Our little Patient

Last Monday morning, David, Hannah and I got up bright and early to head to the ENT (ear, nose & throat) surgery center. We had to be there by 6:30 am and Hannah was scheduled to have her tonsils and adenoids out at 7:30. We had a bunch of paperwork we had to fill out and sign, then the nurse took us back to the pre-op room to get Hannah changed. The Thursday before, I had to take her for her pre-op appointment and she got a tour of the facility and saw they had a bear dressed in the kind of gown and cap that she would wear. So she was prepared for that. The gown was actually a shirt and pants, but when I got her changed into them, she seemed like she liked them, and wanted to put the cap and slippers on right away too, even though she could have waited. She also had her new Build-a-bear Cassie, which she got in California and is her favorite. The night before my mom and dad came by and brought Cassie a cute little nightgown my mom had made for her to wear on the day of Hannah's surgery too. Hannah LOVED it and was so excited Cassie also had a nightgown. :) (Thanks Mom!) I sat in the chair holding Hannah and Cassie while the nurse took her temp and some other vitals, and then the anethesiologist (sp?) came and told Hannah about the little mask she would wear on her face and use it to blow up a balloon for him - which is what they use to put the kids to sleep, and it happens after just a few puffs. She got to chose the color of balloon she wanted, which happened to be pink. After he was done talking to her, the nurse came and they both said it was time to go and took her away...didn't even give us much of a chance to say we'd see her in a while, but maybe that's to keep kids from getting to clingy to their parents.

About 40 min later, Dr. Skarada came and told us he had finished and everything went well. Then they had us go back to the waiting room again to wait for her to come out of her second stage of recovery. I guess they always put them back to sleep for a little longer after they wake up the first time. It was about another 20-30 min and they came and got us again to go see her. My heart just broke seeing her, because she was crying and upset, probably wondering why she was hurting so bad, and had a IV hooked in her hand (although they cover it with a sock so they can't see it in their hand). I remember how disoriented I felt after my gallbladder surgery - I can't imagine how a little kid feels. She wanted SO badly to get that sock off of her hand and demanded "I WANT TO GO HOME!" Unfortunately she couldn't go until the IV drip had finished and she had taken a few sips of water, which was a challenge to get her to do. But finally she did and we were on our way out by 9:45, and home by 10:30, after picking up a couple movies for her and her prescription.

This last week has definitely been a challenge with her going through this. Its like we have a newborn again at night, with her waking up at least 4 times, maybe more, crying because it hurts. During the day she is ok, but can get clingy and whiney, but when she is on her medicine, she is actually a lot better. We're praying she heals soon so our life and sleep schedules can get back to normal! Here are some pics we took before and after the surgery.

Ready to go with her bear Cassie

Waiting for the nurse to get all the pre-op stuff done... Getting her ID/allergies bracelets on, which by the way, she

refused to let us take of for about 3 days...apparently she liked them. :) After surgery..."Daddy, please just make it all better!"
She DID NOT like having that thing wheeled along with her! She crashed in the car as soon as we got in...notice her little "puke bowl" on her lap...just in case.