My Littlest Man

Tomorrow my littlest man has to have surgery.

It all started about last summer when I noticed some enlarged lymph nodes on his neck. (My father has non-Hodgkin lymphoma, so I am extremely paranoid cautious about this stuff.) I brought it to the attention of our doctor, but she said he had fluid in his ears and maybe it was just because he was getting sick and put him on antibiotics. But they were still there. Then I took him back in for something and mentioned it again. She looked in his ears and saw fluid in his ears again, so she put him back on antibiotics. But they were still there.

Joe and I watched them for a few months, and when it was time for his well checkup, I informed her that they were still there and hadn't changed. I think it was at that time she noticed some in his groin, too.

Anyway, she sent us to an Ear, Nose & Throat specialist. For some strange reason, the morning of Sawyer's first appointment, he awoke with these two large, walnut-sized glands under his jaw. The specialist was concerned and he, too, saw fluid in his ears. He ordered another round of antibiotics, x-rays of his adenoids, and more blood work.

His extra-large lymph nodes have returned to normal-Sawyer size (still enlarged compared to most people). His adenoids are abnormal. His tonsils are "normally" the size of walnuts (he snores while sitting up, poor guy). And the fluid has consistently been in his ears for months now.


Which brings us to tomorrow. Bright and early tomorrow morning, Sawyer is having one of his lymph nodes biopsied, tubes put in his ears, and his adenoids and tonsils removed. The tubes are supposed to help keep his ears drained, which will improve his hearing, which will improve his speech. It's a lot of stuff for one small, little, energetic two-and-a-half-year-old.

I'll try to update, if time permits, before the weekend. He has a "23-hour-stay" at the hospital. For insurance purposes, it is not called an "overnight" stay. I might be here, on Facebook, or Twitter. Or maybe not.

* * *

Comments

Anonymous said…
Good luck tomorrow with the little man.I'll be thinking of you guys. So you're on Twitter now? I haven't checked that out yet.
Anonymous said…
Oh Lera! I'm so sorry ya'll have to go through this! I will be praying for a successful surgery, fast, easy recovery, healing and comfort for you and your husband! God is good! Libby
Stacey said…
Will be thinking of you and your sweet little man!
Katie Jean said…
Lera, I'll be keeping him (and you) in our prayers. Hopefully it'll be quick and painless and an easy recovery.
christy said…
poor little guy. my prayers are with you guys. he'll snap right back to normal, you may suffer more than him with your worrying. kids seem to recover so fast.
onegirliegirl said…
Oh Lera! How tough to watch your baby go thru all this! Luckily those little guys are real troopers :) Will keep everyone in our prayers!

xoxo ~Lisa
Anonymous said…
I'm going to hug my 2 1/2 year old extra tight and often tomorrow and say many prayers for you as I do! Wishes for a fast and easy and pain-free procedure.
April said…
Thanks for sharing. I hope it all goes well for you and your little guy tomorrow. those are great pics. He is totally adorable!!!! Please take care,
april
Brenda said…
I will be praying for that adorable little guy and his family.
lisa said…
Poor little guy! I pray everything will turn out well with lots of ice cream (if they still do that!)
V and Co. said…
prayers coming from this little corner of blog land for the little guy!
Anonymous said…
Good luck tomorrow with your little cutie. Sure hope all goes well.
Blondie said…
Good luck tomorrow- I'll be thinking about you and Sawyer! I'm sure everything will go great and he'll be back home being two in no time.
Emily said…
OMG when it rains it pours!

