Since I've treated you all horribly by not updating in so long, I've decided to treat you all to something special. Arthur's around 3 in this one, and he needs to get his adenoids and tonsils out. Please enjoy!
Adenoidectomy: surgical removal of the adenoids; commonly performed along with tonsillectomy.
"Hello, how is everybody today?" Doctor Elizaveta greeted as she walked into her examination room. Ivan was sitting in a chair, with a certain three (but almost four) year old on his lap.
"Not so good I'm afraid," Ivan replied, looking down at Arthur, who was squirming and tugging at his ear. "He woke up with it hurting this morning."
"Oh dear," Elizaveta said. "Well why don't we take care of that. Come on up to the examination table Arthur."
Ivan set the small child down, and then Elizaveta helped him hop up on the padded table. She immediately examined the inside of the infected ear and grimaced. "Oh honey, no wonder it's hurting. You certainly do have an ear infection."
"Can you make it go bye-bye?" Arthur asked, big green eyes glistening with tears.
"Of course I can sweetie. Now, why don't you go look in my prize box and get a toy for being so brave today." Elizaveta suggested. "And Ivan, let me fill out a prescription."
"It seems like this has been happening far too often," Ivan said with a grimace. "He just had one about a month ago."
"I've been meaning to talk to you about that," Elizaveta said as she scribbled down a prescription for Arthur's ear infection medicine. "Ear infections are common for children around this age, but not this frequently. In Arthur's case, most of it has to do with an inflamed Eustachian tube. I think it's because of his adenoids."
"Adenoids?" Ivan asked, confused.
"Yes, they're probably enlarged. I really think that with an adenoidectomy Arthur could show a lot of improvement." Elizaveta told him. "And we've already talked about getting him ear tubes. Those can be done along with the surgery."
"Adenoidectomy?" Ivan asked, once again puzzled. He wasn't really good with medical term talk. Sometimes he wished he'd gone to medical school and became a doctor rather than an accountant.
"The removal of the adenoids. Lot's of kids get the procedure done; it's very safe. I want you to give this number a call. Vash Zwingli is one of my friends; a doctor who specializes in specifically the ears, nose, and throat. He would be able to examine Arthur better, and also decide if the surgery is best."
"Oh," Ivan replied, all of it still sinking in. He glanced at Arthur, who was still searching through the prize box and had tuned them out, feeling his stomach drop. Images of their small little baby being still on a metal table surrounded by scalpels and knives filled his mind. But, if it would help Arthur...
"Alright, I'll talk to over with Alfred and give this doctor a call," Ivan finally decided.
"Excellent. Now I know Alfred has a tendency to panic about these types of things, but please assure him that it's safe. Vash can answer all your questions about it. I can even answer some, so Alfred can always have a chat with me." Elizaveta said, handing him the prescription.
"Thank you very much Dr. Elizaveta." Ivan told her, before turning towards his little one. "Arthur, have you picked out your toy? It's time to go."
"I got a dinosaur!" Arthur announced, showing a small plastic t-rex to his father. "Do I get a sticker too?"
"Of course," Ivan told him, taking Arthur's hand. There was a box at the receptionist's desk filled with all kinds of stickers, and it was always mandatory that a child be entitled to one after a visit to the doc's.
Today was one of the rare weekday's that Ivan had been given off. Since it was a Thursday Alfred had to work, which had left Ivan to take Arthur to the doctor's. Other than that it was quite a pleasant day though; with the three older children at school.
His mind was still reeling from Elizaveta's words. None of the kids had ever had surgery before, and he was hoping that it would have stayed that way. Besides, even if he was okay with it, Alfred was an entire different situation. He already knew what Alfred would say when he told him.
"No," Alfred said immediately after Ivan had said 'surgery' and 'Arthur' in the same sentence.
"Alfred, Dr. Elizaveta said it would help Arthur. She also said it would be very safe." Ivan told him gently. It was later that evening, and Alfred had only gotten home from work a few minutes ago. He was now getting dinner together with Ivan.
"And I say no. Our baby isn't going to be operated on. You know how I feel about stuff like that." Alfred told him firmly.
