Tonsils No More

Lenea (almost 5 years old) has had a host of sore throats for the last couple of years. Only strep throat officially once or twice. I lost track, as there was 2 years there before the middle 4 got out their tonsils that we were getting strep every other month it seemed like..It was miserable. But since Jake, Toby and Moriah got out their tonsils last year and the year before, no more strep!!

Anyway, Lenea has acid reflux, allergies that produce constant runny nose and sneezes, and sore throats. When she gets a common cold, her tonsils swell up and "hurt" for a week or two after the cold is gone. And she snores.

So, it was off to the ENT. And yep, he suggested she get them pulled and her adnoids were HUGE as well. So last Thursday she got them out. She was really brave. She is getting braver all the time. She also starting getting allergy shots with myself, Jake, Moriah and Toby. In the past she has been terrified of shots of any kind. On her 3 year check up she needed 3 immunizations and there was a very large nurse who held her legs down while another one shot both of her thighs up. She was screaming and kicking from the get-go and of course that made it hurt all the more.

Well this year, she had to give blood to confirm a Tree Nut allergy (yep still has it) and start allergy shots. She has been so brave!! Our allergist's office staff are amazing women, really. Our last allergist was a joke. He was kind enough, but didn't listen to my concerns and questions. He didn't give me clear answers, basically I felt I knew more than he did; and his staff (at least some of them, not all) were rude and slow. We had to wait 30 minutes following each injection. So when there were 6 of us at a time getting shots, weekly at times, and they were slow to give them, we would spend an hour in the waiting room. It became old and my older kids didn't even want to finish their therapy.

Last year I had had enough with the rude nurses and switched doctors. I am so happy to report that these new nurses treat us almost like family (yes, there are still 5 of us coming in and more in the future). They see us weekly, they make the kids laugh and are kind and brag on them for doing such a good job. A big bonus is that it is literally 3 minutes from our house and we ONLY have to wait 20 minutes, plus they are fast. I can even call when we are on the way and let them know, so they prepare our injections ahead of time. I LOVE it..

Anyway, that was a bit of a bunny trail. But my point being that Lenea has been so extremely brave lately. She even smiles when she gets her shots and the allergy nurses are key in that by the way they praise her.

So surgery day she was brave and almost excited. The versed they gave her ahead of surgery, made her quite silly as she was laying in bed watching Sesame Street for the first time in her life. She laughed and laughed and even called them "My Friends" while she touched the screen. It was hard not to laugh at her state.

After surgery her doctor said she did great and had very large adenoids. He wanted to keep her overnight for swelling possibility because of the amount of tissue he removed and her age. I was tired already and didn't really expect it since the other 3 kids got to go home. However, I trust and like our doctor very much. He also did my sinus surgery 18 months ago. He did say that if I felt she was doing really well she may be able to go home early.

Up to pediatrics ward we went. She was greeting with a sweet nurse, a balloon, a school bus bag and a sweet handmade pillow case for her to keep. She was excited. But not so excited as she started getting hungry and they would only allow her to have a clear liquid diet. ( That is only jello, juice, popsicles and broth. ) The first few popsicles were fine, but after that she wanted something else. Her pain was managed "okay" with plain Tylenol (and really has been since surgery). Finally, by 7, she still hadn't slept all day (since waking up at 10:15 or so) and I thought she was doing great, she was just starving. So, I asked the nurse to call the doctor and ask if she could go home that night. It of course took an hour to figure it out, but they did allow her to have a soft diet and I ordered her Mac N. Cheese, which she devoured....We got to go home about 8 that night. It was so great to go home. She had a bit of a rough night those first 2 nights, although not horrible. During the day she has played pretty much all day, but does complain of pain a bit here and there. Her biggest challenge has been she doesn't really want to eat, I don't blame her. But tonight I did take her out to do some Christmas shopping and we stopped and got some French Fries and she loved them. So I think her appetite is coming back, or the pain is getting less.

It has been a night and day difference in her recovery compared to my 2 boys and even her sister, who doesn't really complain when she isn't feeling well anyway. So I am thankful that we got it done now. Age really does seem to make a big difference for littles with surgeries. When they tell you that they bounce back quickly, they really do!! Even with Asher's palate repair back in June, he was playing the next day, although fussy here and there and had sleep issues.

On another side note, Asher is having another surgery January 9th for Lip and Nose Revision. It is an out patient this time and supposed to be an even easier recovery than the palate repair, But it will be an obvious incision for all to see and we will have to do some special things to protect it more and help it not to scar.