Abigail's Surgical Adventure
I know it seems strange to use "surgical" and "adventure" in the same title, but our experience at Children's Hospital was nothing short.
A few months ago, after a visit to the ENT, we learned Abigail was suffering from enlarged adenoids and tonsils, and after monitoring this for a few months, we decided removing them was best.
So here we were last Tuesday morning, less than 24 hours after coming back from Leavenworth, and with only 48 hours until George and I left for LA (we like to keep busy!) checking in at Children's for her procedure and overnight stay.
I was a ridiculous ball of nerves all morning; my heart beating in my throat, finger nails dwindling to the quick, but our amazing doctor, anesthesia team, and nurses made our experience so comfortable.
The procedure was a quick 15 minutes, with an additional 30-45 minutes to come out of anesthesia. We got paged 20 minutes afterwards to meet with our doctor; he informed us that everything went well, but just minutes after leaving our post-op conference, we get a page that I'm needed in the PACU.
I rush down there (cue heart back in throat) to find my little Miss amongst a team of nurses, disoriented and crying for something...
"She's been talking up a storm, trying to tell us something, but we can't figure it out"
I rush up to greet her, thankful to have her back in my arms, and listen to what she's trying to say.
"I need, I need..."
"I need shoes!!"
:)
If you've ever come out of anesthesia with a loved one near, I'm sure you too have stories of the crazy things you've said. For our little lady, what she wanted so desperately were her shoes :)
I held her for the rest of her time in the PACU, then carried her to the room we would stay for the night.
By the time we got to the room, the desire to see her shoes had passed, but boy was she happy to see Kevin.
The next few hours were spent getting comfortable, feeding her liquids, and any solids she would tolerate (she had almost two sippy cups of juice in the PACU, and ice cream, a bit of juice, 2 string cheese, and hummus once she got to her room).
She was a trooper - recovering well and doing great!
As the day wore on, her spirits were strong, but her heart rate was elevated. We kept a careful watch on her monitors and offered as much liquid as she would tolerate (we were told it was due to dehydration). Luckily it dropped late in the night and by morning she was looking as though she'd never had surgery!
At 9am, we were discharged. Of course this was the same time Curious George came on TV, so I had to fight to drag her out off the hospital. She made it very clear to me and her nurse that she wanted to stay to continue eating her yogurt and watching Curious George :)
Eventually, after negotiating with her for almost a half an hour, we were headed home to see GG (George)!
"GG, I come home! GG I come home!" she excitedly chanted as we walked through the parking garage, new Frozen balloon bouncing eagerly from her wrist.
We had such a positive experience with Children's Hospital. They had such a keen understanding of both our physical and emotional needs, and we are so thankful to both the hospital staff and Dr. Parikh for making this experience not only tolerable, but delightful.
Thank you, Children's, for all the thoughtful, caring ways you help so many families.
You're the best!
A few months ago, after a visit to the ENT, we learned Abigail was suffering from enlarged adenoids and tonsils, and after monitoring this for a few months, we decided removing them was best.
So here we were last Tuesday morning, less than 24 hours after coming back from Leavenworth, and with only 48 hours until George and I left for LA (we like to keep busy!) checking in at Children's for her procedure and overnight stay.
I was a ridiculous ball of nerves all morning; my heart beating in my throat, finger nails dwindling to the quick, but our amazing doctor, anesthesia team, and nurses made our experience so comfortable.
The procedure was a quick 15 minutes, with an additional 30-45 minutes to come out of anesthesia. We got paged 20 minutes afterwards to meet with our doctor; he informed us that everything went well, but just minutes after leaving our post-op conference, we get a page that I'm needed in the PACU.
I rush down there (cue heart back in throat) to find my little Miss amongst a team of nurses, disoriented and crying for something...
"She's been talking up a storm, trying to tell us something, but we can't figure it out"
I rush up to greet her, thankful to have her back in my arms, and listen to what she's trying to say.
"I need, I need..."
"I need shoes!!"
:)
If you've ever come out of anesthesia with a loved one near, I'm sure you too have stories of the crazy things you've said. For our little lady, what she wanted so desperately were her shoes :)
I held her for the rest of her time in the PACU, then carried her to the room we would stay for the night.
By the time we got to the room, the desire to see her shoes had passed, but boy was she happy to see Kevin.
The next few hours were spent getting comfortable, feeding her liquids, and any solids she would tolerate (she had almost two sippy cups of juice in the PACU, and ice cream, a bit of juice, 2 string cheese, and hummus once she got to her room).
She was a trooper - recovering well and doing great!
As the day wore on, her spirits were strong, but her heart rate was elevated. We kept a careful watch on her monitors and offered as much liquid as she would tolerate (we were told it was due to dehydration). Luckily it dropped late in the night and by morning she was looking as though she'd never had surgery!
At 9am, we were discharged. Of course this was the same time Curious George came on TV, so I had to fight to drag her out off the hospital. She made it very clear to me and her nurse that she wanted to stay to continue eating her yogurt and watching Curious George :)
Eventually, after negotiating with her for almost a half an hour, we were headed home to see GG (George)!
"GG, I come home! GG I come home!" she excitedly chanted as we walked through the parking garage, new Frozen balloon bouncing eagerly from her wrist.
We had such a positive experience with Children's Hospital. They had such a keen understanding of both our physical and emotional needs, and we are so thankful to both the hospital staff and Dr. Parikh for making this experience not only tolerable, but delightful.
Thank you, Children's, for all the thoughtful, caring ways you help so many families.
You're the best!
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