Bar Hopping

Last night Mark and I went out bar hopping. It was all for research, really! I have a good friend getting married in Salem later this month but she's from out-of-town and so is the rest of the bridal party. I am the only one who lives here in Salem so I so willingly gave of my own time to do a little bachelorette party information gathering. And of course I dragged my husband out for a date we wouldn't normally have gone on. The only bars we've been to together in recent history are at a Red Robin and the Olive Garden. I felt rather silly when we went to the first place and I had to ask what a well drink was. I think I know now after asking for a couple of things that did not qualify. I'm sure the waitress thought I was completely ridiculous. We shared a plate of cheesy fries, and since I was the one driving, I stuck to the ol' Pepsi. But I also learned that on Thursday nights (which is when the party is to be held) all Call Drinks are $2!! However, I don't know what a Call Drink is. But it's only $2!! We went to two more places that evening just checking out the environment of each bar to see what might be a good place. In the end it's hard to say. Afterall, we were home by 9pm! Ha! Ha! Ha! We are so old!!

Back to Normal

Elise is doing very well. She has pretty much completely recovered. Her throat of course is still healing but she has an appetite like she used to, she has energy, she's running around and getting in to trouble . . . all the things a six year old should be doing. We are now finding out that there are a couple of things about her that are new. Her voice is different. It's much squeakier and high-pitched now. She can now make noises that I've heard out of other little girls especially when they get excited and start screaming. We had been told by several people, including the speech therapist, that her voice was raspy

and kind of hoarse, but we never noticed. Now I can hear the difference. Hmmm . . . not sure I like the squeally little girl voice so much but maybe it'll mellow out a bit. The other thing that's new is that finally she has stopped snoring! I was concerned for the first week after surgery because she was still snoring at night but now that I stop and think about it, I haven't heard her snoring when we go check on her before we head to bed at night for several nights. Yippee!!

Here's the kids several days ago playing with the humidifier. What great fun!!

Heading Back in to the World

This morning Elise headed out in to the big world and actually got out of the car this time. (Over the weekend we went on an adventure as a family to locate an intriguing building that we can see from up on our hill. It was great fun trying to look through binoculars to see what landmarks were nearby then heading down in to town to find it. Elise never got out of the car that day.) But this morning she did get out of the car. We went to a new bakery down the hill from us and bought a loaf of sourdough bread. We'll make great french toast for dinner tonight and make it nice and gooey so Elise can actually eat it. Mmmmm!! Then we headed to Fred Meyer to grab more children's Tylenol and a couple of other things. I think this day is really a turning point in her recovery; not just because she made it out of the house, but also because she is actually eating and drinking today without us begging her to. She had a bit of oatmeal for breakfast! For lunch she had the left over oatmeal & canned peas & carrots (Yuck! But whatever . . . she's eating! That's great!) She's drank more plain water today than I've seen her drink in a week. She has mentioned wanting to return to school. I asked her what she thought of the idea of going back tomorrow and she said, "Maybe even today."

I think the turning point may have actually been last night. Yesterday was a pretty sad day. She just seemed so depressed. She wanted to sit in her bed alone rather than being out in the living room during the afternoon. As she went to bed last night, she complained of her stomach hurting and it dawned on me that she must be starving. So we said, "Up, out of bed, you need to eat." She sat with Mark and I and actually ate. She ate two helpings of applesauce and two helpings of ice cream!

2 Days Post Tonsillectomy

Elise seems to be doing really well. The doctor and everyone warned us that the pain would get worse for about three days and then start to subside. So far I haven't noticed it getting worse at all. Immediately after surgery, when she was laying in my arms and crying, was the worst moment I think. She does have a few times a day, probably when her meds are starting to wear off, that she will complain a little, but not like I expected. Last night when she was having one of those moments it was right before bed and she was brushing her teeth. We were both standing in front of the mirror and she was crying a bit. She said, "Why did he do this to me??" Oh, it was so sad! So I gently explained to her that breathing was really important and we'd like her to breath better at night.

