My 14 is having his surgery on Monday.
I feel like a mom bringing home a new baby. I was wondering if you all might have some suggestions to help with healing like maybe a certain pillow. What things have you found work?
Also any ideas to take his mind off things? I know movies and the iPad but I don’t know what else.
Would it be a good idea to put a recliner in my bedroom so he can sleep in there?
Would you suggest he sleep in my room so I can keep a better eye on him?
I feel so unprepared. Thank you for always being supportive and helping with advise 
I agree with everything Beeba said.
Also, when I got home from my surgeries I really appreciated having a hand held shower head and a plastic step stool to sit on in the shower. I felt so gross but didn't have the stamina for a real shower in the beginning. Having a stool to sit on allowed me to wash up without someone else doing it for me. A teenage boy would probably appreciate that too :)
All the best to your son, and don't forget to take care of yourself as much as you can during this process too.
-Donna
The shower stool is a good idea…the falling water causes a lot of dizziness. I will be sending positive thoughts for all of you this Monday. I think he’s going to do great. Please check in with us so we know how he is.
Thank you for all the helpful tips. Things I hadn’t thought of. I got to go shopping now. never would of thought of the falling water making him dizzy. Thanks and I am getting my stool ready for the shower. Great idea. I was worried about the car ride. Hopefully we get to come home when it isn’t rush hour. I will keep a can in suburban. I will try to keep everyone posted. I love learning so much from everyone. I’m a little worried about pain meds when he had his tonsils out the strong meds made him so sick we hated morphine.
You are such a great mom- you will do all the right things. Btw- I know it’s different for everyone- but I had my tonsils out at 8 yrs old and that was so much more painful then the decompression. Think positive, this surgery changes a lot of lives.
Jenn
Kirby, If your son had problems with morphine in the past, make sure your doctors know that! I am the same way and I was sent home with 2 different types of anti-nausea meds that I could use concurrently. Also make sure to have a really frank discussion with your docs about laxatives. It is waaay easier to keep up with the constipation caused by the narcotics than trying to make up for it later - and he won't want to be straining at all after surgery.
Not the most elegant topic, but very important :)
Donna
My son 15yr old son had surgery on Jan 17th. He spent 5days in the hospital and we had to drive home 45min. He was fine. He missed his bed and slept in there. I put a monitor in his room in case he need it I could hear him. He never had pain in his head or incision. We changed his bandaged every few days to keep in clean. They used glue on the outside and you can barely tell he has an incision. His hair has already grown out. The only weird thing he had on day 2 at home was extreme pain in his legs and tailbone. We sprayed some cvs icy hot and it helped right away but he had to use it a few days. He was back at school ( he is a freshman in high school) by the Feb 10 and is doing fantastic. I have to say I was surprised. He had a tonsilictomy, sinus, and deviated septum this past July and the recovery was far worst. It took weeks for him to feel better. One thing since the dr said he didn’t want him to wet his incision for 2 weeks the hospital gave him a leave in rinse for his hair. I washed his hair for him with it and stayed away from the incision. You might want to ask for some and some bandages to change out yourself. Sending prayers for your son and you cause it’s stressful while they are in surgery.
I just saw your post about the morphine. Yes speak up about it cause my son was given a dose of morphine after surgery and apparently his body wasn’t metabolizing it and while in ICU his blood pressure and heart rate dropped drastically. They did an EKG and had to give his a drug to reverse the morphine( I think it was called Narcan. They had to do 2 doses of it but after that he was fine. Just make sure you voice your concern since you are aware of his sensitivity to it.
Lots of popsicles. Your mouth gets dry from the meds and they really help. I basically lived on soup and popsicles for a couple of weeks.
A recliner is soooooo helpful. It is really hard to get comfortable in bed. As for pillows - there doesn't seem to be a good one. Somebody on here said they sewed a seam right in the middle section of a pillow so that the incision could rest there without pressure. I didn't do that, but wish that I did.
Stool softners and/or laxatives, and lots of them. You are not supposed to bear down at all, because you can disrupt the healing of the duraplasty. You will need to find a combination that works for your son.
Clean the incision twice a day with alcohol and a cotton swab. I was allowed to wash my hair with Johnson's baby shampoo after about 4 days, but your NS may have different instructions. Also, stay close when he is in the shower. You do tend to get dizzy in there for the first couple of weeks.
Best of luck, think positively - it really helps.
Debbie :)
God bless you and your son. I am 1 month post op and feeling well. Some things I have found very helpful: 3 pillows for the ride home, soft u-shaped squishy travel pillow I used upside down, soft ice packs, long handled grabber (we are not supposed to bend over or stretch up high), colace and miralax - I needed both but just the colace may be enough for a younger person, elevated head of bed by putting boards under it. I arranged pillows in a nest to give lots of support but no pressure on the back of the head. It was so good for me to have my husband and adult children be so supportive. Your son will have you and what could be better than that! Blessings to you. Hope
He will do great! I had surgery 3 weeks ago and I can’t believe how good I feel. I am actually bored just sitting around all day.
I slept with lots of pillows those first weeks. Really squishy ones were the best! Stay in schedule with the pain meds. I never missed a dose and the post op pains were minimal. He will want to sleep a lot. I don’t even remember watching tv in the hospital that first week. I think I slept most of the time. Have some crackers on hand…I got sick a few times which is a very scary thing to have happen, but it really is ok.
Good luck Monday! Sending prayers for a successful surgery and speedy recovery.
Thank you all for all the support. I am packing today and running to the store. With all my great advise in hand.
It is great to hear how everyone is doing. I know everyone has different experiences. I am prepared for good and bad experiences through this whole thing. Praying for mainly good. It is amazing how many people have had their tonsils out. I have to say that I wasn't prepared for how bad he would feel after that surgery. That was awful, I was a little freaked out at how long he felt bad.
All of you have just been wonderful, thank you for sharing your story's with me. We had dinner the other night with a lady I met on this forum. It was a blessing! It was so neat to see her and my son sit and talk about symptoms. They just understood each other. In a way I can't understand. She was so encouraging to him about the surgery and recovery. This group of people is a real blessing in so many ways.
I will try to update you when I get a chance.
Thinking about you guys today. Sending prayers
I am half awake but wanted to share that we got through the surgery. It was about 5 hours. The decompression was a success, NS said that when he cut the Dura the brain was right there almost bulging, there was no room.
He got to his room around 4. He is in a lot of pain as to be expected. I am writing down when meds are given so I can keep up on them. He is sleeping but will wake when talked to. Hopefully tomorrow he will start to feel a little better.
If anyone cares to know pressure numbers. His pressure was 35-37 and now is a 7. Thank you for all the support and advise will update as able to.
I'm so glad to hear that things went well and your son is on the mend! :)