I don't know what to do now!

[Mady/Sophiemom]

My 8 y.o DD went to the Dr. yesterday, for a well-check. The Dr. is considering taking out her tonsils. She doesn't want it to get too much into the school year.

School starts Aug 27th, and we have a disney trip planned on Oct. 4-11.

We have to have a sleep study first, (in 2-3 weeks), and then based on results, more than likely Tonsils come out. I don't think we can get this all done, before school starts. I'm not sure she should miss school, for 2 different things within the first three months. She will already be missing 4 days, for Disney.

How long will she be out for tonsils? I know that they are outpt. now. I'm sure someone has an idea how long till she be out of school.

I have some time (about a month till I lose deposit). Two things though. Airline tickets, and MNSSHP tickets are already bought.

Thanks for any ideas.

 

[browneyes]

My ds had his tonsils out when he was 5. His dr said he could stay out up to 10 days, but it was up to him and me how long he'd be out of school. I kept him out the whole 10 days. A friend of mine's ds had his taken out a couple of months ago. I think he was out of school for about 3-4 days. He was feeling well enough to ask to go back to school!

The only thing the dr said about returning back to school after surgery is to take it easy, and not to run too much.

Good luck to your dd.

 

[TigerLilly's Mom]

Sorry about your daughter. My son had his tonsils out, and he had to stay out of school for one full week. And, to tell you the truth, he needed that full week anyway. It is a very major surgury and he was in a lot of pain.

That being said, my kids got chicken pox in November and we had a Disney trip planned for the second week in December. My son missed a week of school for that and another week for the Disney trip. He was just fine. I don't know if your daughter's school is strict on that kind of thing, but I believe if they are not struggling in school, it is not a big deal. I say do both, your daughter will need a nice break after that anyway!

 

[mcnuss]

We have to have a sleep study first, (in 2-3 weeks), and then based on results, more than likely Tonsils come out. I don't think we can get this all done, before school starts.

First of all, I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, but I have never heard of a child needing a sleep study before having a tonsilectomy. I am sure your DR. is wonderful, but before you undergo the time and expense, may I suggest a) going to an ENT specialist first and b) calling your insurance to make sure that this is "usual & customary" so that you don't get slammed with the cost if indeed it is necessary.

In addition, if this is all elective, then you can do it anytime - no rush. Perhaps there is a long weekend sometime in the fall semester where you could maybe have the surgery and then she could recuperate over the long weekend, and miss a minimal amt of school. But I'll bet they can get everything done before school. It's amazing how quickly they can get you in if it's determined to be necessary.

Every child heals differently, so you will have to play be ear how long she is out of school. My friend's son had his surgery on a Tuesday night (unscheduled emergency surgery) and was back in school the following Monday. He was running around, no pain, etc... by Friday, but she could not see sending him back on the last day of the week. I would also disagree that it's "very major surgery". It's a minimally invasive procedure that is done on an outpatient basis. It's painful, and no fun, but to me "very major surgery" means you have at least an overnight stay and an incision with stitches!

 

[TigerLilly's Mom]

Sorry if I implied a tonsilectemy is like open heart surgury - is certainly is not. But what I wanted to get across is that it is much more invasive, painful, and has a much longer recovery time than say, getting tubes put in. I think doctors and other people who have not had a child go through this, or gone through it themselves, tend to downplay all of this. But it hurts for sure, and children need to be kept out of school for a week, not only because of healing time, but also because of immunity issues associated with having surgury. We all know why this is done as an outpatient service - INSURANCE!

Also, if your doctor recommended a sleep study, there must be a reason and I'm sure your insurance would cover it. For children who have snoring issues, this is vital to find out if they have sleep apnea. I'm sure you are, or will be very soon, seeing an ENT, I have never heard of a family physician giving a tonselectemy. Good luck with everything.

 

[Jordan's MOM]

Don't you just hate when things like this happen!!! My DS had his tonsils in kindergaten and the ENT that did his surgery insisted that he stay at home with a mature adult for a full week. Our DS however did very well and was ready to go back to school the next Day!!! he did of course stay home that whole week and we had a blast! The reason for keeping them at home is that bleeding can start again several days after the surgery. Most kids however do just fine and the problem is keeping then still and quite for a few days.
The way insurance works now a days, i am sure that there has to be a documented reason to do your child's surgery, and the sleep study may by the only way to do this. Our DS, before having his out ,was a terrible snorer and always tired. He, I am sure had sleep apnea, though a sleep study was not done at that time. It was so worth it. He need less sleep to get a much better nights sleep after the surgery.

I am sorry I can not help with the planning of the trip. One question I would ask is if your child is 2nd or 3rd grade. The work load and testing procedures change so much between the two. 2nd, i would not hesitate to have her miss two week, but 3rd might be a problem, though to be honest, I would most likely not change my trip and just let her miss two weeks anyway. The year that my DS had his out, we had already taken a oct. trip when he ended up with a week out in Nov for his tonsils. Then he missed almost 2 weeks with a bad case of the flu. This was however kindergarten, but he did just fine.

