We were told that there’s a very distinctive pattern after a T&A surgery. When the kids wake up, they freak out. They feel very bad. Then, during the first few days, they tend to feel better. Then, sometime between Days 3-5, the pain is at its worst. Then it gets better. Days 7-10 are the riskiest in terms of post-op complications: as the scab comes off, there is a risk of bleeding. Bad bleeding means a return trip to the hospital, anaesthesia, re-cauterization of the wounds, re-recovery. It’s very rare. I am putting much intention toward a smooth Days 7-10.

True to form, Days 3-5 have posed challenges. Day 3 was much better. When my mother came over from our next-door neighbor’s house (where she and my father spent a few nights while our neighbors were away), Elan said “Good morning, Nana!” with so much alacrity she wondered if she had accidentally stepped into the wrong house. I was out remembering what day of the week it was, so I missed most of his extraordinary good mood, but he was still feeling well enough to play football in the driveway in the afternoon (a low-key version that was heavy on the slow-motion replays).
I’m glad that I was warned about the regression, even that very morning when I ran into a friend outside whose son recently had a tonsillectomy. That night, as we spent the hours between 2 and 4 a.m. with him alternately writhing in my bed and freaking out, I wasn’t as worried as I might have otherwise been. Parenthood is so much about managing expectations, isn’t it?