How to Survive Your Child's First Surgery

In January of 2005, my eight year old daughter had her adenoids removed. She had suffered through countless sore throats and for months had been waking up exhausted. I thought she was not getting enough sleep, so I kept moving back her bedtime. Finally, at a routine office visit in October, the dentist told me she had adenoids "as big as golf balls". I was floored. Her pediatrician had examined her time and time again and never mentioned this to me. The dentist held his thumb and forefinger together into a tiny little hole and told me that was what she forced to breathe through at night.

I immediately got a referral from her primary care physician to take her to an E.N.T. Ear, Nose and Throat doctor. He confirmed the diagnosis and recommended that the adenoids be removed to cut down on illness and improve the quality of her sleep. I was terrified. Just the idea of my little baby having surgery made my heart race and my stomach drop. I knew this was a relatively common procedure but that didn't comfort me much.

The surgery was scheduled for after Christmas so we had a little over two months to prepare. It was actually good timing since the holidays distracted us. It was always at the back of my mind though. After my daughter was told that she would need to have surgery, she was frightened and asked a million questions. I explained to her what would happen and how she would feel so much better once it was done.

I am happy to say that removing her adenoids was a godsend. I could see the difference almost immediately. She slept way more soundly at night and therefore woke up refreshed and ready to start her day. She was no longer exhausted so her resistance to virus and infections went way up. She stopped getting sick every time we turned around which made her attendance at school rise dramatically. That, in turn cut down on her stress pertaining to school. One change led to more changes than I anticipated.