The week before Christmas I had planned on taking it easy and slowly packing for our family of five to spend a week and a half visiting family. Our plans changed when an ENT doctor visit revealed that our Valerie needed surgery to remove her tonsils and adenoids.
I had mentioned to her doctor that she always breathes through her mouth, wakes up stuffy every morning, and often snores at night. She took one look at her tonsils and said they were huge. The ENT confirmed this diagnosis and said her adenoids were likely even bigger.
We decided to do the surgery right away, because the younger kids are the quicker they recover. We also knew that it would benefit her for the rest of her life by making it easier for her to breathe and sleep. Plus, we wanted to get it done before the end of the year when our medical insurance would change for the new year.
The surgery was scheduled for Thursday, December 20th. We had to be at the surgery center at 6:15 am. The youngest kids are always scheduled first since they have to fast for the surgery and Valerie was the first surgery of the day. Ted and I packed our breakfast and dropped Almanzo off at the babysitter's house before heading to the surgery center.
The drive there was slower than usual, because we got our first big winter snowstorm that night. Valerie was so brave through it all. When she told me she was hungry and I reminded her she couldn't eat before the surgery, she said,
"Ok, I not ask again, mommy." We both read the surgery books for kids the hospital gave us before the surgery and spent time talking and praying about it the night before. So she was knew what to expect, but told me when we arrived,
"mommy, my tummy hurts" as the reality set in.
The nurse brought us back to the pre op room right away and we helped Valerie get dressed in the little hospital gown. Ted sat down with her in his lap while I nursed Ollie and read the little surgery book for kids once more. Her smile started to fade as the anesthesiologist and her ENT doctor came in the room along with another nurse.
We helped her climb into the hospital bed and covered her with the warm blankets. She was really quiet and I could see her a little fear in her eyes as she looked around the room and back at us. She begged her daddy to hold her hand so he sat next to her until the nurse said it was time to go. It broke my heart to see her break down at that point. Ted walked with her to the surgery doors and I could here her crying,
"No, daddy! Don't leave me! I want my daddy!"
I'm so grateful for the distraction of our little Ollie, because I would have started sobbing if he wasn't looking at me smiling at that moment. We quietly walked to the waiting room and ate our breakfast as we waited for the surgery to be done. Those were some of the longest minutes of my life, because all I wanted was to hold my baby girl safe in my arms again. I knew she was in good hands, but she is still my baby.
When the doctor finally came to talk to us after the surgery, he confirmed that the surgery went well and that it was a good thing we decided to go ahead with the surgery. Her tonsils were large and her adenoids even larger and were both covered in gunk because they were blocking any drainage from her nose.
A few minutes later (which felt like an eternity to me), the nurse finally brought us back to the post op room. Valerie was awake, but still quite groggy and not at all happy. She was much quieter and somber than the Valerie we are used to. She climbed in her daddy's lap right away and fell asleep, only to wake up telling us she needed to puke. Poor girl has the same sensitive tummy as her mommy and the combination of anesthesia and pain meds were reeking havoc on her digestive system.
After about an hour, we finally got the okay to take her home. The nurse came in with a cute little handmade get well gift that a volunteer made. Valerie perked up a bit when she saw her new little purse and clutched it tightly all the way home. The next two days were rough as she continued to throw up.
She never once complained though, just simply said,
"I need to puke" or
"I not feel good". I felt completely helpless watching her struggle through recovery as I begged her to take even small sips of water. I was so worried we'd end up back in the hospital for dehydration, but somehow she made it through okay.
Saturday morning, we were planning to drive to Michigan for Christmas with Ted's family, but were unsure if our plans would change based on Valerie's recovery. Amazingly, she woke up that morning, asked to eat breakfast, and started singing and playing with her brother as if nothing had happened.
Everyone told me kids bounce back quickly from surgery, but those first two days were so rough I thought for sure she would be the exception. I breathed a huge sigh of relief and a prayer of thankfulness to our God for protecting her and healing her...and a prayer of petition that we never have to repeat that again...at least not for a long, long time.
