Surgery

About a week before Christmas, Tyler had his wisdom teeth taken out. He should have gotten it done years ago, and after the surgery we both wish he had. All four of his wisdom teeth fit the description of "difficult and bony" and cost the most to get taken out (the price of each tooth removed varies based on the difficulty of removal). One of the teeth had even grown up into his sinus.

The baby and I went with Tyler to his surgery since he was going to be asleep for the ordeal and unable to drive afterward. I wasn't all that worried until I was back in Tyler's recovery room (more like a closet or cell, really). The assistant was describing how the surgery went and what I needed to make Tyler do (or make sure he didn't do) in order to recover as quickly and comfortably as possible. There was so much and I wasn't supposed to leave Tyler alone all day. I felt completely overwhelmed. How was I supposed to give Tyler the care and attention he needed and I wanted to give him and take care of Owen? To add to that, I had scheduled (stupidly since I knew Tyler was having surgery that day) time to visit with two girls from church that evening.

Tyler seemed quite with it on the drive to the pharmacy and most of the day. He also said he wasn't in much pain once he got on the medicine they prescribed him. This led to our negligence with his ice packs that day...and subsequent pain and swelling in the days thereafter.

Taking care of Tyler and Owen was not my favorite thing. It was really tiring, actually. Between feedings and medicine reminders I got very little sleep. I previously enjoyed being able to help and pamper Tyler when he was ill, now with a baby... it is not so enjoyable because I don't feel I can do all that much. But more than that, it was really stressful to take care of someone post-surgery. There are so many things to remember besides when to take medicine. Tyler wasn't supposed to suppress a sneeze, blow his nose, use a straw, prod the surgery site even with his tongue, get overtired (which means I get way overtired because we have a baby), etc. etc.

What am I going to do when my son gets his wisdom teeth out years down the road? How did my mother do it? And how did she make it look so easy? I mean, honestly, I wasn't even prepared with food Tyler could eat while he recovered and I wasn't supposed to leave him alone to even go shopping! Thank goodness we made it through that.