Evan's Surgery

(April 8, 2011)

Our little sunshine recently had to have a cyst removed at our local children's hospital. We found it roughly 7 wks prior when he got a nasty virus (adenovirus) that cause it to swell and become noticeable. Apparently it is something that is congenital, meaning it was there since birth, and even started forming prior to birth. The tissue that becomes the thyroid and the tongue is initially one piece of tissue. The two should separate entirely, but sometimes there are remnants of tissue left between the two which ultimately grow into a cyst. Typically, an upper respiratory infection will cause the cyst to swell up at some point and that is most often how it is discovered. And that's exactly how it happened for us. I became very alarmed when my mom found a lump on his neck after keeping him one day after a very recent illness. After much worry and a few days, an ultrasound revealed that it was indeed a cyst. So we met with a pediatric surgeon (and how fortunate for us that she is one of the best around!) and we got his surgery scheduled for 5 wks later.

That time has come and gone and all I can say is wow, what an easy experience it turned out to be. Firstly, we are blessed that Evan is such a strong, easy-going kid when it comes to anything medical. He has no fear and embraces anything that has to be done with such maturity and confidence. He was SO compliant through every step of the process and handled everything like a champ! He did not complain of pain even ONCE. We stayed the night at the hospital for observation and I thought this would be so useful for pain control, comfort, etc. It turned out to be actually quite boring for both of us, although he did enjoy the nonstop stream of television viewing for 24+ hrs and the endless supply of slushies! We appreciate everyone's prayers, visits, gifts, texts, and calls during that time!

Here are the pictures from his surgery and hospital stay