Ady's 1st Surgery

Although I hope and pray she never has to have another surgery in her lifetime, the reality of childhood broken bones or other accidental injuries is inevitable. Although relatively minor compared to others, getting ear tubes is still considered a 'surgery' with an anesthesiologist and a full staff of doctors and nurses. I know tons of people who have gone through MAJOR surgery and realize that this is quick and minor, but it's still surgery. They still have to put my daughter to sleep for a bit and I was still a nervous wreck in the waiting room. I mean, this is my child and therefore it wasn't "minor" in my mind.

On to the recap.

So we left our house around 5:30am on Thursday morning. A neighborhood girl came over to sleep on our couch for a bit until Drew woke up, give him breakfast and play until we got home. The surgery was scheduled for 7:30am and we were taken back to the pre-op area around 6:40. We were asked TONS of questions by nurses and doctors and went over how everything works 19 times.

After Ady flirted with all the doctors for a while, they brought her a tiny little gown and had her get dressed.

I opted to go back with her and hold her during the anesthesia part knowing she would do better if mommy was holding her. That means I had to wear a full body suit of scrubs too!

Then it was time to go back. I carried her down the hall and into a huge, white operating room. There were about 5 nurses and doctors and they had me sit in a chair and hold Ady. A gas mask was quickly put on and the nurse began a conversation with me about Ady's tan legs and vacation. It was obviously to keep my mind away from the fact that she was squirming while I held her down and I have to admit, it kinda worked. I was ok until she went limp and I had to hand her over. Having a limp child in your arms and leaving them lying on this cold operating table ATE me up.

I was escorted back to Derek and then out to the waiting room with him. When people say this procedure is quick, it DEFINITELY is. I went to the bathroom, opened my granola bar and the ENT literally was walking into the waiting room. We were then taken back to the post-op recovery area where she was being held by a super sweet nurse. She wasn't crying a bit and was more awake than I had imagined she would be.

She was super snuggly for a bit, then enjoyed a bottle followed by some puffs.

There was another 11month old having her tubes done that morning and she was screaming and crying for a bit. Ady was hamming it up with the nurses right after surgery and everyone kept saying how well she did. Except for the few tears when the gas mask went on, my little angel didn't make another peep. We were told she would be groggy for a while, but she was pretty much back to normal right after the surgery. We went to the pool that afternoon, she took a great nap and we felt so good about our decision to move forward with tubes.

So far there haven't been any noticeable changes other than she does make even more noise sounds than she did before. The ENT said noises won't sound muffled to her anymore so she might 'explore' her voice a bit more. Either way, I'm glad this is behind us and we won't have to be at the doctors every couple of weeks with ear infections!!!