Today marks 1 day shy of 2 weeks since Ms. R's surgery.
The good news - the girls are back at school and Ms. R's desire to eat has picked up, somewhat.
On the morning of her surgery her ENT doc assured us things would "eventually" be OK, but to expect an up and down roller coaster for at least 10 days - 2 weeks.
He couldn't have been more accurate.
Rewind to the morning of her surgery.
I plucked her out of bed and Grandpa C kindly drove us to the hospital to meet up with daddy as he was oncall the night prior.
Ms. R was wide eyed as we drove the 30 minutes or so, but didn't make a peep or ask where on earth we were going at such an early hour.
Upon meeting up with daddy - he scooped her up and off we went. I felt very uneasy and unfamiliar and anxious to say the least.
And, although the hubs works in the operating room on a daily basis - watching his baby go through this was very tough.
Not easy to surrender control - let's just say that.
Ms. R was a bit apprehensive with the first few tasks of the morning.
Namely - being weighed.
This is nothing new. At her yearly well-child checks I am certain to have to hold her through her weight check.
That day was no different.
After a few nurse visits and a debriefing from the surgeon and anesthesiologist - we determined Ms. R was surely a candidate for the 'liquid sedative' that would help calm her enough to place her up on the operating table.
Before that, though, we all hung out together in the holding area where Ms. R actually warmed up with coloring books and a princess crown.
About 10 minutes after administering the sedative... we had a giggly, loose Ms. R who willingly cooperated with what we asked.
The hubs gently put her up on the bed to be wheeled into the OR.
We were with her as she fell fast asleep.
I felt confident as we left her. The staff in the OR were taking great care of her - still, difficult to walk away.
Heart wrenching.
We never leave our babies in the care of strangers. This was tough.
About an hour later we got the call she was out of surgery - but we had to wait a bit before going to see her.
When they finally called us back - she'd been awake for a little while. I was surprised by that. I was hoping we'd be there RIGHT when she woke. I guess they have their reasons for that, but I still wanted to be there when her eyes opened for the first time.
We then proceeded to the "short stay" area of the hospital. The plan was to stay overnight for monitoring because she was such a young patient.
On one hand this made me feel at ease, but on the other I just wanted to go home.
The "short stay" area in the hospital was set up for just that.
Ms. R stayed in her Operating Room bed the whole night - which meant I did too.
To say it was uncomfortable is the understatement of the year. We barely both fit and between the tossing and turning ... it was miserable. I felt so bad for my baby.
Here, daddy is trying to get a smile out of us.... this was no small task given our exhaustion level.
She could NOT handle it.
She pulled on it, cried and BEGGED to have it taken out.
I fought against her knowing she needed those fluids and meds until we left.
She was not pleased to say the least.
With meds given every 3 hours - it seemed she was at least tolerating the pain through that first day and night.
We got her to drink a sippy of her beloved milk and within about 30 minutes that all came back up.
Thankfully they had some nausea meds to give her and we were able to convince her to drink even more.
That was our main ticket out of the hospital...fluids.
After arriving home the next day - Ms. R's energy was surprisingly high. Meeting up with Ms. K may have had something to do with it. She was so excited to be home and back with her sisters.
They were glad to see her, too.
We decided to send Ms. K to my parent's house for a few days so Ms. R could rest.
Ms. K had a very special time. She was treated like a princess and got to do many special projects. We were getting picture updates throughout.
Here she is "out to eat" with Grandpa, GG and Grauntie D.
She was down and out to say the least, but still willingly drinking and taking meds round the clock.
That would be one piece of advice I would have for others going through this.
Stay on schedule with the meds and that means throughout the night.
But - by about day 5 Ms. R was beyond sick and tired of the meds.
She was drinking, but would not eat. She'd been without food for many, many days now.
I can imagine with all those meds and no food - it was just a recipe for feeling AWFUL.
I have to say days 5,6 and 7 were by far the worst.
She started refusing meds. It was an all out war to get them in her.
She was still not eating, but wanting to eat, but not being able to.
At one point she was down 3.5 pounds from surgery day.
We tried every possible food option, but nothing appealed to her.
The doctor told us... sometime between days 5-10 the scabs fall off and it's almost like starting over.
I think we were at that point during those bleak, sleepless days.
FINALLY by the 1 week mark - she started eating a little bit. A very little bit.
Great Aunt J sent her a DQ gift card and so off we went. We ordered her two treats b/c we were hoping she might take a bite of one of them.
The hot fudge sundae seemed to appeal.
Day 8 was Ms. A's birthday party and she seemed to really enjoy herself and the other kids on that day. It was the best we had seen her and it was a welcome relief.
And, we had a special guest so it made it pretty easy to stay home. :)
Ms. R's surgery followed a week long battle with Influenza B - so they were out of school because of that prior to her surgery.
I was pretty nervous about their return, knowing it might be hard to transition back into this routine and for me, too!
As we chatted about their return - they were quick to say they wanted to stay home instead. :(
Their first day back went better than I expected, of course. Ms. K was off and running immediately... Ms. R more reluctant, but once I was out of sight was right back on pace.
Today is day #2 back at school and the drop-off was even more seamless.
Ms. A and I are at home today (alone) for the first time since March 7th. It actually feels a bit empty in here, but I know we'll quickly fall back into our old routine, too.
We've yet to really see any major benefits from Ms. R's surgery - she's still having trouble staying asleep all night, but the doctor said it might be a month before we really absorb the changes.
For now - we're taking this a night at time and sneaking in sleep when (I) can.
March 2013 was more chaotic than ever, but we made it through with lots of support and prayer.
We are SO READY for April and more spring like temps and just the ability to get outside and run.
I hope perhaps this account of Ms. R surgery might help someone else who is facing this.
It's not easy or pretty, but in time .... normal creeps back in.
Almost 2 weeks later we are definitely seeing shades of our old Ms. R..... her smile is bright, her laughter is loud and she's up to her old tricks.... more on that when I find the strength to put it down on paper.
Stay tuned!
With love,
Cuz I'm the mama!
Oh my goodness, what a rough month! So glad that you're through the worst of it!
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