30 Months

30 months=the amount of time in my child's life that passed before she barfed. Poor kid. Yesterday she had adenoidectomy and her no longer functioning ear tubes removed. It was a

L O N G day. We had to be at the surgery center at 7 a.m., having not fed or given a drink to Lucy. She of course woke asking for both. Oh well. That was just the beginning. This poor unsuspecting child had no idea what was in store for her.

If you know me at all, you know I hate medicine, doctors, basically, anything medical related. I am a doctor's worst nightmare. I ask a lot of questions, self diagnose perhaps too much thanks to the internet, worry, and if you are going to do a procedure...forget it! I am going to barf, pass out, or if you are lucky...both, right there in your exam room (once it was in the lobby :) Anyway, the thought of putting Lucy through another surgery and 2 weeks of medicine sort of freaked me out, especially since she'd had 2 other visits to the hospital in the past 2 weeks. However, after way too many sinus infections to remember, we KNEW we had to get the adenoids removed. The ear tubes have made her a new child, and we have high hopes for the lack of adenoids too.

So all that being said, we arrived at 7 a.m. and registered Lucy. She was cool. Then we went back to pre-op. She was not so cool. Too many nurses, beds, machines, etc. for her liking. It reminded her of the ER I think. Luckily I had some ammo in my Mary Poppins purse. I brought a new Barney animal to distract her, and later showed her the new Minnie outfit I got for her.

The Minnie outfit thrilled her, but we were at home and all procedures done when she saw it. Barney didn't help out the way I had hoped. As soon as Lucy saw the blood pressure cuff, it was all over. Luckily, with the help of some "happy juice," Lu relaxed and let the nursed do whatever they wished to her. We talked to the anesthesiologist who informed us she'd breathe gas for a bit, then switch to a tube since the doctor need to get in her mouth. He said she'd have an iv this time (different from the tube surgery before) as well. The doctor (John Little-who is AMAZING) came to speak with us and told us it would be about 20 minutes for all the surgery. We then said bye to our drunk kid, and waited...

Exactly 20 minutes later, they called for us. We spoke with Dr. Little who said everything was great. Lucy had a polyp on the right ear near where her tube was lodged. He assured us it was noting to worry about and that it had been removed. He had to do a paper patch on the right side which would require $90 antibiotic drops for the next 5 days. YIPEE. Anyone need a kidney? Also, her adenoids had been removed and all was well. She needed to CHILL for the next 5-7 days, eat soft foods, etc. They'd given her some antibiotics in the iv, but we'd need to do more for the next 10 days. SUPER.

Lucy woke from anesthesia almost immediately but was rather combative. She was screaming and trying to get out of the bed when we went back to see her. She was definitely out of her mind. She wouldn't really lay down and chill out, and when she discovered the heart monitor attached to her toe and the iv in her hand, whoa boy! It was not fun. They'd given her tylenol with codeine but she was far from passed out. We had just pulled into the garage from the hospital when she puked all over herself. Her first puke! N A S T Y. Poor thing didn't really know what had just happened. I hope she's not a barfer like me. Bryan can count on one hand how many times he's done it in his life. Me on the other hand, well, I can count on one hand how many times I barfed in the last YEAR.

She did finally fall asleep when we got home. She slept for a couple of hours and woke as her old self. We had to keep her calm, which if you know Lucy, isn't easy. She wanted to dance, ride her rocking horse like a "cowgirl," sing, and run. Please note that she is also wearing a purple "gwub" that the nurse gave her. Wore it all day!

Her Mimi and Papa sent her a package with red balloons (helping to fuel her obsession) and a Dora doll. She was thrilled! We also ate about 5 popsicles and several helpings of cheesy noodles. Please note the gwub is still on while eating the popsicle. Also, Bryan took advantage of popsicle time :-)

Dinner was breakfast, and Lucy ate a plate of scrambled eggs, laid her head on the table, and then asked to go to bed. It was 5:45. Eeek! I knew she'd either sleep for a couple of hours and wake raring to go, or sleep until about 3:45 a.m. Both scenarios were crappy for me. I of course slept with her, as my neuroses were at a heightened level post-surgery. Do you that kid slept for a SOLID 12 hours?!?! If anyone knows where I can get some anesthesia and a mask for each night, that would be great!

Today Lucy seems quite normal.

She was in time out by 8:00!

She's BAAAACK!