For those of you who don't already know, Emma will be having surgery next week! A definite adenoidectomy and a strong possibility of a tonsillectomy.
Too many sore throats/colds? No. She's getting them taken out because of the dark circles she gets under her eyes. I'll explain.
It all started with a quick little consultation with her orthodontist. He wondered if she was a mouth breather at night and I said she was. This is starting to cause some problems with her growth plate and her bite. So, he recommended we follow up with a ENT. He referred us to a good one at Jordan Valley, (someone the Rimington family is apparently already familiar with) and he discovered that Emma has very large adenoids! This causes her breathing problem at night, because she's not getting enough air through her nose - she automatically switches to her mouth.
She gets plenty of sleep at night, but it's not restful enough for her, hence the dark circles.
She gets plenty of sleep at night, but it's not restful enough for her, hence the dark circles.
I feel bad. Part of me thinks I should have discovered this sooner because for the last few years her pediatrician has asked about her dark circles. But when we ruled out lack of sleep and allergies I didn't of anything else, specifically her adenoids! Well, now we know and next week she goes under the knife.
Is she scared? YES, at first. She was terrified in the doctor's office. As the nurse described the pre-op and post-op details to me, Emma sat snuggled up in my lap. My almost 8 year old daughter, the one who groans when I ask for hugs, sat perched on my lap with a death grip on my encircling arms.
BUT after a day of talking about what would happen and why, THEN calling grandparents and Aunt Coco, she stopped being so scared and I think the only word that best describes it...came from her...She got on the phone with my mom, and said, "Grandma, I have some exciting news."
Exciting and scaring and expensive. Mike had hernia surgery 2 years ago and one of his comments was, "Why do we always end up having surgery in January when we're no where near meeting our deductible?"
I know as the actual day gets closer her nerves may just get the better of her again, so good thoughts and prayers for Emma would be welcomed this way. We love her so much and hope she recovers soon. The doctor will only take out her tonsils if they have too, but for now it's goodbye for the adenoids! The recovery time for the adenoids is very minimal, in fact the nurse told me most people have zero complaint, BUT the tonsils are different. Speaking from personal experience, it's one of the 3 most painful things I've ever experienced! And so for her sake I hope very much those don't need to come out too, but if they look too big or are touching while she's under, he'll just take them at the same time.
So, should I start stocking up on popcicles now, or wait? The hardest part will be keeping her hydrated because the last thing you want to do after that type of surgery is swallow anything! But we'll do our best and I think she'll make a speedy recovery. She's a strong girl, much stronger than she knows!
Good Luck Peanut.
