Emma had her fourth surgery on January 20th. Thankfully, it wasn't an emergency surgery so it wasn't stressful in that regard. She had been getting ear infections again (regularly) so we went back to her ENT to see what he thought. He recommended her getting her ear tubes put back in and removing her adenoids. He explained that by removing her adenoids, it lowered her chances of having to have ear tubes again and again because they can be a source of the bacteria causing the ear infections sometimes. Since we knew she would be having surgery, we opted to do both in hopes that she wouldn't need more surgeries again later.
This was the first time that I wasn't anxious about everything before surgery. She had had surgery with her ENT before, done well, and would be at the Children's Hospital again where she would be in the best hands. I got her bags packed and was ready to wake her and offer her food/milk just before the cut off times for each that night so she wouldn't be too hungry in the morning. I got her up early to have her last bit of juice before packing us in the car and heading to the hospital. Once she finished and had her epilepsy medication, we were off!
After arrival, we were checked into her room and the Child Life Specialist came in and brought Emma some toys for her to play with while she waited. Once of them, a pink and purple giraffe was hers to keep! It would light up and play music when you squeezed it's chest. She loved it and enjoyed taking Mommy's hand and having it turn the giraffe on.
The surgeries before Emma's took longer than anticipated so Emma's surgery that was supposed to start at ten didn't start until 11:15 AM. While we waited, the "happy juice" medicine kept Emma calm and relaxed. She was content waiting for her turn as long as Mommy kept providing a steady stream of hugs, cuddles, kisses, fish kisses, and anything else that she came up with.
It took about forty-five minutes before her ENT came out and told me that everything went well. Much to her dismay, Emma didn't have to just show she could drink the juice/water mix I had brought her from home like she usually had to do. With having her adenoids removed, they wanted her to eat too before she was discharged. I hadn't brought her any food so we had to find something she would eat. The only thing close was ice cream- not something she likes as she isn't really a fan of sweets. After fighting a couple bites down, we finally got released to go home.
Emma was a little tired and sore from the surgery for a couple days, but was quick to bounce back as always. While it was a day that added a tally to her number of surgeries, any day that is filled with that many hugs and cuddles and kisses is a good one in my book!