The photos were taken yesterday, the day after surgery. Shawn took a nap for the first time in forever. He actually fell asleep sitting up in a chair in the kitchen while eating a popsicle. Too funny! Elise wanted me to lay him down with her. So cute . . . until she starting kicking him in the head. He then was moved and able to take a peaceful nap on the other couch.

Day After T-Day

We all awoke to Elise's screaming and coughing this morning at about 5:55am. She was complaining that she had swallowed a piece of hair and couldn't get it out. Mark came and checked it out with a flashlight and then had to explain to her that her throat is just going to feel really different for a few days. No hair in her throat, just a scab trying to form where her tonsils once were. Of course Mark added, "You won't ever have to go through this again. Just hang in there for a few days."

For patients who have had a tonsillectomy they recommend that you sleep with your head elevated. A six year old is not going to stick to that throughout the night so the doctor suggested that one of us sleep in her room the first couple of nights to keep an eye on her. I tried last night but her snoring was so obnoxious I just couldn't relax. Poor kid! I do hope we see that calm down soon or I will be very depressed.

Mark headed back to work today so it's just me with the two kids today. We'll be fine. I told Mark yesterday that the worst that will happen is that the kids will both watch 8 hours of TV today.

Yesterday we read an e-mail from Poh & B (her grandparents who are off at sea right now on a scientific voyage) and they suggested she draw a picture of her experience to show them when they return. Not only did she draw a picture, she has now illustrated the entire course of events . . . waiting in the waiting room, sitting with Mom & Dad when the nurses and doctors came to talk to us, changing her clothes in the bathroom, and my favorite, the parts I wasn't there for, being put to sleep and waking up in a different room. She just used up the last piece of her drawing paper so I'll have to go find her something else to use. And maybe later we'll put it together in chronological order and make it a book.

T-Day

I haven't blogged in months. Today's as good a day as any (or maybe a better day than any) to pick it up again. But not better as in, "Woohoo! Excitement! Happiness! Thrilling event!" Today Elise had her tonsillectomy. She's been looking forward to this day for weeks. Over the past few days she's even been playing hospital and acting out being sick. She's taught her brother everything she knew about having tonsils removed. After today she'll have a few more things to teach him.

The surgery center actually called us this morning just moments after she was out of bed and asked if we could come in early. So we were off and running. Shawn got to go play with Grama this morning so Mark and I could both attend the surgery. The first part was boring . . . signing paperwork, paying, etc. Then they took us back and Elise got to put on hospital pajamas. Not just a gown. There were cute little scrub-type pants that matched. She even got little booties and a lovely blue shower cap to wear. Then she got to sit in this huge recliner chair while one nurse, then the doctor, then the anesthesiologist than another nurse came and talked to her. I was really surprised though when we didn't get to stay with her while she was put under. The nurse just said, "Okay come with me," and she led Elise off without us getting to say, "Good-bye," or give her a hug. Well it went very quickly and soon the doctor was out in the waiting room calling us back. Everything went well he said. She did have huge tonsils and he's sure we'll see an improvement with her snoring at night. Just another quick wait in the waiting room and we were escorted back to see her. She was already awake and asking for us. My poor little bug was trudging along with two nurses and an IV pole. She just wanted to curl up in my lap and the first thing she said was, "It hurts really bad!" Then for the next 45 minutes she just dosed in and out of conciseness, coming to when she felt like she was going to throw up and after no success with that, she'd go back to sleep.

We are back home way ahead of schedule and she's sleeping again. The odd thing is, she's snoring really well! Hmmm . . . Mark says it's just from the swelling after surgery. I think I might need to get a flashlight and look in there to make sure they're really gone. :)

Now the challenge is keeping her pain level down and her body well hydrated. Our kitchen is well armed with Strawberry Quick, green Gatorade, Chrystal Light, Popsicles, jell-o, and juice. Hopefully there is something in there that will appeal to her enough to keep her out of a hydration clinic. The doctor's challenge to her at her pre-op appointment last week was to keep her urine clear. Prior to surgery she was paying attention to this. We'll see later today if she even cares about her clear pee as much as she did yesterday.

Thanks for the prayers and well wishes from everyone!