Since the first of the year Audrey has been almost constantly sick. We would take her to the doctor, she would get medicine and a couple of weeks later we were back at the doctors office. Around the end of June, the beginning of July even the medicine the doctor gave her wouldn't work, and the strong stuff only lasted until she was done taking it and then she would be sick again. Along with the fact that she has never really slept to soundly, she always has snored pretty loud, which they think was because of her tonsils and anoids. So the doctor and I decided it was time to get her tonsils out. She has always had very large tonsils, I remember seeing them when she was a baby, and they scared me to death they were so big, I thought there was something wrong, but when I asked the doctor about them he just said some people have really large tonsils, and someday she might have to get them out. Well that day was Friday, August 12- 10 days before school started. It wasn't ideal, but that was the soonest we could get fitted in. Audrey wasn't so thrilled. She knew what was coming when I took her to the doctor in July, "There just gonna say I have to get my tonsils taken out. And they are just gonna get a knife and cut my throat open and I'm gonna die." I think were her exact words. It kinda made me laugh. Adam just kept telling her that when she goes back to school she will be able to walk in and say "Hey everybody! I'm tonsil free!" She thought that was a little bit funny. As the day's got closer and closer she got more and more nervous, and asking a lot of questions. Some I couldn't answer. She wanted to know how exactly they got them out, which I wasn't sure, and I was pretty sure we didn't want to know, at least until AFTER her surgery. She also wanted to know why we even have tonsils if we just have to get them taken out?-Something we asked the doctor about before surgery, more on that later. The Tuesday before IHC does something called the Pre-Op Hop. They take the kids having surgery done and take them for a tour of the surgical center. So that Tuesday we headed up to Provo to take the tour, we dropped Whitney and Zack off at grandma Lorie's. We were the only ones their that night, so Audrey got all of the attention. The lady that did it was wonderful. She was so good with Audrey. She gave her a doll to color (just like the one she got for her knee when she was younger) and went through and showed her the wristbands they were going to put on us, the hats, masks and uniforms every one was going to be wearing, the different monitors and machines they were going to use and put on her and she even got to use some of them on a little doll they had their. She then took us back to show us the different rooms she would be in. Where she would be when she first got there, where she would go right after her surgery, how she would come back to her first room when she was all woke up, and we got to look down the hall at where the surgery rooms were, we couldn't go in them because we weren't in sterile clothes. I thought it was wonderful. And it helped calm a bunch of Audrey's fears.
The morning of the 12th we had to be at the surgical center and 7:00. So it was an early morning at our house. Audrey looks really happy and excited in this picture, but she wasn't. But she was being very, VERY brave.
All ready to go!
Before we dropped Whitney and Zack of at Grandma Lorie's again, we stopped at Grandpa Kaze's to get a blessing for Audrey. She asked her daddy to give her one.
When we got to the SC Audrey was still being so brave, she walked in and we got all checked in and got up to the waiting room, with no troubles at all. She even did great when the nurse came out to get us. She gladly walked back with her. But then things changed. They put us in a curtained room next to a brother and sister getting theirs out, and the little girl was screaming and crying, and that's when Audrey started to get scared. The nurse showed us her clothes to put on and left and then Audrey looked up at me and said "I'm scared" and bursted into tears. I wanted to take her in my arms and run out of that place so fast, it broke my heart. She didn't cry loud, just silent tears, it was heartbreaking. We got her gown on, and she wouldn't get in the bed, she went over and got straight in Adams arms with Hippie, and hid her head and cried.
