait with me at the hospital, taking care of our other boys so I could focus on Hutton, bringing us food, leaving balloons and presents on our doorstep…our people stepped up when we needed it, in ways we didn’t even know we needed.

We are a thankful bunch.