the next step

Yesterday we got the news we sort of expected. The ENT said that he still has fluid in his middle ear and explained the whole cycle to me.
His tonsils are so enlarged that it puts pressure on his Eustachian tubes (middle ear) which causes fluid to back up in the ear which causes the hearing loss which causes the speech problem. His adenoids are enlarged and he therefore has sleep apnea. His adenoids are also most likely the problem he has with eating, or lack of. So he would benefit from having both the tonsils and adenoids out and tubes put in his ears. His audiology appointment showed that he still has flat tymps (fluid in the middle ear) and his hearing loss was around 45 decibels. So basically put your fingers in your ears and that is what he has been hearing this whole time! It's like he has been underwater since last June. The good news is, there is no permanent damage and his hearing nerve (?) is active.
Our ENT does surgery every Monday and the youngest patients go first. Parker is scheduled for this Monday @ 11:30 am for all three procedures. We need to be in Duluth at 10:30 am. He can't have anything to eat after midnight Sunday night but can have water and clear juices like apple right up until surgery. The whole procedure takes 30 minutes. Bear and I are taking Parker down early Monday morning. We will stay overnight Monday night since he most likely won't feel up to traveling. We should be home Tuesday by lunch. For the first week he can have soft foods. So I am going to stock up on ice cream, Yo-J, juice, Gatorade, pudding and yogurt. Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated...he will not eat jello. Also I have no idea if he will be able to talk right away or not??

So please say extra prayers for our little guy. We know it is very routine but it is still scary. He is going to wake up a whole new kid! He has never known anything different and thinks this is they way he should be hearing and feeling...which is all in itself so incredibly sad and happy at the same moment.