Of course the month or so before the surgery she didn’t seem to even snore as badly so I totally second guessed our decision to have the surgery. But I was told that apnea can come and go and she still needed to have it done.
She also had a little spot on her side of a bunch of small cysts under the skin. The layman’s term for this is frog spawn because they look like a bunch of frog eggs. We were told if we didn’t have these removed they would continue to grow, be itchy and irritating and prone to opening, bleeding and infection. So we enlisted a general surgeon to do this procedure at the same time the ENT did her tonsil and adenoids.
She was so brave about it all. About a week prior she did get scared and had a lot of questions and cried for over an hour but after those questions were answered she was good for the remainder of the week.
Upon getting to the hospital she was nervous but a trooper. She had a meltdown when it came time to put on the hospital gown. She said it was because they were so ugly but I think it came down to the fact that it was real at that point. She also cried because she wanted her sister (who went to school for the day because we needed to be able to focus on Reese). She managed to calm down and get the gown on and the rest went pretty smooth.
I did get texts from Ella’s teacher about how worried Ella was. So I sent texts keeping Ella’s teacher updated so that she could pass it all on to Ella. That seemed to help her anxiety levels, so sweet.
After surgery the general surgeon came in and told us that everything went well and her cycts had been removed. She said the incision was larger than planned because there were more of the cysts than she realized from the outside. About 45 minutes later Dr. Black came in and told us that her tonsils and adenoids had been removed and that she did great. He said her adenoids were some of the largest he’d ever seen (& he’s been doing this for a long time). That helped to confirm we made the right decision in having this done.
These are a few pictures of the day of surgery:
Day 1 (day of surgery once we returned home):
She was mostly herself but a little run down. She ate like a bottomless pit: applesauce, 4 fudgesicles, a bon pop, ice cream, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and peas and chocolate pudding. Her friend Avah came over with a balloon and some popscicles and she showed her all of her gifts her sister gave her and ran upstairs with her and played her ukulele. We kept telling her she should rest but all she wanted to do was craft. The little time she did rest she had 2 precious canine nurses. Neal slept in our bed with her the first night (at Reese’s request) & it was rough. He would wake her up every 4 hours for meds and she was a bit shocked by the pain she was feeling due to her throat being dry due to her mouth breathing. There were lots of tears but I woke up to help each time and we would get the meds in then get her a popscicle and she would then go back to sleep.
She made this sign and hung it on my door (where she spent most of her recovery) with her balloon:
Day 2: we let her sleep in and when she woke up she was about 1.5 hours past her due time for more meds and she was in pain. It wasn’t any worse than the night med sessions though. We got her meds in her and she was fine soon after. Neal and Ella went to the Razorback football game and to run some errands (it was miserably cold and rainy so they only made it to half time). I managed to get Reese to bathe and we bushed her front teeth. After bathing she didn’t leave my bed all day long. All I got her to eat all day was an applesauce, about an eighth of a small milkshake and a portion of a popscicle. She was so sweet but pretty miserable. She slept for about 3 hours mid day. While Neal and Ella were gone we had a flower delivery...Neal’s parent sent her a beautiful bouquet with many purple flowers. Seeing this did bring a smile to her face. While she was asleep her precious Sunday school teachers stopped by with an American Girl doll activity book (they couldn’t have picked a more perfect gift) and one of my best friends dropped off a teeny bopper magazine, balloon and Italian ice. These gifts for sure brought a temporary smile to her face but day 2 was rough. The overnight was easier (I took this one) probably because she knew what to expect and she’s learning the benefit of the medicine and that it’s worth it to just get it in. I also didn’t set alarms for medicine and she pretty much let me know when she was hurting, which was just about every 4 hours.
Day 3: Day 3 was another rough day, very similar to day 2. Today she quit talking due to pain. I can get her to drink about a half a cup of Gatorade at a time and I managed to get her to eat about 4 bites of macaroni. She will take a few sips of water when I make her every half hour or so. She spent today on the couch watching tv and doing iPad. She took a couple hour nap and did play with her sister on the couch for about 15 minutes. Our sweet neighbors dropped off some color changing clay, floam and bon pops which brought another smile to her face. There were hints of her fun personality that came through today but overall she was pretty miserable. I took the overnight again and she would wake up in pain about every 3 hours so I’d have to comfort her until we made it to the 4 hour mark for medicine. It was an uncomfortable night but nothing too terrible.
Day 4: Day 4 May have been one of the hardest days. Neal worked and Ella went to theatre camp all day. Reese spent the day in my bed with a couple hours spent on the couch. She was more needy this day than others and we had a good hour and a half of crying due to pain. I tried all that I could think of to relieve some of the pain like an ice pack on her throat, eating ice chips, drinking ice water, back scratches to keep her mind off of it and then we would finally get to medicine time. We have Thanksgiving dinner at our house on Thursday so I was hoping to get a couple of dishes pre made this day but it was clear that wasn’t happening during the day because she insisted I lay next to her. We did get another shower in and brushed the front of her teeth, which seemed to help her feel a little better. Neal took the overnight and she stretched a little longer without meds but was close with her requests without an alarm waking them up.
