Good to have Behind Us

Welp, it was pretty much inevitable.

Hazel's tonsils needed to come out. They were big and obstructing her airway. This is one of those surgeries that usually needs to happen in kids with Ds because everything is so squishy, the air just doesn't get in very well at night. Sleep apnea is not good for the heart. Removing T&A's is the first line of defense.

So, off to Primary Children's we went, on June 24. No ENT's in this area will perform any surgeries on kiddos with Ds in same-day surgery centers because of the risks involved with intubation (again, because of the low tone/squishiness.) This is a huge bummer to us because Primary's costs twice as much and we have to pay for everything in cash with our high-deductible health care plan. Yikes. Oh well.

Poor little H. She didn't have any clue why we were there or what she was in for. She was a happy camper up until surgery.

Before...Thumbs up!



After...Not a happy girl. Her throat hurt and she was all connected to stuff. She wanted nothing to do with any of it!

At least she had a mommy to rock her and tell her everything would be OK.

They usually keep kids overnight at Primary's when they have T&A surgery. But I knew from past experience with Anya that every hour was hundreds of dollars, so I asked if we could go home just as soon as her stats were good and she was drinking enough.  Thank heavens they let us. Not only was it expensive, but Hazel couldn't rest. She wanted out of there ASAP! We finally got the OK at about 5 pm.

Back at home in Mom and Dad's bed.

Much better.

A few days later...

"Hello? Is this Wal-Mart Pharmacy? You know the medicine we got to help me not hurt?
Well, it's not doing the job. Please get me something stronger, A.S.A.P."



The doctor told us it would be OK to give her Motrin in addition to the Lortab. That was the magic combination that got her to eat and drink a little. We had to hurry and give her the food and drinks a few minutes after she got her meds in order for her to even consider it.  She doesn't like cold things like popsicles, and she can't have dairy, so she ate a whole lot of applesauce, we somehow kept her hydrated during those painful days, and we made it through!  She started eating and drinking well after day 7. Much sooner than Anya did. Her recovery was much worse. I remember her loosing weight and everything.

Advice for anyone who has surgery or something and has to take Lortab every 4 hours on the dot for pain: It causes major constipation! Poor H didn't poop for days. We had to get things moving with Miralax, which took a few days to do the job. No fun!

What troopers these kids are.

Don't you love this picture? I walked past their room one night last week and melted. Had to go grab my phone for a quick picture. Luckily, they didn't wake up when I turned on the light. :)