Missing Pieces

Thomas had his tonsils and adenoids removed on Thursday. It is simple as that. Well, as simple as that, yeah. My mommy's heart didn't think it so simple as I dropped off Joshua and Thomas at the Surgery Center so I could run Elizabeth out to a friend's house for the day. My heart squeezed tight as my brave little boy walked into that building and I just prayed that I would be back in time to see him before they took him back for surgery.

Thankfully, I did. I walked into the back area with one of the men from our church to see Thomas happily bouncing around on a bed with his new moose. The Surgery Center gives all the children a Beanie Baby to keep them company and take home with them afterwards. Thomas was thrilled with the little television that was allowing him to watch the Doodle Bops. Scary people, those Boppers. Just my opinion, though. We got to stay with him for nearly an hour before the nurses came to take him away.

Joshua, Jack and I sat out in the waiting area discussing mostly music stuff for our choir when I spied the doctor walking into the room. The procedure was pretty quick, like half an hour or so, but I felt I had talked about a lot of music when that doctor came in. He let us know all went well and we could go on up to Thomas's recovery room to wait for him.

On the way up, we were joined by a couple of other guys from our church and we all went up, chatting kid stuff as we waited for Thomas to come in. When the nurse carried him in, he whimpered for about ten minutes or so, but upon being offered popsicles and jell-o, decided this stint might not be so bad. Yeah, he sat in that bed and watched T.V. for about five hours, consuming tons of jell-o, apple juice, and popsicles. Plus the I.V. line that was pumping fluids through his body. We were released and went to pick up our Elizabeth and come home to crash for the afternoon.

We did take some pictures of Thomas, all acting like royalty in his bed with the nurses at his beck and call. They are in the same place as the Santa's Village pictures. Stuck on a 35mm camera. All the trauma. We have to have them developed before we can actually see them. *sigh* I will need therapy for this.

The first thirty-six hours were rough, but our little man is a trooper. We made a pallet for him and he watched several movies, read a few books, played a game or two of match, and slept. We fought to keep his temperature down, but now we are settling into a more or less new routine for the boy.

The boy who is missing tonsils and adenoids. I have wondered just how many of those body parts are disposable.

Another thing missing lately is Sarah Grace. She was shipped to Scottsboro for most of the week and the entire weekend in an effort to keep things more peaceful and calm for Thomas. Those two are each others favorite playmate. When one is sick, the other one is at odds as to what to do by themselves. They romp, they roam, they giggle, the argue, they run, they scream, they wrestle, they bounce, they are pre-schoolers.

Oh, but how I miss that little girl. She is my helper, my nurturer, my Sweet Girl. I am glad that she is getting to visit with the grandparents and be the center of attention. I am glad Thomas gets a few days to really get past the hardest of his recuperation, but I will be glad when all the pieces of our family are home again.