"We should at least visit this new doctor and see what he has to say. Besides, what could possibly go wrong? I even googled an adenoidectomy, and Elizaveta was right. It's very common; very safe."
"I'll tell you what could go wrong. He could bleed out. They might remove something that isn't supposed to be gone, like his liver. THE SCALPEL COULD SLIP!" Alfred listed off reasons, growing more intense with each one. "Ivan, you'd have to kill me before I allowed our baby boy to get a surgery when nothing life-threatening is wrong. No, even that wouldn't work, cause my ghost would prevent it!"
"I think you're overreacting, my sunflower." Ivan said gently, rubbing Alfred's tensed shoulders so that they were relaxed. "It would be over with so quickly. The actual surgery only takes fifteen minutes to a half hour. Then Arthur wouldn't suffer from so many ear infections and colds. That would also mean no more ear drops."
"N-no more ear drops?" Alfred asked, a hint of eagerness in his voice.
Eardrops meant H-E-L-L in their house. For a little guy who got so many ear infections, Arthur still was not okay with getting the medicine that made him feel better. It took a lot of effort to get them into the poor kid. There was always lots of kicking, screaming, crying, and struggling that came with it. Usually Ivan would have to restrain Arthur while Alfred inserted the ear drops, each parent close to tears themselves as they again and again apologized and tried to reassure him.
"So, what do you say? Do you want me to call Dr. Zwingli and make an appointment?"
"Well..." Alfred bit his lip, hesitating. "Alright, but I don't like it."
"Mhm, they're definitely enlarged," Dr. Vash Zwingli concluded, once he'd finished examining Arthur. "And by looking at his medical records and seeing how much the poor kid has suffered from ear infections, I'd highly suggest getting some ear tubes in, and his adenoids out. The tonsils out too actually."
It was a week since the appointment with Elizaveta, and now Ivan, Alfred, and Arthur were in Vash Zwingli's office. Arthur was admiring the fish tank across the room, while the adults talked.
Alfred made a small noise in the back of his throat, almost sounding like a whine. "Hold on a sec, tonsils too? Why? I thought it was just his adenoids."
"Those are the main problem yes, which will help the ear infections. However, getting his tonsils out will also help with the frequent colds as well. Overall I'd say it would be a much better way to go."
"And what exactly are the survival rates for this surgery?" Alfred inquired.
"What?" Vash asked, a bit taken aback. Then he realized that he was dealing with one of those overly panicked parents and sighed. "Sir, this is one of the second most common procedures performed on children. The risk of any complications is extremely low."
"How much will he be in pain?" Ivan asked.
"Well, his throat will probably hurt for a few days to a week, and a possible stiff neck may occur. I can give you a packet on all the necessary info. Read that first, and then call me if you have any further questions." Vash told them. "If you agree to this, that is. I highly suggest you to do it. My little sister is around Arthur's age and she had it done. Trust me, if I allowed my sister to have the procedure done, then you don't need to worry."
"You have our consent," Ivan said, placing his hand comfortably over Alfred's.
"Right then, I'll set a date as soon as possible."
The date was set. In three days from now, Arthur would be getting his adenoids out. Vash had given Alfred a packet on what to expect from the surgery, and how harmless it really would be. Now it was time to talk to Arthur and explain what would be happening to him.
"Arthur, you don't like getting ear infections right?" Ivan asked gently, that night once Arthur had been given his bath.
"Those are ouch," Arthur agreed, rubbing his ear in remembrance of his most recent one, which was luckily gone now.
"We have a way where the ear infections will go bye-bye from now on. All you would do is take a little nap, and then the doctor would take away what makes the ear infections come, and then you would be all better."
"No nap," Arthur scowled.
"But wouldn't one little nap be okay if it made the bad ouchie's in your ear go away?" Alfred cut in.
"Okay! If the ouchie's will go!" Arthur agreed excitedly.
"They will. On Thursday we will take you to the hospital and they will make it all better. Your throat will hurt a little after, but then you'll feel much better. You can also have all the ice cream you want afterwards."
"Chocolate ice cream?" Arthur asked, green eyes wide.
"You bet. All of the chocolate ice cream you want. And chocolate shakes, and smoothies, and popsicles." Alfred listed off.
