Well, as some of you may know, Miss Hannah had to have surgery yesterday (Tuesday). Several weeks ago, Hannah went to see her family doctor for a cold that wasn't letting go; after learning she snores and "mouth-breathes", he wanted to refer her to an ENT.
The ENT and his nurse practitioner did several exams while Hannah and my sister were there, and several things were learned. First, Hannah has some significant hearing loss. She couldn't
hear the tuning fork when held to her ear. A hearing test done at lower levels showed she can hear but has some lower level hearing loss. Problem #2 is that Hannah snores and mouth breathes because she had very large adenoids. The doctor said that when children have large
adenoids, they often have to choose between breathing and eating. As such, they sometimes look like "failure-to-thrive" kids because they are so small physically. For those of you that know Hannah, that's definitely an accurate assessment! With adenoid removal, there's a chance she will gain weight since she will be able to eat more freely.
Lastly, the doctor said the worst of her problems were her ears, which were very red. She's apparently had an ear infection for some time, but she is asymptomatic - expresses no pain due to the infection. This is a problem, of course, because she could experience some significant
problems that we wouldn't learn about until too late. The doctor said he'd like to remove the adenoids, tonsils, and put tubes in her ears to help them drain.
I drove home Monday night to be there for the surgery. Hannah and I had some fun playing beauty school for a while.
The final product:
The surgery was Tuesday morning, and it was an outpatient procedure that was slated to last about 30 minutes. We told Hannah the doctor would help her take a nap and she would wake up with some hurts but would get to eat ice cream! My mom and I joined my sister, as well as their pastor and my pastor when I lived in Ashland.
Here's Hannah resting before the surgery.
She was enjoying the PBS kids' programming on TV and the box of toys (this lamb, a coloring book about visiting the hospital, a growth chart, a puzzle, and a cup) that the nurses gave her. She was in good spirits. Ben prayed with us and left, so my mom, sister, and their pastor and I visited. My friend Julie (and Hannah's former babysitter) came over for a while, which was a nice distraction! When it was time to take her back, we had a few tears but hid them well from Hannah. She didn't cry or express fear; she just said, "I want Mommy to stay for hours and hours."
After the surgery, Hannah was very sleepy. They had given her some morphine, so that really knocked her out. When awake, she was, of course, in a lot of pain in her throat. She agreed to some ice chips, and we got underway to get home. Miss drove her van home, and Mom drove my car while I sat in the back with Hannah and gave her apple juice and ice chips.
About 15 minutes after leaving the hospital, my sister called and said she'd swerved off the road into a ditch!!! There was no damage to her or the car, but she couldn't get out. Luckily, soon after we talked, someone had stopped to help her get out, and we got home safely. For those of you not in Ohio, we were in the midst of a 36-hour snowstorm bringing in 6-12 inches of snow, so the roads were terrible! I was supposed to get back to work that night but got stuck and couldn't return home. Thankfully, Cedarville closed early on Tuesday and today, so I didn't end up missing any work.
Yesterday was a rough day for Hannah. She was reluctant to take any fluids but finally agreed to a popsicle. A while later, she threw up. This pattern continued until about midnight last night. She threw up several times and certainly was hating that! She's not a huge snuggler, but that all changes when she's sick! She finally got a reprieve from the vomiting at midnight and hasn't been sick since. Today, she ate some eggs and toast and has been drinking milk, so she seems to be on the mend!
It's been an eventful few days, but I think the worst (weather-wise and surgery-wise) is over!
2 comments:
Poor girl! But, it sounds like the surgery will really bring some great changes to her life! I bet all that throwing up was due to the sedation meds/pain meds, etc... I've heard of that happening to people before. Hopefully the worst is behind all of you and Hannah can breath easier! She looks so adorable in her hospital bed. What a brave girl!
I was proud of Hannah. It was good that she really didn't understand what all the fuss was about. Mom and daughter were both very brave!
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