Day 5: Day 5 was the best yet! She still spent most of the day in bed or on the couch but did get up here and there for more than just the bathroom. She pestered her sister a bit when she got home from theatre camp and while this was frustrating it was also refreshing to see her getting back to herself a bit. She actually wanted to color and do mad libs. I hadn’t really left the house since we got home from the hospital so I went to a short lunch and also went to get Ella from camp. After getting Ella we went to get Reese’s medicine refilled, grabbed dinner and grabbed a movie from the redbox...it was nice to get out of the house for a few hours. We are a bit worried that she may have thrush because her tongue has a thick white film on it. So I plan to leave a message with the nurse tomorrow morning and hope we can get some response before Thanksgiving. I took the overnight and she only took meds once around 3 am all night.
While Ella and I were out running errands Reese made this precious note for us and hung it on the outside of the garage door so that we would see it upon pulling in ❤️.
This is her day 5 look:
Day 6: Today has been another good day. There have been some bouts with pain but overall she’s been herself. She got another shower and put real clothes on for the first time since last Thursday. Ella had her acting debut this afternoon so we had a neighbor come watch movies and draw with Reese for a few hours so that we could go to the play. Reese was feeling pretty good when we got home so we went to dinner and to see Wonder. At dinner she had some apple juice and I brought her an apple sauce to eat. We got her some dip n dots at the movie. Wonder was such an amazing movie, we all loved it. The overnight was good and she slept more soundly with only one overnight medicine dose.
Day 7: Thanksgiving Day
Reese & I skipped the Turkey trot 5k but Neal, Ella and Mr. Pickles ran it for the family. Reese had more throat pain today and she wouldn’t eat all day. This caused her to feel pretty puny and have little fits throughout the day. Before our thanksgiving friends arrived she had a meltdown & then fell asleep in our bed. She was pretty funky for the 1st few hours of our thanksgiving festivities but then got some meds in her and was able to play with Avah & interact a bit. She did drink some Gatorade this day but all she really ate was one applesauce all day long. The overnight was more painful and she cried in pain throughout the night. I think some ear pain has set in. Here are some pictures of our Thanksgiving.
Day 8: Today has been a good day! This morning we took her bandage off of her side. We got it wet and she peeled it off herself, it was surprisingly drama free. Her incision site looks really good. She got all bathed and dressed in her Razorback attire and we all headed to Fayetteville to meet good friends for lunch. After lunch we went on to the Arkansas/Missouri football game. We were not predicted to win, we are pretty terrible this year. & we didn’t win but we played harder than I expected. The final score was 48- 45. The upside was that we all had a great time, Reese ate a tiny bit of pita & hummus, some rice, an applesauce and 2/3 of a soft pretzel. When we got home from the game she took more meds and once they set in and some pain subsided she ate some ham, deli turkey, mandarin oranges, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes & green peas then some ice cream 😁. I’m thrilled she ate more today and we managed to stay through part of the 3rd quarter of the game. She is complaining of ear pain today, which I’ve been told is completely normal but I was hoping we wouldn’t have that part. Today has been a good day!! Overnight she only woke up once around midnight complaining of pain and fussing a bit about taking medicine. Once she took the medicine she was right back to sleep and didn’t wake up again until morning.
Day 9: Today she woke up in good spirits and wasn’t immediately complaining of pain. She ate donuts and chocolate milk for breakfast. We went to the most adorable tree farm in Pea Ridge and chopped down our front porch tree. We also drank hot chocolate, rode a hay ride and bought an ornament. When we got home she played outside for a couple of hours with neighbor friends and then we all watched Elf before going to bed. She had meds only once in the morning. We did give her meds before bed and she slept in a pallet in our room so that Neal and I could finally have our bed back. I don’t think she budged all night!
Day 10: Today we went to church, Neal took them to chuck- e- cheese and they played outside. She did melt down some on the way home from church but I think it was primarily due to the fact that she refused to try to eat anything before church. Once we found her some food she was fine. The girls were back to shcool night bedtime and their own bed...they did great as they were pretty exhausted. They slept soundly and Reese slept in pants for the 1st time in a long time because she’s no longer wetting through multiple pairs of panties every night 🙌🏼. She had medicine before bed and never woke again until morning. Tomorrow will be back to school and I plan to update on how that first day goes, & maybe the 2nd depending on the 1st, but after that I’ll likely bring this excessively long post to an end.
Look how cute they are in their Christmas church clothes.
Tuesday 12/5: I’ve fallen off because she’s doing so well at this point and life is back to 100 mph. The 1st day back she definitely wasn’t 100% but she did great...& every day since has gotten better and better. This week she is pretty much back to normal. She had her post op appt last Thursday and he said everything looks great. He doesn’t want her back in the trampoline and cartwheeling until this Sunday as it is still very raw in her throat, but it looks as good as he would hope.
Additionally I discovered that the poor girl had lice all through this. On November 2nd I took her to the pediatrician to have her head checked because she had been scratching. They assured me she did not have lice. She was scratching uncontrollably through the recovery and the itching made sleep so much harder for her. Her hair had to be de-matted daily and I assumed it must be dry skin related due to the colder weather. She does have sensitive and sometimes itchy skin so I had planned to make a dermatologist appt as soon as she was fully recovered. Well I checked her scalp again last Friday and it was unmistakable that she had lice. And...Ella had it too. We spent hours treating and removing nits but the girls were still sent home from school yesterday. So, we hired a professional service to come in and remediate for us. It cost a small fortune but we have peace of mind that it was done very meticulously. We are in our 2nd round of washing all bedding on sanitize today & we are praying hard that we are rid of this. The poor girl was did not need to be dealing with this during her recovery but I’m just glad we now now what it is and she will hopefully have some relief.
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