Side Note: Ben went to bed at 8 pm Wednesday night, and I had to WAKE him at 6 to leave, he did not get up to nurse during the night. AMAZING!
We arrived at the surgery center and started the pre-op stuff. We went back with Ainsley and met the nurse and anesthesiologist, then the surgeon. We decided that she would benefit from a sedative- she got some valium to help keep her calm. I was really worried about what she would do when they took her from us, with the valium, she did great! No tears from her.
The surgery only took 10-15 minutes and she was only away from us for about 30 minutes total. The surgeon said that her tonsils really needed to come out. They were very enlarged ( a large portion of them was hidden during oral exam), and they were severely infected. There were large pus pockets inside with some inspisated material. He also said that the tonsil tissue was very diseased, it was falling apart as he was trying to remove them. Usually, he said they just pop out. Her adenoids were the same. He also found some pus up in her sinuses and removed that and did a nasal flush. I was so thankful to hear that they were really bad and that we had made a good decision with the surgery. I was right to think that she always has strep and her low grade fever was likely from that. She has been around 99.5-100 degrees most days since February.
Ainsley's recovery was really awful for us. She was really upset- crying and a bit hysterical. She was flailing around some too. Dan got into bed with her because I was holding Ben. Of course, Ben was tired and crying right at this time- so unfortunate. After about 5 minutes, Ainsley was reaching for me, so I got in next to her. Dan was trying to soothe Ben, but he was pretty upset. I ended up nursing Ben in bed next to Ainsley. Talk about having your arms full! They kept giving her IV pain medicine to help calm her/help with her pain. She was crying/screaming so loud it was painful just thinking about her throat. She was coughing too, which led to some productive gagging. She was really craving water and they let her drink ice water.
She was very distraught over having the IV catheter in her arm- it was heavily bandaged. She also had 2 ID bands on her leg and a pulse ox monitor on her toe. She hated all of it and wanted it off. We tried to keep it covered to distract her but it didn't work for too long. Ben fell asleep after nursing so I held him for a while and held onto Ainsley. When she started thrashing again, Dan took Ben. She would go through periods of calm, then agitation. I kept hoping she would fall asleep but sh e fought it off. It seemed to go on forever but was about an hour. They removed the IV catheter then and she was a little better. They also moved us to a room where she could watch a DVD. She was better, but still upset about the monitor on her toe/id tags. Luckily, at 9:30 am, they said we could go home. Ainsley was pretty good in the car on the way home, quiet. Ben was getting hungry again though.
Unfortunately, right before we got home, Ainsley vomited up all the liquids she drank- it seemed like gallons. It went everywhere in the backseat. Luckily it was mostly clear.
We arrived home and it was a mad scramble to get her out and clean her up some, get Ben out and feed him, and for me to go to the bathroom!
Ainsley was calmer here, but her throat really hurt. She was really swollen and could not talk well. We kept giving her popsicles which seemed to help some. She ate and drank well today- all soft foods or liquids. She took a nice 2.5 hour nap which was much needed. She did wake up quite a lot though crying out/coughing so I know she was uncomfortable. We got a prescription pain medicine and some antibiotics for her. It is really hard to get her to take the pain medicine. We even made it into jello in individual servings.
The late afternoon went fine- we watched lots of movies and snuggled on the couch. She continued to drink and take popsicles.
She went to bed well last night- she obviously did not feel well.
The night was ok- she woke up screaming and hysterical again around midnight. She was crying pretty hard for 30 minutes. She would not take any of the pain medicine though we tried really hard to give it. Finally, she fell asleep with me holding her. I slept with her the rest of the night. Overall, the rest of the night was better. She woke up occasionally but for very brief times- crying/coughing.
At 7 am- she looked at me and pointed to the clock- it was yellow ( ok to get up). She said "Play." she wanted to play. She would not eat/drink this morning, or take her medicine which was concerning. After about 1.5 hours, we got her to take her pain medicine in some apple juice. Her throat was still really swollen and she could hardly talk.
Side note: Ben had another awesome night. He went to bed at 10 and slept until 7:30 this morning! Keep it up buddy!
At 9 am, our new Nanny, Mandy arrived. She was coming over to spend some time with the kids and get used to them before I go back to work. Ainsley was so excited to see her. The child who had previously been lying on the couch, not moving, watching tv, groaning and not talking jumped up and ran to Mandy. She was jumping around and dancing to see her! Dan and I looked at each other, WHAT? but we were happy to see it. Ainsley played and talked and was even singing loudly while Mandy was here. She was running around and very perky, actually too perky- we had to ask her to calm down. It confirmed that I made the right decision regarding our Nanny which was nice!
Ainsley seems better this afternoon. I think the swelling has decreased a little and she seems to be talking slightly better - though it still sounds like she has her mouth full of something. She has been asking for food- actual food like turkey and cheese, goldfish, and bananas which she can't have. How ironic that now that she can have all the pudding, ice cream, and jello that she wants, she won't eat it. We even made some beautiful milkshakes.
Hopefully each day will get better and better! I know we made the right decision to have her tonsils removed, but I hope her recovery is fast.
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