Hannah's Surgery

Surgery to repair Hannah's herniated belly button occurred August 15. At first the idea of scheduling two surgeries a week a part seemed to border on certifiable. However, both surgeries have been hanging over our heads and with a $4,000 deductible on our health insurance policy it made sense to get them done so anything else that needs to be done this year will be covered. Having both of them behind me has lifted a 100 pound weight off my shoulder and I am sleeping much better than I have in a long time.

While Rachael's surgery was at the Central Baptist outpatient surgery center, Hannah's was at the University of Kentucky's outpatient surgery center. My good friend Lori works at UK's outpatient center which was a blessing for us. Although Hannah's surgery was much less invasive and the recovery less painful in some ways it was the surgery that concerned me the most. I was worried about how Hannah would handle having to go into surgery and how I was going to "hand her over" if she got upset. Lori went above and beyond to make sure Hannah was taken care of and prepared for surgery. Prior to both Rachael and Hannah's surgery Lori brought over a surgery mask, gown and smock as well as anesthesiology supplies - mask, tubing, etc. We showed the girls what the people in the operating room would look like, what would happen with the mask on their faces to go to sleep, and how they would go into the operating room without Mommy and Daddy. They also practiced on their stuffed animals. The night before Rachael's surgery the two of them put about 30 stuffed animals to sleep and took out their tonsils. Lori made sure the right staff for Hannah were assigned to her case - from pre-op to post-op. She talked to each one of them ahead of time explaining Hannah's personality and I bet her mother's paranoia. The day of the surgery Lori was on vacation but came in and dressed in scrubs to walk Hannah into the operating room. Hannah was very brave and walked in holding Lori's hand. The staff took great care of her.

Following surgery Hannah was very calm and well behaved. She was told she had drink something to go home so she downed a cup of apple juice in record time. She didn't like the IV any more than Rachael but only shook her arm a little to show her discomfort. If you didn't know her you wouldn't have known that she was uncomfortable. We arrived at the surgery center at 6:30 am and left at 10:00 am and by lunch time she was ready for food. She has had some discomfort but Tylenol has been enough. The stitches will dissolve on their own so we don't have to go back to remove anything. She can't remove any of the bandages until Sunday night and probably there will still be some sterile strips in place for another few days. Once she is healed we will take pictures of the new belly button. For now we have posted a "before" photo and a photo of her stuffed animal Marie following surgery. Marie went with Hannah into the operating room and when she came out she had a mask, hat, booties on each paw and a band aid where her belly button was repaired.

August 13, 2007

August 13 was a hot and humid day in the 90's. Lazy Days of Summer right? No, the first day of school! I thought summer break fell between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Not in Lexington, Kentucky. It could have been worse. The cousins in Murray started back to school on August 6!

Grace started third grade while Hannah entered first grade. Both are attending Rosa Parks Elementary. For Grace the start of this year was a breeze. She stayed with her teacher from last year, Ms. Scruggs, as she is in a class that combines second and third graders. Her best friend Molly joined her class and she gets to be the older one in the room. Grace would have preferred to have a longer summer vacation but she is happy to see her friends and teacher. Mrs. Scruggs reports that Grace has been a big help the first week of school, providing leadership and aid to the students new to the class.

The first day of school Hannah started the morning with a frown. We were worried about how the day would go. Fortunately once she was at school the smile came out. Hannah has a new teacher and is in a class that combines first and second graders. Although her best friends are not in her room this year she does have several friends/classmates from last year in her class. She has a teacher that is highly respected at the school. Mrs. Grigsby is considered "old school" and is very structured. A great fit for Hannah. We have also been told that she is strict but since Hannah has never been in trouble in any way in school (from the time she was in day care to today) we don't see this as an issue.

Rachael will go back to Southern Hills Montessori next week. She has enjoyed sleeping in during the summer. Hopefully the removal of the tonsils will help her sleep better and soften the adjustment to waking up earlier.

The Walnut Sized Tonsils are Out

Rachael’s surgery to remove her tonsils and adenoids occurred on August 8. After meeting with the surgeon, anesthesiologist, and operating room nurse Rachael willingly stepped into a kid’s wagon and was rolled into the surgery room. I (literally) bit my tongue and waved goodbye. The surgery went well and was quick. Her doctor said that the tonsils were very, very large, as were her adenoids. In post-op Rachael was not at all happy about the IV and tried several times to take it out herself. Once the needed medication was administered and she had half a bag of fluids the nurse took out the IV and she settled down. She then asked to go play in the kid’s area in the waiting room. We took that to be a good sign. I had to promise we would come back another day so that we could go home.

The first couple of days Rachael watched television, colored pictures, etc. During the day she seemed to not be in a lot of pain and she surprised us with how well she could bounce back. She was (and is) very clingy to Mom and very sensitive. Grace or Hannah sitting to close is enough to set her off. Grace and Hannah soon were on another floor of the house to avoid her. They have been very patient with her and her need to have Mommy’s attention all the time. My biggest problem during the day was getting away to shower, use the restroom, etc.

Night time is another story. At night she hasn’t slept well and only Mommy will do in the middle of the night so of course I have been sleep deprived for days now. She was given a prescription for Tylenol with codeine. Unfortunately codeine does not help Rachael to sleep. One of the reasons we had this surgery was so she would sleep better and without waking up several times a night. So far that promise has not come to fruition.

We had been warned that her voice may change and but we have been surprised by what we hear. She now has a sweet little voice with a touch of a southern accent and a dash of helium thrown in. At first I thought she was making up the voice and told her several times to “talk normal.” Time will only tell if this is permanent.

The one thing that has surprised us is her sense of smell. Almost immediately she has talked about smells. Most of them bother her and seem to be too strong for her. I suspect that she hasn’t really been able to smell until now. The fact that she thinks things smell too much backs up my hunch but also her inability to describe smells accurately makes me think she hasn’t smelled before. One time she told me the bathroom smelled like chicken. Another time she told me the bubble gum flavored tylenol smelled like mud.

Hopefully Rachael is on the upswing as we close in on Hannah’s surgery to repair her herniated belly button. This is scheduled for August 15. I pray that Hannah sleeps through the night after the surgery or at least asks for Daddy in the middle of the night!