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!