Surgery Update...

Wow, its been a really long day but I thought I'd post an update on Emma's surgery.

Let me start with a quick background for those of you who don't know why little Miss had surgery to begin with.

When E was first born I noticed that she would have spells of not breathing when she was sleeping. When I brought this to the doctor's attention I was told it was simply because she had been born a little early and her body would simply "forget" to breathe. "Not to worry, she'll outgrow it!" was the exact response. When the problem persisted and was accompanied by blue lips during waking hours, I was told by yet another doctor that it was result of her bad reflux and by the time she reached 18 months she would "outgrow" it.

Fast forward quite a few months later....Emma has started daycare and we are fighting ear infections and illness constantly. On top of all this we are still battling with sleep issues, eating/swallowing problems and blue lips. After still being told it was nothing to worry about I decided to seek out a specialist, specifically an ENT.

Low and behold we've got a diagnosis; obstructive airway sleep apnea due to enlarged adenoids which brings us to the reason for Emma's surgery; removal of her adenoids.

Overall the surgery went well. Emma was given a sedative in pre-op which made the transfer to the OR go quite smoothly (no crying whatsoever) and luckily one of our neighbors is a recovery nurse there so Emma "woke up" to a familiar face. However, Luke and I were shocked by the report from the doctor....E's adenoids were so enlarged that she had what they call a 95-100% blockage of her nasal airway. Needless to say we should see a HUGE improvement once she is healed.

(By the way, if any of you have children who (God forbid) have to have some sort of surgery, I highly recommend buying a doctor kit for them to play with beforehand. We purchased one while up in VA and boy did it really help ease some fears!)

Anyway, here are a few pictures from today....

Little Miss sporting her scrubs while waiting in pre-op

Loving the hospital bed and pillow (note the doctor's kit in the background)

Making "don quixote" (the stuffed donkey the nurses gave her) dance...another lifesaver of the day!

Unfortunately E was not in any shape to have her picture taken post-surgery. Although we lucked out with no vomiting, we did experience the post-anesthesia "crankiness" (which in my eyes does not even begin to describe it).

Thankfully after a little nap and some good pain medication Emma was acting a little bit more like herself.

Thanks to everyone for the calls and support, we really appreciate it!