Recovery Report

First Day

On Xander's first day, he acted like his normal self, active, happy, and eating (smooth foods) once he fully woke up from anesthesia. He requested some foods that I didn't want to give him yet, like Ramen noodles.

Second Day

The second day, he was a little more irritable and tired than usual, but otherwise pretty normal. He did not request or accept any foods that were not totally smooth. He ate and drank fine, but not a lot. Sherbet and other nice things were not necessarily finished.

Third Day

The third day, he was feeling his low fever a lot more and feeling more pain. He requested pain medicine well before it was time again. He accepted ice water while waiting for the medicine. Chocolate ice cream was rejected at times. Complained of cheek soreness once, on top of the throat pain. More lethargic, watching TV almost all day.

Fourth Day

Feeling so much better! He told me he could tell that he was healing. Ate a whole lot of turkey bacon, instant oatmeal, and yogurt.

Fifth Day

Doing great. Didn't notice when I gave his pain meds an hour later than usual. He hates that taste, though. Eating things like hot dogs, pineapple slices, Raisin Bran...

Sixth and Seventh Days

These are potentially dangerous days for some patients, when they begin to bleed again. Xander did not! He also felt better and did not take as much pain medicine. Hurray!

Pain Medication

The dosage on his pain medication was 1/2 to 1 teaspoon every 4 to 6 hours. Based on advice given by the recovery nurse, we gave a full teaspoon almost every time. During the day the first two days, we dosed every 5 hours or so. At night we did every 4 to 5 hours. On the third day, we dosed every 4 hours during the day. No more waking him at night at that point.

Antibiotic

He was given an antibiotic prescription as well. We followed the dosage instructions of 1 1/2 teaspoons two times a day. I chose breakfast and dinner for antibiotic times. I wanted to try to have his stomach as filled as possible while taking the medications. We were told that if he developed stomach pains, we could discontinue the antibiotic. If we accidentally missed a dose, that was okay, too. The antibiotic was a precautionary measure (I assume).