A Tale of Three Children

Hannah's surgery went very well. Despite her fears, she was a real trooper through it all. In fact, when she woke up she didn't cry and simply went back to wiggling her tooth. So fervently that it ended up falling right out. Her look of delayed surprise was priceless. And I do mean delayed because the reason she felt so good was all the stuff they pumped in her. It took her a couple seconds to realized what she had done.

She's resting right now on the sofa, surrounded by all her favorite things, watching a movie, sipping on juice and eating goldfish. She's happy as a clam.

That is not the case with Micah who woke up this morning after a very bad night's sleep. He'd spiked a fever of 102 and was completely lethargic. So, Andy took him to the pediatricians (Love you Dr. Anne!) who quickly diagnosed him as having pneumonia and strep throat. Poor kids feels horrible and looks even worse.

He's also on the couch, though not nearly as happy as Hannah. We're struggling to get his body to stop coughing enough that he can rest and his fever isn't really coming down very well. We're hoping the antibiotics kick in soon because this is a little scary.

Micah was supposed to sleep over at grandma's tonight and then head to Disney on Ice in the morning. Obviously he can't go and given the complete lack of attention Jason is going to get here, we shipped him off to grandma's instead. he's under strict instructions to have fun, but to not share the fun with his siblings. Too high a risk of weeping and gnashing of teeth with that one.

So, here we are with one recovering kid, one sick kid and one missing kid. It's likely to be a very long weekend with lots of runs to the store, drink refills and very little sleep for the adults. Wasn't this supposed to get easier as they got older?

Hannah's Tonsils

Well, after consulting with our ENT yesterday, it was decided that Hannah's tonsils need to come out.  They are massive, impeding her ability to eat and breathe and she keeps getting strep. On the plus side, she's little enough that the recovery will be easier, but it will still be hard.

The surgery won't be until the end of the month, after her strep is cleared up.  I think she is pretty stoked about the prospect of eating all the popsicles her heart desires.

Micah's Surgery

Micah had his 3rd set of tubes pput in his ears this morning. He got his first at 8 months, his second at 22 months and now his third at 46 months. We are hoping these are his last.

So, being an old pro at this, it didn't occur to me that Micah wouldn't remember a thing about the surgery center or the process involved. They offer a chance to bring you kids in a few days before the operation so they can be familiar with their surroundings and so on, but I didn't sign him up as this was his third time. Of course, I realized this was a bad idea when last night we were talking about it and I realized he had no idea when was going to happen. Too late now, I guess.

Micah actually did quite well. Because he's older, we drew a 9:30am surgery time meaning we had to leave at 8am. He's usually on his way to school with a full belly at this point. This meant the up and ready was no problem, but the full belly might have been. Thankfully, he didn't notice he didn't eat breakfast since I didn't feed anyone before I left. (Jason and Hannah had to wait for Grandma to feed them after I left.) When we got to the center, he settled right into the registration chair, got his bracelet then ran off to find the play room. He made a new friend, Sophia, and they played happily with the Aquadoodle until it was time to go.

Here is my little man all ready to go. He though the silly socks and pjs were quite funny and laughed at all the prep stuff. Nothing seamed to phase him at all, even when the nurse gave him some Motrin and Versed.

The center gives out little stuffed bears for the kids and Micah was excited that HIS bear got a new "doctor" bear to play with. At this point, teh versed was starting to kick in and he was really happy. Also, the anesthesiologist made him laugh at the idea the gas mask was actually a potty for the bears.

Daddy came with me this time because I wasn't sure how Micah'd handle waking up. With his past two surgeries, he cried and fought when waking up. He bigger now and I wanted an extra hand. By the time we took this picture, the Versed was in full effect and his was seriously loopy. Daddy's pokey face was quite fun.

The surgery doesn't take long and we were back with him in under a half an hour. He didn't cry at all and just seemed really sleepy when we got to him. He said his ears didn't hurt which is a good thing and he was happy to just sit and eat his animal crackers and sip his apple juice. He also though the sticker on his forehead was a real trip.

On the medical side of things, the doctor said the surgery went well. Micah's right ear drum apparently now has a weak spot and teh doctor had to place the tube hight than normal. This weak spot was actually sunken against the wall of his middle ear, so when the doctor flushed the fluid, he had to "pop" it back out again. We'll have to keep a close eye on his hearing because all of that will affect his earing in some way. Still, we have some time before he starts kindergarten and being ina special needs preschool, we have everything in place should his hearing loss become more pronounced.

It's been a long morning already, but we're home now and he's enjoying his favorite pastime...watching playing Star Wars.