Hi everyone! It’s Casey here – the Social Media and Digital Manager for CPR Kids. For those of you who have been following along on our socials, you will know that my 5-year-old recently had her adenoids and tonsils out, and grommets put in. For ease, let’s refer to her as ‘Miss 5’ throughout this blog.
Now I want to preface this with – I am not a nurse! I am sharing this as a mum because I can tell you right now, that having other mums to speak to in the lead-up to and recovery from Miss 5’s surgery was a lifesaver!
We had noticed Miss 5 was having problems with her hearing and speech…
After a couple of failed hearing tests, I booked in to see an ENT to investigate further. Some other signs also led me to make this booking – mouth breathing, very restless sleep, poor weight gain, constant snot (okay, this isn’t usually abnormal for daycare kids but it seemed to never go away), and recurring ear infections.
The ENT confirmed what I had already suspected – that she would need her tonsils and adenoids out and grommets put in (both ears). The ENT did give us the option to wait 6 months and see if her condition improved in any way before committing to surgery – but advised us that her condition was quite severe. We also knew that there would be a wait for the surgery as we were going public, and it had been quite a wait for the ENT appointment as it was (this is normal!). We decided to book the surgery. I had the surgery myself at 19 after years of issues and felt like it was the best option for my little one to improve her quality of life.
For more information on each of these operations, I have included links to Children’s Health Queensland fact sheets below:
Tonsillectomy
Adenoidectomy
Grommets
The prep
I am in the unique position of working with an incredible team of paed nurses, always ready to share their wealth of information and experience with me. One such piece of advice I was given, was using medical role play to prepare Miss 5 (and myself!). We shared a reel that received a huge amount of positive feedback from other parents, preparing their little ones for a surgery involving going under general anaesthetic. You can watch it here.
Medical role play
Role play of the surgery, especially with a mask (available at chemists/online), is a great way to get little ones ready for the surgery. The mask can be a distressing part of the experience for kids (and parents). Being honest with them in a supportive way can help. We told Miss 5 exactly what to expect in an age-appropriate way – from going to the hospital, who they would meet, what they would see, and how they may feel, especially once they woke up. There are some great resources out there, with videos aimed at kids, explaining the whole experience.
👉🏼 Child Life Therapy – Royal Children’s Hospital
👉🏼 Preparing your child for medical procedures – The Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network
We let Miss 5 help us pack her hospital bag so that she had a choice in what toys and items she would be taking. Be sure to pack comfort items, distractions like the iPad, books, pencils, etc. It can be a bit of a wait on the day, and especially with your little one fasting, you will want the distractions!
Stock up on anything you will need after the surgery – and again, let your little one make some choices too. Miss 5 was so excited to eat the ‘special’ custard she picked once she got back home after the surgery. Make sure you have pain relief stocked, favourite foods, and ice blocks. We even made rainbow jelly together, which she loved.
Buy a little gift for them to look forward to after surgery. We got a book we knew Miss 5 wanted, as well as a new game, to be enjoyed during recovery.
The big day
We let Miss 5 pick her outfit for the day, and she picked the below (a Supergirl costume) to help her feel brave and strong🥹
There was a bit of a wait on the day, and it was nerve-wracking. When it came time, Miss 5 was visibly nervous and reluctant to do blood pressure checks and the like. The team gave us her gown to change her into, and we went through and popped her onto her special bed (which we played up – many kids find a bed on wheels to be exciting!). At this point the team gave her a premed to help her relax, they felt she needed it to be comfortable in the next few parts of the process. We walked alongside her bed to the surgery ward. There, she picked Daddy to go in with her. I was not present for the next part (going under), but even though she was not at all distressed, my husband still walked out a mess.
It can be quite confronting watching them go under.
You will likely feel a lot of feelings, and that is so normal. Just know that they are in good hands and you are strong. So is your little one.
We sat in the waiting room and were called into the recovery room 40 minutes later as she had woken up – we were told this was quite quick and that she would be disoriented and confused. I want to be completely honest here – I found this to be the hardest part of our entire experience. She was confused, upset, and trying to escape the bed while in and out of consciousness. This went on for around 30 minutes, we just kept reassuring her and laying in the bed with her. The staff were so supportive, and reassuring. This is COMPLETELY normal to see after general anesthetic but can be very distressing.
