Tonsil Drama

Madison had her tonsils out! It all began many years ago when I was told by every dentist I went to that she had major gag reflex and that her tonsils were huge. I ignored it until about 3 months ago I realized that Maddie had a nasal twang to her voice whenever she spoke and she seemed to always make a swishing sound. Reminded me of friends who had braces and were always full of spit!
I took her to our doctor for her 11 year old check up and had her throat looked at. My doctor agreed that yes, her tonsils were huge and sent us to a ENT doctor. This doctor took one look at her throat and was astonished to see that they were so big. He even had me look at them and I was shocked. They were as big as golf balls! The good parent award goes to me when he told me that Madison was probably a restless sleeper due to her brain waking her up at night due to the lack of oxygen she was receiving because of her enormous tonsils. Nice!
Maddie had surgery 5 days later to remove her tonsils and her adenoids which happened to fall over spring break. This worked out great since she has dance competitions coming up, Sea Camp, and still school so she didn't miss that many days.
Here's a rundown of our week:
Monday-Nerves are setting in for Maddie. She had to get blood drawn so that kinda freaked her out. I had two super neat men from my ward come over and give her an awesome blessing which she requested to have before surgery. It's amazing to realize how much an 11 year old really understands and believes in the power of the priesthood. She felt much calmer and had a good night.
Tuesday- Surgery day. We have to be at the surgical center by 11:00 AM so no eating or drinking. Maddie is good until we get to the parking lot and she breaks down crying due to being scared. We said another quick prayer and she called her dad which always seems to relax her. She's prepped for surgery and given her wristband, gown, hat, and booties. We both got a good laugh during this time.
Then oooh the dreaded IV. Super nice nurse pricked the top of her hand to numb the area before they put in the big needle and she freaked. IV got in and once again everything was smooth. We met the anesthesiologist and then Dr. Foggia arrived at 12:00PM to talk to me and help soothe Maddie. At 12:10 she was wheeled in and the surgery began.



12:45PM-Dr. Foggia finds me in the waiting room to tell me surgery went well and Maddie did great. Huge tonsils removed.(I'm sick since I wish I could have kept them!)
1:00PM-I get to sit with Maddie during recovery watching Finding Nemo. Nurses are so nice to her and Maddie is still kind of out of it from the anesthesia. We get to go home by 2:00pm. She sleeps the whole way home and pretty much the rest of the day. She's not in too much pain and I've gotten her drugs so she's pretty comfy.
I'm so proud of Madison that she was able to get through this and not once complain about anything. She had a good night's sleep which was good for me.
Wednesday- I'm keeping a schedule of what times to give her medicine since she can have pain medicine every 4 hours and has to take an antibiotic 3x's a day, plus she has to have a specific fluid amount each day otherwise she can get dehydrated and develop a fever. Pudding, applesauce, and soup is her food of choice right now.Dr. Foggia called today to see how she was doing.
All of her medicine minus one bottle that's already been used.
Thursday-Today Maddie had a shower and tried to eat some solid food which she really wanted, yet it seemed to hurt too much. Slurpee's and a cupcake make us all very happy!
Friday-A lot of pain today. Nothing seems to help her today and she's getting tired of all of the soft foods. She's doing good about staying in bed and resting. Watching TV and reading a lot. The surgical center called today to see how she was doing. They told me that the third day is usually the hardest and I would have to agree with that. Her voice is already so different and I can't wait to hear it when she is healed.
Saturday-Not a good day for my little girl. She was in a lot of pain today and asking me before the 4 hours were up for more pain meds. Very emotional today. I told her she wouldn't be going back to school until next Thursday and that made her cry. She also found out that she wouldn't be going to church on Sunday for Easter and that made her cry. We had pizza for dinner and because it's acidic (tomatoes) she couldn't have any so that sent her for another good cry. I'm hoping tomorrow will be much better.

Yea....She's happy!!
Sunday-Easter bunny finds us. We spent the day together as a family by taking Maddie to breakfast (not a good idea) and then driving around town showing our kids where mom and dad grew up and where we lived when we were first married.
It's been a very tiring Spring Break yet I'm proud of Maddie for being such a trooper and getting through this. Just a couple more days of pain and she will be all healed. No school for 10 days and medicine every 4 hours for 10 days. It's been fun!!!