A tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy, laryngoscopy and nasal turbinate reduction; four surgical procedures in one. We left home at 6:15, on the morning of December 21, headed to the hospital for check in. Miss Ma'am didn't complain much about not being able to have something to eat or drink and, as would be expected, fell asleep on the journey north.
We arrived at the hospital outpatient center at about 7:20 and were taken back to pre-op by 7:30. It was at this point, she began to get a little anxious. In fact, terrified would better describe her state of mind.
All dressed out in her "fishes" gown, the nurse came in to take vitals, turned up the volume on Disney Channel that was playing in the room and gave her some stickers. Miss Ma'am settled a little bit until the anesthesiologist showed up and she looked like a dear facing the head lights of a car head on. He asked JD & I if it would be okay to give her a little something to drink (meaning a liquid sedative) and I pleadingly replied with, "yes."
It was almost breaking my heart to see her like she was. It didn't take long for the pre-medication to kick in and she was all smiles and comfy/cozy in her little chair and nearly out cold by the time they took her back to the operating room at 8:00 a.m. Dr. S came in to check on her prior to the procedure & the nurse actually picked her up and carried her to the operating room.
I hadn't taken my camera with me, not anticipating even taking photos; so when she asked where my camera was, I whipped out the cell phone and did the best I could. (I guess she's gotten so used to her momma having a serious picture taking problem, she expected that I would naturally have it with me.)
JD & I headed down to the cafeteria for a little breakfast, of which I wasn't able to eat very much. Admittedly, my nerves were in a pretty big bundle and I really just wanted to get back up to the surgical floor.
The surgery went well without complications and JD & I were called back to the recovery room at approximately 9:15 where Miss Ma'am was alert long enough to see both of us and then went right back out. JD went down to the gift shop in search of a stuffed bunny for her but was unable to find one, so he picked her a sea turtle instead. Once he returned to the recovery room, we were able to rouse her long enough for her to take the turtle, snuggle it under her chin and out she went again. We were in the recovery room for what seemed to be the longest hour and a half of my life.
(This photo was taken a couple days after surgery.)
Once she was able to drink 4 ounces of water without problems, we got her dressed in her Tinker Bell thermal jammies, matching Tink snuggie and her blue slippers; and were discharged to go home.
Before we left the parking lot, she was on the phone with her grandmother, talking normally like she hadn't even had surgery at all but it didn't take but about 5 minutes after we really got on the road home for her to conk out on us yet again.
and the sea turtle tucked under her arm.
when she nearly fell completely out of the seat.
Upon arriving home, she woke up while JD carried her into the house and attempted to put her to bed but she wasn't having any of THAT! To the couch she went, turned on the television and asked for something to eat. She was feeling NO PAIN. Feeling she probably need something a little more sustaining than jello, I made her some thin creamed potatoes and she was quite happy. Once finished, I got her settled on the couch and headed to my room to change into something a little more comfy for myself. Upon my return to the living room, I found her sitting there eating Pez Candy!!!!!!
Poor baby just couldn't understand why she had to be on a soft diet if it didn't hurt going down. I thought I had explained it to her well enough but when I left and came back again, she was sitting there eating some mint fudge. Bless her heart! She said, "...but it's soft," and almost came to tears when I told her that she might hurt her throat even though she wasn't able to feel anything just now. The remainder of the day was filled with a lot of rest but she never did go back to sleep until late evening when I gave her the post-op medications that would hopefully keep her out of pain.
antibiotic and a little water.
(As was expected, this stuff was "nasty," in her own words.)
She slept quite well through the night and had an awesome following day. She wasn't in any pain, so I refrained from giving her the medications (except the antibiotic) as the instructions were "every four hours - as needed for pain." Apparently, that was a mistake on my part. By late evening on the 22nd, my baby was in some severe pain. I decided at this point that she would get the medicine every four hours whether she was in pain or not in an effort to keep her from being in pain. We continued this regimen for 48 hours before we tried, yet again, to not give her anything at all.
It's been an exhausting couple of days but all is looking well so far and with Christmas just on the horizon, anticipation is on the rise.
This is USS Retired signing off ...
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