Adenoidectomy & Partial Tonsillectomy

Well yesterday May 9th was the big day. We got up at 5:30am and got together a few toys, got dressed and grabbed a couple bottles of water. Woke Kaitlyn up at 6am (not on purpose) and got her changed and ready to go. We left at 6:30am and headed to the hospital... though not without stopping at Dunkin Donuts for some coffee first!

We got to North Shore Hospital in Syosset at 7am and got Kaitlyn all registered. I do have to say that the registration process was amazingly fast and NOTHING like it used to be when going to the hospital. It took all of about 10 minutes at most to get all the paperwork signed and information verified. After registration we were escorted up to the Surgical suite and we got settled in Pre-Op with our Nurse Bridget. This is where they got all of Kaitlyn's vitals and told us what all would be happening and got K into her hospital gown and mommy into her protective wear, since I was the one going into the OR with her. I gotta say she was so adorable with that hat on!! Kaitlyn's surgery was scheduled at 8am and we ended up being in Pre-Op until a little after 8 and then Kaitlyn and I were taken into the OR where they put the mask on her and I had to watch and try to calm her as she was put to sleep. I have to say, as a mother, this was absolutely the hardest thing I have ever seen or had to endure. I held K as long as possible but I had to eventually put her down on the operating table and she started to scream and kick and cry. I mean, I know it was so scary and overwhelming for her to have 5 people there holding her down and shoving a big plastic mask in her face. It was horrible watching her fighting and screaming as they tried to get her to sleep but finally she went off. It's not like when you are an adult and you close your eyes and go to sleep. She looked so weird and her eyes were still open but she was sedated. The even harder part was turning around and walking away so that they could do the surgery. Leaving her there laying limp on the table hurt me so much inside. I trusted them and her Dr. He is so wonderful and told us everything that would happen and was very helpful in keeping us calm. Not that Jon and I aren't calm about all this stuff but it was nice for him to be so reassuring!

So after I left the room and Kaitlyn was sedated that is when they put in her IV and all of that so she never knew that was happening. I'm so glad they did it that way because the time we had her in the hospital for the dehydration and holding her down to get the IV in was hard too! I'm glad we didnt have to go through that!

The surgery really didnt take that long and the Dr came to get us at about 9:10 or so and she went in and they started the surgery at about 8:25am. So rather quick if you ask me! I'm glad we didnt have to sit there for hours waiting and waiting to hear how things were going. Her Dr said everything went very well and this surgery will definitely help her breathe better and everything. He said, "her adenoids were very enlarged." In the office he said they were enlarged but he said after taking them out they were very big and it was no wonder she seemingly had a chronic stuffy nose.

Here is another hard part! When they came to get us after surgery and they were waking Kaitlyn up from the anesthetic she was screaming and twisting and turning and just very out of it. It was hard seeing her that way and her not really being awake or understanding what was going on. She was so hoarse and her little cry sounded so weak. Thats just Kaitlyn though, she doesnt cry very loud and scream like some kids. We also had to keep this "wet air" blowing in her face so she didnt get dried out and start hurting in her nose and throat more and she kept batting at it because she didnt want it in her face. After about 5 or 10 minutes she started to wake up a bit more though and wanted me to pick her up so I did and she calmed down a bit and went in and out of sleep while laying on me as I sat in the rocking chair.
After a good hour and a half she came out of the anesthetic more and was still crabby, whiney and you could tell she was hurting but she got more alert and we turned on the tv and some cartoons for her. We kept trying to get her to drink some water, juice or anything and she only wanted to hold her cup and not drink. Eventually I got her to eat some ice chips though so that was good. She didnt even want to eat any of the Cherry Italian Ice they gave her! Though, I dont blame her one bit! So she watched about a show and a half on tv (Dragon Tails & Bob the Builder) and then wanted me to hold her again and she fell asleep on my lap in the rocking chair again. It was about Noon then and we still had another hour to go until we could be discharged. So we hung out there with her sleeping and boy, did I want to go to sleep too! Then at 1pm they took out her IV and the annoying Pulse Ox monitor off her toe (she kept begging for it to come off the whole 4 hours in recovery!) and we got her dressed and headed to pick up her prescriptions and come home. The Dr has her on Amoxicillin for 10 days to prevent any infections and he gave her Tyelnol with Codeine for pain. She has a post op follow up appointment on May 21st to see how she is doing and I know she is going to be just fine and dandy.

When we got home yesterday she slept off and on and she was very whiney and crabby and just wanted to cuddle with mommy a lot but she was doing very well.

She is doing very well today too... a little crabby and whiney still but drinking good (even asked for a drink) and had a few bites of fruit this morning too. She's walking around and playing but she gets frustrated easily but I know that just because she doesnt feel completely well.

Grandma Debbie in Michigan sent Kaitlyn a beautiful Get Well gift also so when we got home K had a delivery! She got a great little Bear and a Get Well Balloon and she also got a vase with three very pretty white roses in it. She really liked getting her present and even took a nap with her new bear!All in all the day was great and the hospital was great too. We had a very pleasant experience through it all and I'm happy about that. Now we just wait out the healing period and watch for Bright red blood or anything. I'm sure everything will be just fine since she is already doing so well today!!