Little Madd Man

 Maddox was scheduled to be at the hospital at 6:30 a.m. for his surgery to put tubes in his ears.  This is 2 hrs before he normally gets up so I knew it was probably good since he'd still be sleepy while we got him checked in and dressed.  My neighbor Alisha was nice enough to watch the other kids and get Taylor ready for school while Curtis and I were with Maddox. He was a little unsure of the blood pressure cuff and heart rate monitor but held very still and just observed in true Maddox fashion.

 He warmed up enough to want to roam the room while we waited for the doctor to get dressed and the anesthesiologist to come in and get him.  He stood behind the bed for awhile probably hoping he could just hide from whatever was coming! They brought in the medicine to help make him sleepy although he was already pretty sleepy and mellow so I didn't really notice too much of a change. The anesthesiologist asked if we thought he'd do better being carried back or riding on the bed and we both replied that if he was put on the bed, he would probably try to jump ship, so the doctor told him he had a cool balloon for him to see and scooped him out of Curtis' arms and off he went.  I was already nervous about the entire situation but it helped knowing he wasn't too upset and hadn't cried at all.

We were literally only in the waiting room for like 7 min before the doctor came and told us he was done and that they would be out to get us once he woke up. The minute he saw Curtis he made a break to get out of the bed. We gave him his juice and he eagerly sucked on it for awhile. 

Curtis tried to hold it for him once we was done, but he pushed Curtis' hand away and held it as tight as he could.  If you notice, each picture I took, Curtis is holding him. He wanted nothing to do with me...for the entire day almost. In fact, the only time he did cry during the process was when we went to leave and I picked him up hoping to hold him as we left. He began crying and reaching for Curtis immediately.  Made me sad he wouldn't let me cuddle him, but I was grateful Curtis was able to be there with him and that he found comfort somewhere!

 He was still a little loopy on the way home and they told us he would probably fall asleep...nope! He wouldn't go down for a nap until after lunch and was riding his bike within an hour of being home.  He took everything like a champ and I'm so relieved to have it over.

Early Intervention came back today to go over some goals for him and get me set up with a Learning Consultant that will help provide me with activities to help him progress with his speech development.  Before they left they tested his hearing, even though she said it was probably way too soon after surgery to get an accurate result. He failed and even though I knew his ears were still healing it was hard to hear. Part of me hoped that once the tubes were placed everything would be perfect. He'd start mimicking sounds right away and I'd see noticeable progress. I knew of course, that it wouldn't be that easy. People keep asking how he is and if I notice him hearing any better and honestly, he's back to his happy, normal, easy going self and as much as I want to tell people I can see a difference, I can't....yet.  We have a long road ahead and it will take time, something I'm not always good with, but I'm learning to put in faith and pray really hard for peace and support during this unsure time.  In 2 weeks he has a post-op appointment with the ENT and they will test his hearing again. Next week we meet with the learning consultant to do some activities and we will also start attending the Kindermusik program they offer.  At this point I'm just trying focus on the fact that I'm doing everything I can to help him and that it WILL take time and patience.  He's such a bright spot in our family and makes us laugh each day. As his mom, I just want the best for him and want things to be as "normal" as possible.  One day at a time for this momma:)