E.M.
It is so nerve wracking to have your child undergo surgery, but there are ways to help your little one! My 4 year old daughter just had to have her tonsils, adnoids and ears all done at the same time, just last week! Her tonsils and adnoids were so large they were blocking her airway and causing severe sleep apnea! Alot of people told me that I should wait until the day before to explain everything to her so she wouldn't worry for weeks leading up to the surgery date... I however, recomend the complete oposite. My husband and I told our daughter a month before her surgery. We explained to her all about how the doctors would put a mask on her face and how impressed they would be when she showed them how high she could count! We showed her pictures of the operating room (so she wouldn't be frightened by the bright lights etc.) and explained how it would feel like she never fell asleep and would be awake again in no time and how her throat would be sore for awhile. We didn't tell her stuff she didn't need to know like about the procedures themselves, breathing tubes, etc. I went over with her EVERY day exactly how everything would happen and by the time it was time for her surgery, she was very well prepared! She did everything perfectly, no tears, no struggle. She handled it all so great! Another thing that really helped her was the morning of her surgery, I gave her the cross off my favorite necklace to "hide" in her sock during her surgery. I told her it was just our secret and that it would protect her during her surgery but that it had to be our secret b/c the doctors don't allow jewelery in the OR. She was so excited to have a special secret, it kept her mind off things. With just your son needing ear tubes, the procedure is very quick and virtually no recovery time or pain! You will be given instructions on getting him a set of custom earplugs made for swimming and baths. Another thing we did which I HIGHLY recommend is we took her to Build-a-bear and let her make her own special "hospital buddy". My husband and I had our voice recorded saying "we love you Morgan" in the foot of the bear. My daughter carried her bear everywhere for weeks and it helped to have a special friend in the OR with her! I don't know about other places, but my husband and her special bear were allowed to go into the OR with our daughter and count with her until she fell asleep. These are some of the things that helped us prepare our little one, unfortunately, nothing can prepare the parents lol! The idea of anethesia in our little one is completely unpreparable! It is such a hard thing to go through, but just remember, you're helping him better his quality of life! Best of luck!
Just be sure that ear tubes is what he needs! My daughter had hearing loss due to fluid buildup and the doctors ended up finding that her adnoids were HUGE and were completely covering her ear canal causing the problem. The same incisions were done in her ears as if she were getting tubes, but the tubes were inserted, drained the fluid then removed the tubes so the problem's fixed but she won't have to have tubes in for a year!