Eric’s Tonsils

Eric finished up his Freshman year with various end-of-school get-togethers, including one he had here.  On Tuesday he had his tonsils removed.   He had some minor issues, so we didn’t get discharged when we anticipated.  One issue was nausea, probably from the anesthesia and pain medication.  The other  issue was his uvula was so swollen that when he fell asleep, it would rest on the back of his tongue, dry out and get stuck which then when he woke up his gagging reflex was activated and he also felt like he couldn’t breathe.  So we stayed in hospital long enough for two doses of steroids and some anti-nausea medication.   It was a long day.  He has been feeling pretty miserable.  He is on a very strict diet, basically cool fluids and baby food (which tastes awful) but his throat hurts so much he is taking in very little beside ice water.  An occasional popsicle, which colors his scar tissue as seen below.

For a while we could coerce him into taking a few tablespoons of pediasure or pudding or yogurt or ice cream, in order to get his medication down but he says milk products cause too much phlegm, and he is not allowed to hack it up, so he has refused all milk products. He ran a little fever, which they do forewarn you about, but it is still disconcerting. So, getting up to give him his pain med every 4 hours and monitor his temperature has kept Kathryn from a good night’s sleep. And tending to him and trying to keep him hydrated has kept us housebound in the daytime. His follow-up doctor’s appointment revealed everything to be normal and he could begin eating soft foods, e.g the noodles in chicken noodle soup. Next week he should be able to live a more normal life.

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