I apologize that it has taken me so long to provide an update, but I have been busy keeping Lily and Allie happy. Tough thing to do when Lily is sick! Anyway here is the update....
Things started off bad on Wednesday. Russ had set the alarm for 5:00 so that we would have plenty of time to get ready and be at the hospital by 6:15. I woke up to Allie wanting to eat. I asked Russ what time it was. He looked and then jumped out of bed. It was 5:35! We had to be ready to get in the by 5:50! Yikes! Somehow we manged to get everyone ready and in the car by 5:53.
We got to the hospital and couldn't figure out where we needed to go. So we went through the Emergency room. They were kind enough to tell us how to get to check in. By the time we wound our way through the hospital we got there at 6:14. We were early! Wahoo!
After check in we were sent up to surgery prep. First off they took her blood pressure, her weight and height. While doing this a nurse came in and let Lily choose a stuffed animal. An organization at the hospitals gives all kids who have to go to the hospital a little teddy bear. Lily chose yellow. Not really sure why, but she did!
They gave Lily the cutest little pajamas to change into. The top was yellow and the bottom was blue. They were like little flannel scrubs. At this point in time I remembered that I left the camera at home! Darn it! While they asked me a million questions they let Lily watch cartoons to keep her relaxed. We talked briefly with the anesthesiologist so he could explain the type of medicine she would get, and so we could sign the consent form. The nurse then gave me the syringe that would help relax her and said, "I am warning you that she may spit this back out at you. The kids HATE the taste." In my mind I was wondering why I had to do the dirty deed. Lily took the medicine really well. She was to busy watching cartoons! Hahaha! The nurse commented that she had NEVER seen any kid take it that well.
We waited for about ten minutes before a different nurse came in and strapped a "seat belt" on Lily. The also put the railings up. Russ and Allie went to a room in the day surgery area while I went with Lily to the surgery waiting area. By the time we got to the waiting area the medicine was taking hold of Lily. She kept trying to climb out of the bed. Thank goodness for that seat belt and the railings! She also kept asking where Daddy was even though I had told her where he was. A nice nurse named Hannah came and took Lily's vitals and talked to her for a few minutes and then left. Lily said bye to her. A few minutes later Lily looked to where Hannah had been standing and asked where she had gone. She just about cried when I told her she had left. The last funny thing Lily did concerned the blue heat the put on her head. She kept looking up at and taking it off, and trying to put it back on. Then I would put it on for her and the process would start all over again. It was like she didn't want it on, but couldn't handle NOT having it on.
After twenty minutes of waiting, they came and got her. I was told that they would take her into the surgery room, give her a mask with the actual anesthetic, put her IV in, take her tonsils out, and then take her to recovery for 30 minutes. Oh, did I mention that the anesteologist was going to be with her the whole time, just to make sure she didn't have any weird affects?! Nice huh? Anyway, I went to day surgery and waited there with Russ and Allie. Allie was being an angel by sleeping! After about 45 minutes or so Dr. Hanks came in to talk to us. He said, "Those were REALLY big tonsils, and adenoids." (He emphasized REALLY) He said she was doing really well and everything went as normal. He also told us depending on how she did when she woke up would determine if she went home that day or not. She had to eat, drink, and pee before she could go home.
Five minutes after the doctor left a nurse came and told us to go up to P304. Upon arriving there we realized the P stood for Pediatrics. This wing was painted in bright colors with animals on the walls. We walked into the room and Lily sat up with a smile on her face. Immediately she held up her hand and tried to say Band-aide. Her speech was a little slurred and she was talking VERY quietly. Lily's nurse, Sharon, told us that Lily had done wonderful waking up from the anesthetics. She said most kids scream when they wake up. Apparently, Lily just kinda looked around, then asked where Russ and I were. Sharon said that this was the best reaction to waking up that she had every seen. Wahoo, for Lily!
Lily was a little dazed still but her spirits were high. We also could tell that her face and neck were a little swollen. You could also tell because of how she slurred her words. She wanted juice and water right away. Sharon said that was a really good sign. We spent most of the morning watching different movies that the Pediatrics had. At one point in time Lily asked for a Popsicle, so I went out to the desk to see if I could get her one. Sitting there was my normal pediatrician. (When Lily got diagnosed with this we were in a hurry to get a diagnosis and he didn't have any openings. So we went to another guy at the practice. I felt guilty about it but I wanted this all taken care of before Christmas!) My pediatrician looked at me, looked down, looked at me again and then said, "Are one of your girls here?!" Ahhhh! I was caught! I told him yes, Lily had got her tonsils out, and that I would have went to him but he didn't have any open appointments. He smiled and said, "It's okay....I'm sorry to hear about that....I hope she gets better!" Phew! Awkward, but not too embarrassing!
