So I mentioned Lucy had dental surgery on yesterday. I know several other kiddos that are having it soon so for those parents out there I will say it wasn't as bad as I was worried it would be but be prepared for a rough hour as they wake up.
The children's wing at the hospital we were at was wonderful. You can just tell when the nurses are used to working with kids and it makes a big difference. She was the first surgery so we had to get up ridiculously early - notice both kids are in pajamas. We were the only people in the waiting room but they had a ton of toys to keep her distracted.
Then we got our room and they offered her toys and movies to watch while she waited. The nurses were great about talking to her and explaining things. I thought she would be shy but she was talking to them and having a fun time. We did give her the optional sedative to help the parentless transition to the operating room but I'm not sure if it was necessary. As they took her away she was telling them all about the birds on her pajamas. I had told her she might have to wear other clothes so she was quite excited to be able to keep her pajamas on.
No pictures of us at the hospital afterwards. That was the worst part by far. She came back with a bloody mouth and nose, half way awake but disoriented - and MAD. Mad at the iv, mad at the "things in my mouth", mad we couldn't go home. Not that I blame her. That was hard on me too because she looked really bad but they had told me beforehand that they had given her medicine so when she complained her mouth hurt, it was probably more that it felt weird than real pain.
They let me up on the bed to lay with her as she woke up which helped. They took out the iv before she drank anything because even with her eyes shut, she kept trying to rip it out. Jonah was upset so Craig took him out (I'm not sure if he was upset that Lucy was crying or that I was ignoring him and only giving her attention) and after they checked her vitals they left too hoping she'd calm down easier if they were out of sight. She slowly started to calm down but even after 45 minutes, she was refusing to drink anything. She asked to watch a little more Tangled but she must have been seeing double still because she got mad because "there are two horses and there is only supposed to be one. Turn it off. Turn it off!"
Eventually, they let us go and once we were out of the hospital, she calmed down a lot. They had told us to make sure she had some juice or a milkshake before she slept and we were fighting the clock because she refused the juice in the car and I could see her eyelids starting to droop. I kept talking to her until we got a milkshake and that perked her up. She'd never had one before and we had told her she would like them but she wasn't convinced until she tasted it (after she made me taste it first to make sure it was okay) but has already asked if she could have them again.
She got settled in bed with the rest of her milkshake and some Daniel Tiger. She was still quite cranky but obviously feeling much better - especially with a little brother around to entertain her with his fabulous headstands. After a very long nap ( 3+ hours), she was pretty much back to herself. I took over tooth brushing so I could be very gentle but she said they didn't hurt. Today she's back to herself except she still won't eat harder foods - rejected a peanut butter sandwhich for lunch and she eat her grocery store cookie very slowly today. I could tell it hurt a bit but she wouldn't give it up either.
What a good little patient!
ReplyDelete