Ear Tubes In And Adenoids Out

Brie has always been borderline needing tubes...  When she first starting talking, her vocabulary was considerably smaller than her siblings, while completely in the normal range.  As she talked more and more, it always seemed a little less clear than everyone else, though completely understandable.  She had numerous ear infections, but nothing alarming.  After several trips to the ENT over the years and passing hearing tests, it was pretty much left up to us if we wanted to do tubes.  Her ear infections were regular but nothing like she had in March, April and May.  We were in the doctors office like clock work clearing up infections...  Finally I was like, ENOUGH already!!  

So off we went bright and early to the surgical center... I debated going to the surgical center vs. Texas Childrens, but they said at the hospital they schedule procedures by age, so the babies go first and the older children last.  It could have been afternoon before Brie's turn.  This girl can not last all day without eating and the surgical center schedules all procedures early in the morning, so the decision was pretty easy to make in the end.

The surgical center was like a chichi hotel... loved it! Brie had no clue what to expect, so she was lapping up alone time with her mommy and daddy!

Waiting to go back...

It was FREEZING!  They ended up bring ME a blanket!

They let Brie hang out in a wagon coloring, while I talked to the Dr.

She wanted to ride back on the bed until it was really time to go... I think she sensed the tension when all of the nurses and doctors came then she wanted me to hold her.  The sweet nurse asked if she could carry Briellen back and Brie actual went with her!  As they took her back, I started sobbing.  Watching my baby leave me was terrifying.  

As I waited praying and worrying, all I could think about were the mommy's whose babies have cancer or something else seriously wrong... How do they handle it?  It must be torture for them!  It made me extremely thankful that this is the worst that we've had to go through since we've left the NICU.  

Stephen -- ALWAYS working

I set my timer and exactly 21 minutes later they came and got us.  She did beautifully.  They ended up taking out her adenoids because they were swollen and she was having issues with runny noses and snoring at night.

Before she woke up...

When she woke up from the anesthesia, it was like she was possessed...  Screaming and writhing!! The nurse and the anesthesiologist were just calmly talking to her and doing their thing, but I was freaking out... Trying to be calm for her sake, but asking, Is this normal?!? Is she okay?!? What should I do?!? Her feet are in the air and the IV is twisting!?! How long will this last?!? What do I do?!?  They gave her a sedative and she woke up again 15 minutes later G.R.U.M.P.Y.  But at least calm! 

Grumpy Face

The first thing she asked for when she woke up was a cup of coffee!!  If you know Brie, this is HYSTERICAL!  This girl only drinks milk and water and only has 5 things of food that she will eat at any given month.  NO sweets, NO juice, NO junk food, Nothing a typical 4 year old would die to eat.  SO the fact that she asked for the most bitter thing she could have asked for is hilarious.  I thought she was still a little crazy, so we laughed and just blew off her request. Well, she would not be put off and was adamant about her cup of coffee.  So Stephen went and got her a cup of coffee... She took a sip and was happy as can be.

Coffee, Please!

Finally, Snuggles with Momma!

Recovery was surprisingly easy!  I could tell when all of the anesthesia was out of her system and she said her ears hurt. I gave her tylenol before bed and she was normal the next day.  Maybe a little droopy, but nothing like the veg-on-the-couch-all-day child I was expecting.  This was on a Wednesday and we were at the beach on Saturday!  (I've heard that having the tonsils out at the same time is a much bigger deal, so we are lucky not to have had to do those too!)

If anyone needs an ENT in the Houston area, I loved Dr. James Albright and would highly recommend him!!!