Big Day

Way back in October we went in to the pediatrician to have a cold and cough checked out. We came home with a prescription for antibiotics to cure a double ear infection. She's been on and off of them ever since. Finally we were referred to the Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist to be evaluated and, sure enough, tubes were recommended.

Tubes are basically a tiny hole in the ear drum that allows fluid to drain when the usual outlet, the Eustachian tubes, are swollen shut. This hopefully keeps a bacterial breeding ground from building up.

Surgery was scheduled for this morning, the morning of the biggest snow storm of the year.

We got up an hour early to make sure we had plenty of time. It was really snowing and there was some slipping and sliding but we made it.

{in the waiting area}

We had to hang out in the waiting area while paperwork got done and everything got lined up. Then we were taken back to a prep area where we did some more waiting and she got all her vitals taken and charmed the nurse with her calm demeanor.

Then it was time to get weighed. Sitting on the scale she spied something she wanted on the counter amongst a small pile of stuffed animals. We weren't sure what she saw, so we brought her over and she quickly snatched up the "be be" which they let her keep.

Then it was back to the prep area and more waiting.

Like her nose? She did that last night, her first visible scrape and she has a bruise on her forehead. Her timing is impeccable. They were a little worried it would be aggravated by the anesthesia mask but it seems fine.

Now for the hard part. Because they gave her the anesthesia in the OR, we couldn't be in there with her. So, we walked down the hall together and then the nurses took her to the right and we went to the left. The harmonica playing nurse did his best, but there was still some crying. Ellie cried, too.

Then we headed to the cafeteria, sat for a bit and stared out the window, and headed back. As we were walking down the hall we were paged, Ellie was done!

{waiting for my new friend to return}

This was all before 9:00, and our surgery wasn't even scheduled until 9:30. They were very efficient. After some monitoring of her vitals and a bottle of apple juice in a small, dark recovery room, we were sent on our way with some instructions and some ear drops (that'll be fun).

By then it had mostly stopped snowing and the roads had been cleared, so the drive home was a breeze. We got home, hung out, she took a nap, and then she spent the afternoon tearing around the house as usual.

Mommy and Daddy, however, are exhausted and hope they can sleep tonight now that this is behind us.