"Yeah!" Arthur shouted enthusiastically. "I want chocolate!"
"You'll get some, I promise."
The night before the surgery, Arthur wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything after supper. Tomorrow in the morning they would drop Francis, Toris, and Feliks off at Matthew's house. Matthew and Gilbert had agreed to watch them for the day, so both Ivan and Alfred could be with Arthur.
Once morning came and the kids were dropped off, it was time to go to the hospital. The drive seemed to take far too long, despite it only being fifteen minutes away. Arthur was still in his pajamas, and in his arms were his two favorite stuffed animals, his bear and his bunny. They had also packed a bag filled with books and small toys to keep Arthur occupied before they put him to sleep as well.
"Daddy, I'm hungry. I want breakfast." Arthur complained from his car seat.
"You can have something to eat after your surgery buddy, I promise." Alfred replied, a little guilty. Thank god all of this would be over with soon. If everything went okay, that is.
Once at the hospital, they went into the outpatient/day surgery unit. They checked Arthur in at the front desk, and they led them towards a curtained area with a bed and tv. The walls were painted with rainbows and hot air balloons, looking quite friendly. The nurse was great, cheerfully joking with the adults and explaining to Arthur what would be happening as she placed a hospital bracelet on his small wrist.
"Have him put these on, and then in a few minutes the Anesthesiologist will be in to check his temp and heartbeat," The nurse said, handing Ivan a pair of children's hospital pajamas, with little airplane patterns on them. With that, she promptly left the room.
"Alright Arthur, let's get these on." Ivan said, unzippering the three year old's footie pajamas.
"What's wrong with the ones I got?" Arthur wondered.
"These ones are special ones. They look pretty comfy as well." Ivan answered as he helped his child into them.
"Hey look Artie, you get this Tv all to yourself! Wanna see what's on?" Alfred suddenly spoke, turning on the tv the was installed into the wall.
"Yeah!" Arthur agreed excitedly. Alfred clicked through the channels until he got to the Disney channel, which was playing 101 Dalmations. Ivan got Arthur settled into the hospital bed, and soon Arthur became very intent with the movie. About ten minutes or so later, a man came into the room, dressed in scrubs and a face mask. He introduced himself and then began to check Arthur's temperature, heart rate, and breathing.
"We'll be ready to begin in fifteen minutes," He told them, before leaving the curtained area. Alfred's face whitened a little, and he gripped Ivan's hand tightly. When the time finally did come to start, a few nurses came to take Arthur into a separate room so they could administer the anesthesia.
"Good luck buddy! We love you!" Alfred said, kissing his youngest child on the forehead.
"You can have a big bowl of ice cream when you're done." Ivan added. Finally Arthur seemed to realize just what was happening. He began to panic as the nurses started to wheel him away.
"Noo! I want my father and daddy!" He demanded, attempting to climb out of the bed.
"How about they walk with us to the door? Would that be okay sweetie?" A nurse compromised.
"I want them all 'a time!" Arthur cried. "I don't want sur'urg'y!"
"Little one, we will be nearby the whole time, I promise." Ivan soothed him. "It will be over with as quick as you can say peanut-butter-jelly!"
"Peanut butter jelly..." Arthur whimpered.
"Artie, how about while you're asleep, I'll go find you a BIG bowl of chocolate ice cream? Do you want that?" Alfred finally spoke, though on the inside it was quite hard not to grab Arthur and make an escape from the hospital while they still could.
"...How big?" Arthur finally asked.
"So big that you won't even be able to finish it," Alfred responded. "How about that buddy?"
"O-okay," Arthur sniffled.
Ivan and Alfred walked down the hall with the nurses and Arthur. Once they reached a separate room, Arthur was set up on the table in which he would be receiving the operation on. Ivan and Alfred watched as a doctor placed a mask on Arthur's face, telling him to count to three. Before he could even finish his eyes closed, and he was out.
With that, Alfred and Ivan had to wait in the waiting room for the rest of the operation. A nurse would be out in about forty five minutes or so to inform them when they could see Arthur, which was when he was beginning to up from the anesthesia.
"...What if something's gone wrong?" Alfred blurted out suddenly.
