This last visit her hearing test showed more of the same, but the ENT said it is time to get the fluid out. I have been hesitant mostly because I was TERRIFIED of her going under general anesthesia!! The last time she went under was for her PDA ligation when she was two weeks old, she was tiny barely over her birthweight of 1lb 3oz at the time and the anesthesiologist made a comment that didn't set my mind at ease, "What are you going for the smallest baby to have this procedure done on?"
I went in to the waiting room feeling very very scared!! Thankfully she came through that surgery great! Even though the recovery was far from easy she came out stronger because of it!
This surgery was very similar in the sense that the anesthesiologist struck again. The ENT came in, got Adam's signature then said it would be just a few minutes before they would take her back.
Emma was snuggly and calm. I was starting to relax a little, and then the anesthesiologist came in. This is how he started: "How old is she?" Me: "She is 22months", Him: "Has she been sick lately?" Me:"Yes she has had a low grade fever, but it has gone away." Him: "Full term? Vaginal? Good Birth weight?" Me: "23weeks 1day, C-section, 1lb 3oz" Him: "What?" He then had me repeat her gestation and then got very grave....Him: "How long was she on the vent? How long has she been off oxygen? or an apnea monitor?" Me: "She was on the vent for 5 weeks, she came home on O2, but has been off both the O2 and apnea monitor for a year." Him:"I don't care how healthy you are there are always risks with anesthesia, you have to know that we do this surgery on sick kids even though it isn't ideal when they are stuffy or sick... she may revert to having apnea after anesthesia so I am going to keep you guys here for a while after surgery" Me:"Ok."
He then left the room. The ENT came in a few minutes later to appologize for the Anesthesiologist being so grumpy. He gave her quite the lecture about scheduling Emma as an outpatient. She assured us that she would not have scheduled Emma outpatient if she wasn't absolutely sure that she would be fine. The nurses came in, we gave Emma a kiss and she waved good-bye to us happily.
In the waiting room Adam held my hand, we tried to ignore Obama on the TV, and I prayed with all my heart that she would be fine!! Just 10mins later the ENT came out to tell us that it took all of 3minutes for her to drain the fluid and place the tubes. She also said that the fluid was really thick and she was really glad that we got it out of there. She said Emma's O2 was looking perfect and that they would come get us soon. Adam hugged me and I cried! We sat in the waiting room for what felt like eternity after that until a nurse came and got us. She told us she did great! She didn't even cry when she woke up! We were shown into a room where another nurse was holding Emma. Emma was calm and just looking around. They had me sit and apologized that we were going to be there for a while. The anesthesiologist came in and said that she did great but that he was going to keep us there until noon, just to be safe. The nurse brought Emma juice, which she downed without taking a break.
Emma was happy and until they said I could get her dressed. As soon as she was dressed she was ready to go home! Thankfully they had food and puzzles to distract her. Every nurse who walked by apologized that the anesthesiologist was keeping us so long and that Emma was obviously fine.... at 11am the anesthesiologist came in, thanked us for being patient with him, and said we could go!
Emma has shown amazing leaps in her speech since surgery, she is quick to try to repeat words we ask her to say and startles from loud noises (like the vacuum, or Mommy and Daddy yelling at her siblings) so we know that her hearing has greatly improved!
What is next for Emma? Well, she is going to start going to group at The Guild School. I have been hesitant about this because of cold/flu/RSV season, but because she has been approved for the Synagis (RSV) shot for all 5 months of RSV season, and she has been amazingly healthy in her crazy fragile life, we (Emma's pediatrician, Adam and I) feel the benefits of group will outweigh the risks to her health! So, please pray her immune system is as amazing as we need it to be and look forward to many exciting updates on her social and developmental advancements!!