Take care! and give that littlest man of yours a hug and a kiss from me!
amy smart said…
Oh, not fun. Poor little guy. Good luck with everything and we'll pray it goes well. And I'll pray for you too.
Myrnie said…
Good luck to the little guy! Here's to a quick recovery...do you have help coming this weekend? (My friend's daughter had her tonsils out, which I know is just a fraction of what Sawyer is doing, but it made a HUGE difference for her breathing, drooling problem, speech...everything.)
Julie said…
What a sweet little guy! Praying for a quick and speedy recovery!
Jane said…
I am sure that this will be harder on you than it is on him. After all, he is Superman! Praying for a recovery that is faster than the speed of light!
kira said…
good luck tomorrow, that is a lot of stuff for one little guy to go in for! I'm sure he'll be fine, and he's definitely in my prayers. :)
nikko said…
Poor little guy! I will pray for you and Sawyer!
Sarah and Jack said…
Oh my, that is a lot isn't it? You will be in our thoughts.
Anonymous said…
Oh you poor mommy (and baby boy). I am sending good, healthy vibes your way. Big hugs.
Heide said…
Good luck, wee Sawyer (and of course to mom and dad too!) !!! Lots of big virtual hugs!
Anonymous said…
He is such a cutie! I will be praying for both of you and I look forward to hearing how things went. Blessings to you!
Anonymous said…
Delurking to say that my son had tubes put in his ears 3 times (!!) from the age of 13 months to 5 years.(They fall out naturally after a certain length of time.) Twenty-five years ago, they were done routinely when a child had had several ear infections. They were the BEST thing for his hearing and speech development, and the "surgery" to insert them only lasted about 10 mins.

Doing tonsils and adenoids and lymph nodes at the same time, though, will make the whole thing tougher on him (and YOU!). I wish you luck!
Diane said…
Poor little guy! That is so much for one little man. He's in our thoughts and prayers.
Miranda said…
Hang tough! I went through this with not one, but both of my boys. Except they were both sick ALL the time... sinus infection, strep throat...

Both surgeries went well, we had a rough 7-10 days afterward and believe it or not, they are rarely sick any more!

Your little guy will be in our thoughts!
Amanda Jean said…
i hope it all goes well tomorrow. that's a lot for one little guy to go through. (and a lot for his mama, too.)
Marty said…
My grandson had his tonsils out at the age of two. They were walnut-sized as well. He would cough and cough, constantly choking on his food. The surgery was like a miracle! He's almost four now and never chokes. God bless your little guy.
jessica said…
I hope everything goes well tomorrow! Get well soon Sawyer!
Kris said…
Oh I am so glad. Not really about the operation, but I'm sure he will be so much happier without those adenoids and tonsils. My Rose speaks so much better now that her tonsils have been removed. I wish hers had been done a long time ago. They kept saying she would grow into them, but she never did. She was 18 when they came out and it was so much harder than if she was a child! Hope all goes well for you!
Jo-Anne said…
Best of luck with the surgery. I am so sorry you all have to go through this. I hope Sawyer will feel much better after he has recovered.
You will be in our thoughts and prayers.
Jo-Anne
beki said…
Oh Lera, I'm praying for y'all!
Lana said…
I hope everything goes well.
Jen said…
Wow! What a little trooper. Let me know if there is anything I can do for him...or your family!
Cindy Is Crafty said…
Lera,
I am certain that little Sawyer will come through it all as the little champ he is! Look on the bright side...how many trips to the hospital, Dr., etc will this eliminate.

I am crossing my fingers and saying a prayer that the news will be good!
Sandy said…
Poor little guy! Hope all goes well and test results come back negative.
hooli said…
Good luck little Sawyer. Our hearts are with you, and your mommy.
dig this chick said…
Oh Lera! I hope it all goes well and you reach some closure and get some answers. I understand the freakiness of this now that I have a kiddo too...ooh boy. Lots of love!
Sue said…
Ooh I think you will worry more about it than he will. I hope everything is much better afterwards, and he wont know himself being able to hear properly too. It might be a bit of a shock. I didnt know you were on facebook either, will have to check it out now.
sewtakeahike said…
I really hope he is doing good Lera! He is such a cutie! I'm praying healing and sustained health for him!
Alicia A. said…
Oh, honey. I had no idea. You must have been worried sick. I'm so glad to hear it went smoothly.

I'm thinking good thoughts for you all until the results come back.

Hug, hug, hug.
Anonymous said…
I had EXACTLY the same thing happen to me when I was in my late 20s. Biopsied the lymphnode-everything tested out fine. It's been about 5 years since then and I am still doing fine. My doc said that sometimes the human body is a mystery... Ain't that the truth!!

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