Today Tanner went in and had his tonsils removed.
I recall having my own tonsils out when I was a kid. I don't recall my age exactly, but I think I was close to Tanner's age (8). All I remember of it is waking up in the hospital after it was done. I don't recall anything of the pain afterwards. Jody also had hers out when she was almost a teenager and she remembers the pain vividly.
Anyway, our hope is that Tanner will sleep better once he has healed up. This past school year we learned (with the help of our pediatrician), that Tanner has sleep apnea. He had a very hard time staying focused, was very hyper at times, and essentially made us begin to question if he has ADHD. Compared to the other boys his age, he was struggling.
Turns out that some kids behave like they have ADHD when they are not sleeping well. So we took Tanner in for a sleep study test at Seattle's Children's Hospital and the results came back that he has sleep apnea. He snores quite a bit and stops breathing an average of 7 times an hour!
After learning this the doctors recommended a consult with an Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) doctor to consider removing his tonsils. This is a common next step in treating young kids with sleep apnea. They remove the tonsils and the adenoids so that breathing is less obstructed. After our consult with the ENT, the surgery was scheduled and today was the day.
He is home now and seems to be enjoying his new diet of popsicles, ice cream, and juice. So far he hasn't complained much. Granted we are dosing him with the Tylenol they gave us and I am sure that helps. He's been a trooper and I wager he won't be down long.
Hopefully this new school year will be better!
(after surgery)