"Sunflower, it's barely been ten minutes. Tell you what, why don't we go down the the cafeteria now and see about getting him some ice cream?" Ivan suggested softly, taking Alfred's hand into his own. In reality the Russian was just as scared as Alfred was, if not more.
"Okay. I could go for another coffee too," Alfred agreed, but his eyes were darting to the operating room door in panic. Ivan sensed one of Alfred's freak outs coming on, and he quickly grabbed his lover's arm and led him from the room.
They spent around fifteen minutes in the cafeteria. They both got large coffees, and purchased a large bowl of chocolate ice cream to bring back to Arthur once he was done. Matthew called, which actually did some good in calming Alfred down.
"Look Alfred, a gift shop!" Ivan pointed out. "Why don't we get Arthur a new toy?"
"Good idea!" The American agreed enthusiastically, running into the store. A few minutes later he came out with several stuffed animals, a puzzle, and a toy boat. When they made it back to the waiting room, a nurse was there to greet them.
"Everything went well with your son. He's in the recovery room waking up, so you can come see him now!" She told them cheerfully.
"Thank god!" Alfred breathed, but then clutched the nurse's sleeve in panic. "Are you sure nothing went wrong? He still has all his important organs right? How much blood has he lost? Please don't tell me they took out the wrong thing!"
"Um, sir...could you please remove your grip from my arm? It's hurting.." The nurse requested, obviously creeped out. Ivan pried Alfred from her arm and smiled at her.
"Thank you very much. Could you please take us to Arthur now?" He asked.
Arthur was laying safe and sound in his hospital bed, looking around groggily and rubbing at his eyes. Another nurse had just taken out the iv that had been in his hand with no trouble. Alfred thrust the bowl of ice cream and bags of toys into Ivan's arms before scrambling over to his boy.
"Hi Artie buddy. How are you feeling baby?" He asked urgently but in a hushed tone, brushing back Arthur's soft blonde bangs.
"Mmmm," Arthur made a small noise in his throat, green eyes watering up as he winced.
"We have ice cream for you Arthur. Extra chocolate," Ivan said, holding a spoonful out. "It will make your throat not hurt as much."
Ivan spoon-fed Arthur the ice cream while Alfred showed him his new toys and told him how brave he was. Arthur was still tired, and also very docile. The doctor had warned that the after affects of anesthesia could make him very emotional, angry, or frustrated. Thankfully that did not happen.
The couple stayed with their youngest, who had dozed off after he'd finished half his ice cream, while nurses came in and out of the room. Once they had gone over the recovery treatment, Arthur's condition was deemed satisfactory and they were allowed to take him home.
Alfred roused him from his sleep in order to change him back to his regular pajamas. Arthur was a little grumpy about being woken back up, but he was quieted when Ivan gave him a Popsicle to keep his hurting throat at bay until they were home.
"Bye-bye sweetie. Feel better soon!" The nurses cooed as Alfred carried Arthur down the hospital halls. Ivan had gone ahead of them to drive the car up to the doors since it was raining out. The child waved back to the nurses and rested his head against his daddy's shoulder.
Alfred buckled Arthur into his booster seat and decided to sit in the backseat next to him rather than being in the front. He sighed in relief that all of this was over, and rested his hand on Arthur's head. Ivan reached back and held Alfred's hand while he drove.
"I'm very glad that you acted so calm," Ivan said, giving his hand a squeeze.
"That's just because I had you." Alfred smiled back. He caught Ivan's lustful gaze and snickered. "But we're not having sex tonight. I want to keel Arthur in our room until I know he's to in pain."
"I understand," Ivan nodded. "And I love you."
"I love you too."
The next few weeks would probably be full of tears and messy ice cream, but they would get through it.
Their family was one of the best, after all.
a/n: I actually had this surgery done to me when I was around ten. Unfortunately the anesthesia made me angry when I woke up...let's not go there. I'm sure some of you have had this done as well, since it's quite common.
I'll try to get some more updates in, but summer is just so busy! I hope this will satisfy you guys for now! I promise to get some more updates soon! Don't worry, I'm just still going through my lazy stage!
Bye for now!
Leave a REVIEW if you have the time! *puppy eyes*