Lily ate lunch with gusto! She had some mac 'n cheese, applesauce, ice cream, and juice. Again the nurse said this was a really good sign. The nurse offered to get us a toy that Lily could play with and take home with her. I think she could tell we were getting sick of movies. I am not sure who donated the puzzle, but we sure appreciated it, even if Lily only watched Russ put it together.
By about one Lily's medicine was starting to wear off. The poor girl go sooooooooooo fidgety. Apparently this is one of the side affects. She couldn't sit still, and she kept tangling herself up in all the wires hooked to her. We finally asked the nurse around 2:30 if we could walk her around to ease the fidgetyness. Lily was granted permission. Holding on to her IV pole we made a trip around the floor. Many of the old people in the rooms smiled or waved. Lily got almost around two sections of the floor when she started begging to go back to her room. She was just plain tuckered out.
We got back to the room, and while trying to hook Lily back up to all her wires, she managed to unhook her IV. The nurse quickly tried to get everything going, but it was too late. The line had clotted. By this time it was 3:30. The nurse said, "Well I will have to start another IV" I was like really, aren't we going home soon? Does she really need one for that short of a time. The nurse said she assumed we were staying all night. We told her what the doctor had said earlier about eating, drinking, and peeing, so she said she would call Dr. Hanks. Upon returning to the room she declared that Dr. Hanks had released Lily! Wahoo! We signed a few papers, got a menu of foods we could give Lily, and collected our stuff. The nurse appeared with a red wagon to take Lily out to the car in. Kids get red wagons instead of a wheelchair, how cool is that? It was a double seater, so Lily insisted that Allie ride with her! (Did a mention Allie had been an angel?) We wound our way back down to the emergency room, and we were home free! Well....kind of!
We ran over to Wal-Mart to pick up Lily's medicine! I started laughing when I saw the medicine bottle they gave to her. I asked the checker,"Is that ALL for her" She said the doctors tend to go a little overboard with how much the need to give kids. You can't see it too well in the picture, but this thing is as big as a 20 oz drink, and twice as thick! Wowzers! When we got home we gave Lily her first dose. She cried, and cried, and cried! She said it tasted awful. Poor girl!
That night Lily went to bed early. We didn't have any problems other than getting her to take the medicine again at 12:00 and 6:00. More tears, and more crying.
Thursday wasn't too bad. Allie wasn't really an angel that day which made it difficult but its okay. Lily spent most of the day doing this:
Yep, we watched MORE movies at home. She was just too exhausted to do anything. The pain was fine since she was still taking her medicine. She also was eating and drinking fine still. That morning I did give her a present from my mom. Mom had given it to her to cheer her up. It is a little nativity that folds into a present box. I couldn't resist taking a few pictures of it.
Thursday night Lily got a fever. We were really worried because if it stayed at 101.7 like it was, we knew that we had to take her back into the hospital. Apparently that high of a fever means infection! I switched Lily's blanket to a lighter one, and made her drink some juice and take her medicine. After an hour of doing this her temperature was back down to normal. Scary situation avoided!
Friday was a good day. It started out a little rocky with Lily getting a fever again and being terribly cranky. After taking her medicine she calmed down, her fever went down, and she fell asleep. I ran out shopping while Russ stayed home and took care of the girls. It was his day off. While out and about I grabbed some balloons for Lily. I knew this would cheer her up. It did, not that you could tell from the picture!
When I arrived home with the balloons, Lily was feeling much better. She got up and danced, ran around, and other "healthy" girl activities. After two hours of this she collapsed and took a nap. It seems that too much activity just exhausts her.
Today Lily was feeling better, so we went to Wal-Mart and let her take a picture with Santa. By the time we got back she was exhausted again! She has been on the couch ever since then. We are slowly weening her off her medicine which provides a cranky child who can't talk well. She gets swollen and slurs her speech again. All in all she is doing well though. The recovery is taking awhile but I am sure in time she will be fine! Thanks for all your support, and prayers. I hope this is a good enough update for all you! Hahaha! This was more so I could remember the events....if you made it this far you are awesome!
