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!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Sunday Nana and Papa took the Murray Kellys (three kids, two adults) and our family to a Legends baseball game. The Legends are Lexington’s minor league baseball team and are affiliated with the Houston Astros. The stadium is very family friendly and the kids love to go. The weather was once again spectacular, perfect weather for a baseball game. While watching the girls in the play area (third base side)

Craig got a foul ball. After the game all the kids in attendance were invited to run the bases. Rachael ran with a big smile on her face the entire time. Several adults lined third base giving the kids high fives and Rachael loved it. During the game Grace took several pictures of the field (first pictures of this entry) and a nice one of Rachael's tonsils so you can see why she is scheduled to have them removed. Oh yeah, and the Legends played the Lake County Captains and won 8-5.

Hannah is Six!

In the past few weeks we have been enjoying summer and family. On June 23 we had a birthday party for Hannah. Both sets of Grandparents, Uncle Drew and cousin Emily all attended as well as several of Hannah’s friends from school. It was very hot so the girls nixed many of the games planned for the back yard. Thankfully we have a basement that is ready for a lot of little girls.

Rachael played hostess – telling everyone good-bye and giving them each a hug. The girls that knew Rachael were not surprised but the others were not so sure of Hannah’s out going sister. In the past Hannah has been overwhelmed and withdrawn at her own birthday parties. This year having it at home with only 4 girls who were not relatives or close friends from the neighborhood helped. She was not as outgoing as Rachael but mostly happy.

After much discussion with family about Rachael’s snoring, sleep problems, breathing problems, symptoms that look like allergies and frequent throat infections we took her to the ENT last week. Rachael has tonsils the size of walnuts. When I sit with her quietly to read she sounds like she is snoring but she is wide-awake. The doctor said that they might shrink between the ages of 8-10 but that her tonsils would have to shrink A LOT to make a difference and he doubts it will happen. We scheduled outpatient surgery to remove her tonsils and adenoids for August 8. We are convinced it will improve her quality of life and that of our family.

Hannah goes back to the Pediatric surgeon next week. We saw the doctor last year regarding her herniated bellybutton. At that visit he told us she was past the age in which it would correct itself. We decided to put off surgery not wanting to traumatize her right before she started Elementary school. Now it is time to get this done. Our insurance has a $4,000 deductible. Once we reach that amount everything including prescriptions is covered at 100% for the rest of the calendar year. If we are going to putting out that kind of money between the two girls we might as well get them both done this year.

As always I have attached a few photos. Make sure to take a close look at Rachael playing the egg game. She has the Newman thing with the tongue! We are looking forward to a restful Fourth of July. Happy Birthday America!