Good luck and hope your child does fine.


jordan's mom

 

[BevS97]

You know, I would go. You could have been on holiday, and then she could come down sick the very next week and miss a week anyway,

Bev

 

[Mady/Sophiemom]

How crazy. It is always something.

The reason for the sleep study is indeed sleep apnea.

Last year she had a run with strep throat, and has always had horrible allergies, but this year has had strep only once. Insurance will not pay for the tonsilectomy, with only 1 case of strep. Her Dr. suspects sleep apnea, based on my concerns, that within an hour of going to bed, she is tossing, turning, coughing, and crying in her sleep. Within minutes of falling asleep, she is snoring so loudly that she can often be heard at the opposite end of the house. She often can take a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon. Longer than my 4 Y.O.

We are, of course being referred to an ENT. I did not wish to imply, that her ped. would be performing the surgery.

Her allergies have worsened over the summer. Within minutes of being outside, she is sneezing and coughing. She also does so whenever there is a temp change. For instance, going to the air conditioning, from outside.


As for the trip, my DH and I have been talking, and think we SHOULD go. She is in 2nd grade, and is a very good student. An extra week out won't keep her out of Harvard, or anything. As for the long weekend on her school calender, the 2 are Labor day, (only 3 days after starting school), and the first Mon. in October. (the week of our trip)

We are calling the Dr. on Monday, to get a time frame, on whether it is a possibility, to have things done by the start of school. She started her on a new med, and wants to give it 2 wks. She was not too optimistic, that it would work, but needed to try somehing more.

I posted to get some ideas, on how long she will be out. The surgery is not an emergency, however I don't think it is worth it to keep her miserable any longer than neccesary.

I called Disney to check on the MNSSHP tickets. The CM said to send the tickets back, with a letter explaining things, and that I would get a refund. It does say non-refundable on the back though. The airlines of course, is the standard $50. change charge along with the difference in the fare. I will prob. get the trip insurance, which is something I don't usually do, but will JUST in case. But I'm optimistic that everything will work out.


GOOD POINT on needing the vacation after the surgery
Sounds good to me.


Thank you so much for letting me vent, and all of your concerns. We will be fine.

 

[susy]

As a future teacher, here is what I suggest: go ahead and have the sleep study and then schedule the surgery for as soon as possible. Send a letter to your daughter's teacher the first week of school , letting her know what is happening and when. Given enough notice, the teacher should be able to give you a copy of her lesson plans for that week. It will probably take you less than an hour a day to work on her studies (just after her pain meds kick in and maybe mid- morning, when she is most alert). My sister broke her hip in the second grade and had to be tutored at home for five months. The tutor came for an hour a day and my sister had straight A's. I don't know if the teacher would do the same for a trip (you'd have to feel her out), but I can't see any dedicated teacher refusing lesson plan copies due to a surgery.

 

[campingcorgi]

Originally posted by susy

but I can't see any dedicated teacher refusing lesson plan copies due to a surgery.

I have planned work in advance for students with planned absences. However, our school now has a policy that make-up work be just that--work to be made-up upon return to school. The main reason being that some of the work planned for the class will not be able to be made up independently and some won't need to be done. When a child returns from an absence we review the material that the child missed and assign whatever is necessary for that child. The lesson plans are what you plan to do, not necessarily what you get covered. Sometimes things are easier to master than you expected--or harder!

Quite frankly, this is also our policy because we got sick and tired of planning work ahead and having the kids come back with the work 'lost' or not done. Oh, and my favorite--done in Mom's handwriting!!

With a second grader--I'd keep the trip plans and have fun! You can catch her up after the tonsilectomy (usually a whole week out) or vacation.

Have fun!

 

[crazymomof4]

Originally posted by Mady/Sophiemom
How crazy. It is always something.

She is in 2nd grade, and is a very good student. An extra week out won't keep her out of Harvard, or anything.

That's what I was thinking, with kids it's always something.....nothing is ever cut and dried or simple! But Life would be so boring w/o them.

It sounds like you've decided to go but I thought I'd add some futher encouragement.....
This past school yr. my 5th grade DS missed a total of 24 days of school! The most any of my kids have ever misssed, by far! He just got everything that came down the pike (I even had him tested for mono.) But because he and I know the importance of education, we worked together to keep his grades up. If he didn't understand a concept that was taught on one of his missed days, I would sit down and explain it to him until he grasped it. He achieved the honor roll for all 4 marking periods and ended up with this average: 5 A's and 2 B's. It sounds like your DD would do the same and you are obviously the concerned parent who would help her maintain her grades.
Hope all goes well w/ your DD and enjoy your trip!

 

[BrerMom]

Another option is to have the surgery the week before Christmas vacation. She'd be missing a minimal amount of school and would have over two full weeks to recuperate without having to worry about missing more school.

 

[thetraveler]

I got my tonsils out last year when I was 7 i got out of the hospital the next day. I was pretty much recovered except for the fact that my ears hurt so much I could barely even chew and didn't eat for over a week
-8-YO son of the traveler