Surgery Day

Enjoying a Popsicle after surgery

Hannah's surgery has come and gone and I'm here to report (a little late) that she did great. We had to be to the hospital at 6:00 am (thank goodness we live only 10 minutes from the hospital) so my mother-in-law offered to take the day off work and stay with the other kids. She arrived late the night before the surgery and we spent some time talking about nothing and just enjoying her company. We went to bed at a reasonable time (about 10:45) but neither Kenny nor I got much sleep that night. There was just something about what was happening the next day that made us a little antsy.

Hannah woke up on her own around 5:30 and came to see if she could get in bed with us. It was perfect timing and we let her sleep in our bed while we got everything ready. It was nice that we didn't have to risk waking Gracie up when we went to get her. Once she was up and in the car she was ready for the day (despite the early hour.) I was impressed with the speed of the hospital. Normally it takes forever at hospitals, but we sat for maybe 3 minutes before they were weighing her, taking her temp, and making sure she was ready for surgery. They took us to our own little curtain room and gave her some clothes to change into. The nurse said if she didn't want to change until right before the surgery it would be OK. Well, the shirt looked like a dress to Hannah so she was more than willing to change. She even had to leave her room and go show Daddy who was filling out paper work. After that it was a short 30-45 minute wait while we answered questions and met with the anesthesiologist.

Pretending to talk on the phone (the channel changer and nurse call thing) in her hospital clothes before surgery.

Right before they took us to the surgery waiting room they gave Hannah some drugs too make her relax a little. It's suppose to help with separation from the parents and with the other things they're awake for. They took us back the the waiting area where I wondered if the drugs were going to work before she had to leave us. Luckily less than 5 minutes before they came to get her the drugs REALLY started working. She started getting loopy, silly and would stay on the same laugh for an abnormal amount of time. It was very cute to watch and I'm glad the drugs started working before they took her away. I don't think she would have been OK leaving without being a little out of it.

This is one of her prolonged laughs. She was being sooo silly.

Looking a little out of it.

After that they sent us to wait for her to wake up. I was not real happy with the idea that she had to wake up without us, but there was nothing I could do about that. Dr. Hanks came in and told us she had a significant amount of water in both ears and it was good we got them cleared out. He said the tonsillectomy also went well and that we could head upstairs to see her. What a relief! I wasn't really worried that anything was going to go wrong, it was just nice to hear that nothing had. Dr. Hanks said that because she was only 2 they may decide to keep her overnight so they transferred her to the pediatric ward just, in case.

We hurried upstairs to find out she wasn't there yet. The 10 minute wait seemed like FOREVER and then we heard her crying in the hall. She was not happy at all. Apparently the funny drugs from earlier don't make for happy kids when they wake up. She didn't want to be awake, she didn't know where she was, she didn't want anyone touching her, she was just plain miserable. This was the hardest part of the day. I had never seen her, or any of my kids, act this way. She was so lost and in so much pain and still drugged that she just wasn't even close to herself. They had me sit in the rocking chair and hold her while they tried to take her vitals. She wasn't into this at all. They decided she was crying so she was obviously breathing and that would do until she calmed down and went to sleep. I held her for a while, until she fell asleep, and then we put her in the bed. She slept for a little over an hour and when she woke up she was a totally different kid.

Enjoying some Green Jello

The rest went really well. Hannah enjoyed numerous popsicles and lots of different kinds of jello. She drank a lot of apple juice and surprised her nurse with how happy she was, how willing to eat she was, and how willing to take her medicine she was. Every time the nurse came in to take her vitals, Hannah stuck the thing on her toe and helped with the blood pressure. She was very pleasant and you never would have guessed she had just had surgery.

We hung out with her for a few hours and then Kenny went to get the kids at the house. We were so grateful to Grandma for being willing to come and take care of the others. It was so nice to be together at the hospital. She reported that the kids did great without us which is always good to know. After Sarah got home from school Kenny brought the kids and Grandma to the hospital to see Hannah. By this point Hannah was getting antsy. She didn't want to be in her little hospital room anymore so we went on a walk around the hall. The kids enjoyed this and Hannah loved getting out and moving around. They stayed for awhile and then Grandma had to go back home so Kenny took them all home. This was not OK with Hannah. She did not want to stay while everyone else left. Luckily Daddy had brought her favorite movie and that helped calm her down.

Roaming the halls with Daddy, Gracie, and Grandma

Hanging out in her bed with her siblings.

Lucky for us she had done so well all day that the doctor said if she ate a good dinner we could go home. She did really well and ate all her jello, some of her chicken broth (that stuff was gross, I don't blame her for not eating it) and drank some apple juice. Even with all that eating she was still hungry. Dr. Hanks said he wanted her to try some more solid food to see if she could keep it down. They brought us a bowl of Macaroni and Cheese (one of Hannah's favorite foods) and told me to try and get her to take at least a couple bites. When they came to check on her she had eaten the entire thing. The nurses were amazed and when she didn't throw it up they said we could go home. It was such a relief to me and such a relief to her. I don't think she would have done well staying the night.

It was a long day, but a successful day. Hannah did better than expected and we were so proud of her. While waiting to be discharged Hannah didn't want to be in her room anymore. The two of us roamed the hall for at least an hour. Luckily for me Hannah's nurse told me of a wagon they kept for the kids. This way I didn't have to carry her for the entire hour. The nursing staff was great. Ashely, our nurse, thought Hannah was a doll and was very sweet. They fed me dinner even though I wasn't a patient, sometimes it pays to be pregnant, and they took real good care of Hannah. I'm glad it's over, I'm glad it went well, and I'm excited to see what comes of all of this.