When the nurse came back she let her stay in Adam's arms while she got the monitors on her and set for surgery. Luckily the doctor had said that all the pediatrics that day could have a seductive 20 minutes before surgery. (I think the little girl next door gave everybody that idea, thank goodness) The nurse came to bring it to her, and by the look on Audrey's face I could tell it tasted awful. It was a blessing though, Adam said he could tell right when it kicked in. He said she took a big breath, lifted her head up started looking around and tried to get up and walk around. But she wasn't allowed to, that stuff is pretty potent, and they don't have very good control after taking it. Then she started to make us laugh. She started to say the funniest and most out of it comments. She got up on the bed and stared at the TV like it was the weirdest thing she has ever seen, it was hilarious. I had to snap her attention away from it. And then she just continued to just act like she was floating on a bubble. The nurse warned us of all of this, but it was just to funny, and I was a little relieved that she wasn't scared any more. The nurse also said she probably wouldn't remember any of this. The doctor came in and we finally got to ask him Audrey's question, because I was sure she would ask about it later,(which she did the next day) he said they think tonsils have some thing to do with helping our immune system when we are infants. So now ya know. Any way they came back to get her and said the surgery should only last about 20 minutes, and then took her while she was smiling off in la-la land.
I think they should have gave the mothers something too, because I was a nervous wreck. I mean it wasn't like the first time I have waited for this little girl to come out of surgery, and I have to admit this time was a little less frightening, but still, I don't like to have my kids away from me where I cant see them and don't know whats going on. Adam sent me downstairs to get Audrey's present out of the car that I had gotten her, and to get a drink from the lobby, but it didn't help much. I'm glad I went there with my finger nails painted, it gave me some thing to do (well for 15 minutes at least, but by the time she came back, not one scratch of nail polish was left on) Adam kept telling me to relax, and take a big breath, but 15 minutes turned into 25 minutes, and then 35 minutes and then when it had been over an HOUR I made Adam go and find out where in the world my little girl was, or I was going to snap. Shortly after that they wheeled in a smiling Audrey, with a purple mouth, she was busy eating a Popsicle. She was still a little crazy from the medicine though, she just looked around with a dazed look on her face, and smiled when she looked at you. She did hold up her Popsicle when I asked how her throat looked, and said "Fine, the Popsicle helps it fill lotttttts better!" It cracked me up. Then all of a sudden she got a look in her eye, and she said look, and opened her mouth really wide, we looked down it, and she said see all the white, that is where they burned me so it would stop bleeding! With a big smile,:). It was hysterical. I'm not so sure she really understood that yet. It just looked really really sore to me.
When the doctor came in he said everything went well, that she had had tonsil stones which he usually doesn't see until their teenagers, so it was good we got them out. She loved her present which was one of the brand new Littlest Pet Shop Dolls, she was so excited.
We had to wait a while to leave, because Audrey started to feel a little sick to her tummy, and she needed more pain meds, but we finally got her ready to go. Isn't she adorable?!
All ready to go!
They put her IV in her foot, they tried both of her hands, we know, because they were both REALLY bruised up, in fact one of her hands hurt for days afterwards, when her foot only hurt when they took it out.
She even got to sleep in Daddy's side of the bed for 4 nights too, while Daddy slept on her mattress next to my side of the bed, but then she gave daddy back his bed and slept next to my bed for a few more day's.
Whitney and Zack liked to hang out on the couch with her too!
She got some new coloring books to color, and some notebooks. And she liked Whitney playing Littlest Pet Shop in the family room so she could watch.
Whitney liked playing with her surgical cap.
Audrey made her take it off, because her hair was going to "bust right through it!" :)
The day before Audrey's surgery I made Hippie a surgical gown, cap and a mask, she was allowed to bring in one stuffed animal into surgery with her, and of course she picked Hippie. I thought it was adorable, Audrey thought it was awesome! The nursed thought it was pretty cute too.
I couldn't not do something for Whitney's Maisey either, so I sewed her up a pair of pajama's, Pretty cute huh?
At her two week check up, she was a little slow at healing, so she had to keep it slow for a few more day's, but the doctor said she was going to be great! I'm just excited about not having a sick little girl any more. (fingers crossed)
BTW- Audrey didn't go into class and announce she was tonsil free, she said she didn't want everybody looking at her like she was crazy, but Whitney said she would of done it cause it would have been so funny!
No comments:
Post a Comment