Miss Emily has been suffering with enlarged tonsils for quite some time now. Last January, at the young age of 18 months; she required an adenoidectomy. After having a bronchoscopy we learned that she needed her tonsils out as well. However, 18 months is a very young age to have adenoids out and it is definitely too young to have both removed. So we proceeded with the adenoidectomy. Now, a year later, she is still plagued with fatigue from not sleeping well throughout her nights. Her tonsils were such a large obstruction in her airway that they needed to be removed. We have high hopes that this will correct a lot of issues. It was suggested to us that perhaps she does not have Asthma but in fact her intake of oxygen is just hindered from the obstruction.
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| Not the best picture to capture the size, but it gives you an idea. |
I was more nervous going into this operation than any other time. Mainly because of the unfortunate events that took place in Josiah being extubated in January. When you stand bedside to your child going in and out of consciousness in recovery, you become anxious to future medical procedures.
I had prepared Emily as best I could. Telling her imaginative stories and turning a scary surgery into a walk through a dreamland fairytale. Her only concern was, "Dr. Salley isnt going to take my tonsils out through my ears right?" He assured her he would leave her ears alone :) She will forever have the day burned into her memory, that Dr. Salley removed the impacted wax from her ear canal. She was not fond of that moment and lost confidence in the Dr. that mommy and daddy love and trust!
So She had the tonsillectomy Thursday February 24th. She had the full attention of all the doctors, anesthesiologists and each nurse during the procedure and in the progressive care unit. Each medical professional was on their guard as they had been informed of her Apnea history. In past procedures her oxygen saturation had dropped substantially and this was something they were also aware of.
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| Before Surgery |
Dr. Salley removed the tonsils and when he checked the adenoids he saw that they too had re-growth. He burned those off as well. She did wonderfully throughout the entire procedure and recovery. I was a proud mama to be told she was "best child of the day" haha The tonsils were sent to the lab to be checked for abnormalities, as a precaution. Dr. Salley said they were even larger than they looked and he knew they looked pretty large before removing. An hour after surgery she was eating popsicles and drinking tea.
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| 1 hour after surgery |
Now, 2 days later she is feeling worse. On Tylenol with Codeine every 4-5 hours, she is in as little pain as we can help. It shows as the medication is wearing off, she starts to hurt a lot more. She is not wanting to eat or drink, but with some coaxing we manage to get enough in her to keep her hydrated. A very sleepy and whiny little girl we have, wanting my constant TLC. Which I am so willing to give!
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| pitiful little baby |
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