Monday, September 5, 2011

Georgetown, Here We Come!

This is part of a series.  You can find parts 1 & 2 on this blog.

Georgetown, Here We Come!

No I did not say that because I’m on my way to go shopping or check out the nightlife, though it was still dark out as we arrived into Georgetown. I’m saying that because Georgetown University Hospital is where we went to have DD’s tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy, and tubes placed in her ears. Yeah, that is a mouthful, quite literally! The last time I remember being up at 3:30 in the morning I was not getting up off the pillow, I was laying my head down on the pillow. Sadly, I was not just coming in the door from being in Georgetown; my being up late did however involve my DD and a feeding. But, here we were three years later and heading to something life changing for her. 

We got to the hospital and DD was wonderful, she hardly minded the extended wait we had in the waiting area before going back to the pre-surgery area. I tried to remain strong and remind myself not to cry, inside my head I kept saying, “Don’t cry Traci, and don’t let her see you cry!” Yeah, that didn’t work. The Anesthesiologist came in to explain once again what would happen in the OR when we got in there and even though I had read about it and heard it all before (from the nurse and friends whose children went through the same procedure), I still choked up and out came the tears. The time finally came for them to wheel her down to the OR and she started to cry. In the back of my head I knew this was a good thing since it would help get the gas into her quicker if her lungs were open but, it still hurt to see her so scared. 

Ana's well-attended surgery
Photo Credit: ReSurge International
We rolled into the OR and I helped them get her situated and told her to just close her eyes and go to sleep. I told her I loved her and that she was going to have sweet dreams and I couldn’t wait to hear about them. It took about a minute and a half and she was fully asleep. Her ENT walked me back to the pediatric pre-surgery area and asked if I had any more questions. At that point even if I did I don’t think I could really think straight enough to vocalize them. I went back into her room and the wait began for us. We were told the surgery would take about an hour and a half, and it did, at exactly an hour and a half later her doctor was back in her room telling us she was in recovery and we would be able to go back and see her shortly. 

Banana & Mango Smoothie Popsicle
Photo Credit: babe_kl
We were informed by her ENT that her tonsils were big, her adenoids were HUGE, and there was A LOOOOOOOT of fluid in her ears; so much that we were given ear drops to ward off infection. Before he even finished going over the surgery with us and her recovery process at home, they were calling from recovery for me to go and be with her. Her nurse walked me back to her in recovery and she saw me and started crying. The last time I heard her cough like that was when she had bronchitis. Lucky for us she loved the popsicles and apple juice and keeping her throat moist helped to keep that cough at bay. We were told the more she had of the two the quicker she would go home, luckily she understood that and before we knew it, we were on our way back home. 

How is she doing so far?  VERY WELL!!! It has been a week and a few days and we can already tell she is hearing things she may have never heard completely before. She is covering her ears at high pitched sounds, and you can understand more of what she is saying (fewer mumbled conversations). BUT, the big thing to check is the low tones and how she is hearing them. Time will only tell right now and we have an appointment coming up soon. Once I know more, I promise to share! 


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