Thanks to some VERY VERY loud snoring [like old obese man type snoring that disrupted the sleep of the remaining 4/5 of our household most nights], our sweet Scarlett girl earned herself a referral to an ENT in March...
...which revealed a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea...
...which landed her a spot on the doc's surgery schedule for tonsil and adenoidectomy in May! We learned so much over those short months about obstructive sleep apnea in children and learning and behavior-related issues associated with lack of normal sleep thanks to v. v. large tonsils -- even decreased I.Q. in children with untreated sleep apnea! So! To the O.R. it was!
I only cry/sobbed for about 10 minutes after she walked back to the O.R. in her little puppy hospital gown, hand in hand with the RN and CRNA; wahhhh! There's something about being a nurse AND a mom that allows you to be stronger and tougher in some situations but so much more vulnerable and nervous in other situations..... Sometimes I'd just rather NOT KNOW so many details of the way medical treatments and things go down, ya know?! But about 45 minutes after the surgery began, we were called to the PACU area and happy to see she was alive and well! She wasn't in any mood for photos as she didn't wake up from anesthesia in much of a chipper mood, but I snapped this one behind her back as she got to pick a toy from the nurses' treasure box...
...and then this one as we snuggled in the back seat of the van on the way home!
Arabella knew immediately that something was "off" and rarely left Scarlett's side [or, the floor by wherever Scarlett was sleeping] for the next several days!
By POD #3, our strong girl was coloring, FaceTiming anyone who would answer, watering all the house plants with her empty med syringes, entertaining visitors, and running circles around her primary caregiver [ME]! Surgery can't keep a determined girl down!
Finally after dinner, she took a little break!
POD #4 and #5 were completely uneventful; I often found myself wondering if she'd really just had surgery or if the ENT lied to us and in fact didn't take anything out at all? LOL. We painted "thank you" papers for the school staff and delivered them to the office on the last day of school [for the big school]!
Scarlett continued accepting treats from classmates and her sweet cousins ^^. Thank you so much to all who remembered her; I am truly touched by your thoughtfulness, and I know she loved seeing a few familiar faces while she was supposed to be home and laying low!!!
By POD #6, there was a noticeable setback in the recovery as she had lots of ear pain. Apparently this is a very normal part of recovery and the timeline seemed to follow suit with what the PACU nurse had warned us about. The recommendation was to hold a warm towel over both ears; however, after having our dryer constantly running to keep a towel warm, we decided to whip up some heated rice packs. Scarlett was so attached to these a) because she sewed them herself, and b) because they really really helped the ear pain!
She used the rice packs frequently on POD #6 and #7 ...
...and by POD #9 when I thought to look at her throat, the scabs were completely gone and she was feeling SO much better! We continued the STRICT soft diet x 2 weeks as the doctor instructed, and then started eating everything crunchy in sight! [Although, I have a feeling someone will be petitioning hard to keep the "ice cream for every meal" portion of the diet going strong!]
SO PROUD of this strong, brave girl for handling surgery and recovery like a champ! She is also pretty proud of herself for being inducted into the tonsil-free club with her momma; we're the only ones in the house in this very cool club!
Cheers to sounder sleeping, quieter nighttimes, and maybe even a higher I.Q.!!! ;) :)
