After Olivia's sleep study a couple months ago we learned her tonsils and adenoids would have to come out. Her breathing was just too obstructed and the different variation of medications we'd tried were only alleviating her symptoms to a certain point. We had hoped to have the surgery done before preschool started but wouldn't you know? Everyone else also wanted surgeries done before school started. This was the one time being the youngest didn't move you to the front of the line haha! She was scheduled for September 11 (which all my mommy nerves were freaking out over because I'm crazy) and we hoped and prayed to every virus and bacteria out there that she wouldn't get sick those first few weeks at preschool (she had to be sick-free for 3 weeks for the surgery). Low and behold the day arrived much sooner than I cared for and off we went to the hospital at 5AM because OF COURSE she had priority to be the first surgery of the day due to her age. This is where I will take the time to say what an awesome kid she is regardless of how Alex and I raised her. The personality she was born with, that we've seen from day 1, is just so go-with-the-flow. In the NICU she never fought the feeding tube she briefly had. As an infant with projectile vomiting she was never irritable or really upset by it. At its worst, when her hemangioma was bleeding and had ulcers she never complained or seemed to care. As a toddler she was constantly going at full speed and crashing into everything. She had her first black eye at 8 months old and we still don't know how it happened because she NEVER cried. We've always joked that if Olivia is crying she is truly hurt and needs the ER because that kid falls and gets right back up like nothing happened. She just has a spirit that is impossible to darken. She's wild and crazy and I feel like I pretty much repeat all day long: slow down, look where you're going, take a breath, are you okay? is your helmet on? are you sure you don't want a bandaid? So we had high hopes that she would breeze through this surgery and recovery. We were proved right! That morning in the waiting area she had all these adults waiting for surgery smiling and laughing over her silliness. She was putting on a whole production with her giant Stitch. When we got called back to pre-op and she had to change into a gown, all she cared about was getting to wear the "blue hair" like the nurses. She had every nurse and doctor wrapped around her finger in minutes. The anesthesiologist talked with us about giving her what is essentially baby valium so that the separation from us went smoother. Alex and I talked it over and were sort of against it because it's just not in her nature to panic or freak out but this was a totally new situation and we ended up deciding to give it to her. They said in 20 minutes she would get a little loopy and sleepy and they'd take her in. Well, 20 minutes came and went and she was her normal self. She was singing loudly and cracking everyone up. They came to get her and we walked part of the way with her bed. We gave kisses and hugs and split off to the exit. I was a mess but I could hear her talking just fine with the nurses and not being upset at all so that helped me calm down a bit. The wait was awful though. My stomach was so upset and I was crying to Alex that after this she was never going to trust us and she was going to hate me. When they called us back to see her she was still out. She was the cutest thing asleep on her tummy with her legs kicked up and crossed at the ankles like she was tanning on the beach! The first thing her nurse said was in her 30 years she'd never seen such a laid back kid. She told us when they got in the OR she took the face mask and played with it. They asked her to breathe into it which she did without hesitating and the nurse said in 2 breathes she went to sleep with a smile. Other nurses and her surgeon came in to talk with us and they all said the same thing: she was so easy going and just the best patient they'd ever had. At this point she was starting to wake and I braced myself for every possible reaction...crying, anger, ripping out iv's and cords, you name it. The nurse warned us kids get combative and start ripping everything off. She woke up just like any other morning...asking for a popsicle lol. She never cried, she never got upset, she didn't touch a single cord or the iv. The nurse was in shock the entire time. The nurse said they consider themselves lucky if they get one good reading of vitals before all the cords and iv come off. Lu sat with it all for the hour she was in recovery while watching SpongeBob. When the nurse asked if she wanted anything other than the popsicle Lu said "can I go home now?" Recovery has gone so well at home. She did throw up blood twice that first day which is normal for the amount of blood they swallow during the surgery. But in typical Lu fashion she threw up and then went right back to playing. Playing! Playing 2 hours after surgery. We figured it was just because of the drugs she was still on. Nope. She's been playing and being her normal self everyday since. She's had zero issues with eating and drinking and instead I've had to hold her back from eating the hard and crunchy stuff she wants. I gave in on day 2 when she begged me with tear-filled eyes for a hot dog lol. She wanted to go back to school on Monday--3 days after surgery! Due to her food restrictions I said no. We'll see if she still wants to go back Wednesday. All in all it went so much better than we even hoped for. Her surgeon said her tonsils and adenoids were way too big for the size and shape of her throat and that in 3 weeks (once the swelling has gone down) we should see a huge improvement in her breathing.
Olivia never ceases to amaze me. I'd love to take credit for her ability to bounce back from anything but that's all Alex. Her quirkiness is all me but that onward and upward attitude is all her daddy. I'd like to think she got the best of both of us because it's made her incredibly special. It's important to note what a great big sister Emma has been as well. Everyone knows Emma thrives on attention and it's been lacking the last few days. She powered through 2 days of preschool on her own, hardly complained about our weird eating habits lately, and hovered over Lu like a mama bird. I couldn't ask for better kids and I thank my lucky stars everyday that they're all mine!
Putting on a show in the waiting area.
Pre-op: can I wear the blue hair now??
Literally 10 seconds after waking up--watching SpongeBob and asking for Popsicles.
An hour after we got home (and by this point she'd already thrown up once). This kid kills me.
24 hours after surgery. She was so pumped they let her take her blue hair home!
My attempt at trying to keep her still...pictionary. It's awful when your 4 year old is better at it than you. This is Minnie Mouse.
So I drew Santa in his sleigh. She said that it must be an elf because it was too skinny. So she drew Santa next to mine with a "belly." Then she judged my sleigh and asked how Santa could get in without a door. She added a door to my sleigh. If you'd like to keep your pride, don't play pictionary with Lu.
Not even 48 hours since surgery and all she wanted was a hot dog.
