So Miss Lily had to have her tonsils out. Its been over a year in the making and we finally decided to get it done. When Bob and I were kids having your tonsils out was practically the normal thing to do. He had his out.....I had mine out. Well, these days Doctors are more and more hesitant to take them. I guess its good, but it did create a year of waiting and wondering.
About a month ago Miss Lily had a bout of tonsilitis and we made the call. Take em! Now we did have other reasons for taking them, like sleep apnea problems, but it was the risk of recurring infections that finally convinced us to do it.
She was such a trooper. She nearly begged us to have them out and was so excited to have her throat not hurt any more. We had to arrive super early on the morning of the surgery. She had her trusty horse, blanket, pillow and IPAD. Throughout the entire preparation process I was amazed at my daughter. She was so brave.
When we weren't reading stories or getting our cute tiger jammies on Lily was exploring the grounds around her. Her curiosity truly outweighed her worry over the unknown. She looked behind all the curtains she was allowed and around every door. She made friends with all the staff and was particularly fond of Lori.
Lori was just wonderful. I believe that a hospital stay can be completely determined by the nurses one encounters. Lily was mesmerized at all of the equipment and how she could make her heart rate bounce around on the screen. Lori played along and kept her curious. I am grateful for that lovely lady.
My little girl was wheeled back for surgery with a smile on her face and no tears. She was totally confident and ready for another adventure.
Bob and I went and had breakfast. A mere 25 minutes later our incredible Doc came in with news that the surgery was a great success and that her tonsils were HUGE. Glad we did this.
We got back to Lily as she was waking up from the anesthesia. Poor thing. That was the worst part of the entire morning. She was so delirious and in so much pain. My Mommy heart hurt so much. I held her as she cried and we got upstairs to her recovery room. Once we got her the pain medication, a popsicle and water she settled and fell asleep.
A little later a volunteer with a therapy dog came in and Tiger cuddled with Lily. It made her so happy. She was drugged tired and yet woke up just enough to love on this guy. He was such a calm dog and let Lily hold him tight and sleep.
I won't lie, these few moments may have made me tear up a bit. She was simply so precious laying there and so peaceful following her awful time following her anesthesia.
Once she slept for a few hours she woke up ready to watch Kids You Tube and eat ice cream. What a trooper. The poor thing really had a hard time towards the end of her pain meds, but other than 20 minutes every 5 hours she did awesome. She did everything we told her to do. I really was and remain so very proud of her.
Evie spent the first day with Tara and Matt. When the first round of pain meds wore off and Lily was not feeling good she just cried for her sister. "Where's Evie, I need to see Evie." I held her as she just cried for her sister. So my sweet friend Tara brought Evie and Lily's friend Katie for a visit. It was a bright spot in her day and so special. There truly is nothing more special to me than seeing Lily hug Evie the second she got into the room.
Lily and I spent the night in the hospital. It was rough to say the least. She slept for about 2 hours and then woke up in excruciating pain. It took us an hour to get her settled and out of pain and by that time she was wide a wake so Lily pulled her first all-nighter and watched movies while I made the paltry attempt at trying to sleep in a small corner of her bed. I really should be thankful I got any sleep because for the first 4 hours she kept kicking me out of her bed and I had to attempt sleeping in the plastic hospital chair. Little booger. How I wish I would have gotten snugglers, but alas I have children that are independent and want their bed to themselves!
Lily finally surrendered to her tired at about 4am in the morning and had to be woken up for an early checkout. Its a good thing our kids are early risers because Evie was all smiles and brightness when she and Bob rolled in. The girls got set up with a popscicle and a two seater wheelchair.
They were personally chauffered out to the car and we headed home.
The past few days have been low key and a game of pain management. Lily is so strong and does not lay low well. She bounces off the walls quite literally until the pain meds wear off and she is miserable. She rarely complains, except at night and when it gets bad during the day. She is also getting super tired of popsicles, chicken noodle soup, sherbet, jello and applesauce. Here is hoping the next 4 days she heals really well so that we can start school next week!
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