Her first night she slept well, but Daddy didn’t get a wink of sleep – make sure someone is picking up the little patient and whichever parent stays overnight, the next day.
We were discharged the next morning
After finally getting some eardrops in (this took a LONG time, but after letting her hold the drops herself as we did them, she slowly got used to them). The ear drops are prescribed after grommet insertion. You will be given a lot of information at discharge including the red flags to watch out for (when to seek urgent medical advice), what to expect in the recovery, and any prescriptions you need, as well as follow-up appointments.
At discharge, we were also advised on where we needed to stay during recovery. Without giving too much detail, we live semi-rural and were told that we had (mistakenly) not been advised that we would need accommodation closer to the hospital. We had to sort out a place to stay. I followed this up with the surgeon whom we had booked under – it turns out there had been a miscommunication (side note – it happens, and the staff were all amazing), and they were able to then give us the right advice. I include this for one reason only – as a reminder that you can always ask the question. If you are unsure of anything, need clarity, or are concerned for any reason, seek advice – even second opinions if needed. Remember – TRUST YOUR GUT.
The recovery
Every child is different, but we were told we could expect our little one to have pain for up to 2 weeks.
For us the first couple of days were manageable and Miss 5 was eating/sleeping well. I chose to set alarms overnight for the next dose of pain relief to stay ahead of the pain – rather than wait for her to need it. NOTE: Tracking doses is vital. I used a note on my phone, recording every dose given, including what it was and when. We were fine with alternating between paracetamol and ibuprofen for the first couple of days (ALWAYS STICK TO DOSAGE INSTRUCTIONS AND NEVER EXCEED THE RECOMMENDED AMOUNT).
By day 3 we started to need the pain relief we had been prescribed. She did not want to eat, so the focus was hydration and soft foods – apple juice (which is also how we gave her the pain relief), water, ice chips, ice blocks, jelly, and ice cream were all she would tolerate.
At this point, it was unlimited screen time, baths (careful not to get her ears wet after the grommet insertion), and sleeping when she could. She was waking up multiple times a night and often before her next allowed pain relief dose. It was all about comfort, and distraction (including Netflix on my phone until pain relief time).
Her pain increased each day until it reached a notable peak around day 6.
At this point, we had no prescribed pain relief left and tried to manage with regular pain relief. It was clear this was not going to cut it! I took her to a GP and got a script for another pain relief. (Always advocate for your little one – YOU know what’s best).
I had planned to work from home the second week of recovery – this was not at all possible. Try to have no plans in the first 2 weeks following surgery, so that you can focus on your little one – and taking care of yourself too!
Complete transparency – at this point things were ROUGH. We had been having poor sleep for a week at this point, and she only seemed to be getting worse when it felt like she should have been getting better. I spoke to a mum friend whose son’s experience was almost identical to ours. That helped, it was comforting to know that it was normal to be feeling low at this point, watching your little one suffer for so long and feeling like it wasn’t going to get better (I promise, it does!).
Around day 9 she started to refuse medication of any type.
It seemed like she was sick of it. She chose to be in pain rather than keep taking pain relief. We did put some in apple juice at times, the only issue was she would only take a sip or two and then not drink anymore, and because we didn’t know how much pain relief she consumed we couldn’t give anymore until the next dosage time. We had to be present, and provide comfort and distractions (and ice blocks) as much as possible! If your little one refuses pain meds at any point and you are concerned, seek medical advice to discuss other options.
By day 10 we saw a small improvement in her, the night wakeups stopped, and then suddenly over the next couple of days, she became more and more her usual self.
It’s day 16 now (at the time of writing this). She is her happy self again and not only that – we have seen a noticeable improvement in her hearing (her speech therapist noticed it in our return session yesterday too!), her appetite is back (with a vengeance), and she no longer has a constant stream of snot coming from her nose.
I wanted to share this glimpse into our experience, and advice that helped us in hopes that it helps anyone that needs it, too.
And if you are a parent/carer reading this after a desperate Google search looking for reassurance in the throes of post-surgery recovery… I promise it does get better. Remember, there was a reason you did this and a good one at that. Things will improve before you know it and you will look back on the other side, so glad you all got through. You’ve got this.
