Well, both of my girls started out January with fevers. Kyri's was pretty high and lasted for about four or five days. She had flu-like symptoms and was miserable, and I was freaking out because she was scheduled for tonsil surgery the next week, but I knew they wouldn't do it if she wasn't feeling well. Luckily, Dr. Lin gave her a prescription for Tamaflu, and that got rid of the fever and nasty cough pretty quickly. (More on her surgery later in the post).
Two days after Kyri's fever started, Tessa spiked one, too. She got a nasty, croupy cough with her fever and was having a hard time breathing. She and I visited the emergency room one of the nights because the steamy shower and blast of fresh air outside wasn't doing the trick. When we got there, Tessa's fever was 103.5 and she was putting on a coughing/barking show. I called her my little seal while she was being examined, and she lifted her head up, pointed at her chest and said, "No, I Tessie B!". I cracked up. Even when she was feeling miserable, she still had to set the record straight. The doctor kept her there for about 3 hours to monitor her breathing.
She got a heavy dose of ibuprofen, a steroid, and in the breathing treatment there was a medicine to treat the croup. They also gave her a huge glass of straight apple juice... By the time we left (around 1:00 in the morning), she was wired and wanted to walk all by herself! I was so happy to see her perk up from the lump that she was when we went in. After a few days, she was back to her normal crazy self!
So, the next week, we visited the hospital again for Kyri's tonsil and adenoid surgery. (She had been battling sinus infections this past year, and she was on 5 different antibiotics since October. We were referred to an ENT, and after looking at Kyri's throat for about 10 seconds, the Dr. said her tonsils and adenoids needed to come out.) Aunt Kay found Kyri a book about the surgery, and it was perfect to prepare her for what to expect. K.J. was soooo brave!
Before Surgery - Waiting patiently
(for almost 2 hours... good thing cartoons were on!)
When the anesthesiologist came in to explain to Kyri what would happen, she stopped him and
TOLD HIM all about the "magic mask" that he was going to put on her. He cracked up and looked at us in disbelief. We told him we read a book about it, and he was impressed. The nurse was surprised how much K.J. knew about the surgery, too. She asked us for the title of the book so they could get one for future patients. : )
The whole surgery lasted only about 15 minutes! We met with the Dr. afterwards, and he told us her tonsils were huge, infected, and had way more scarring than he has seen in a kid so young. So, it made us feel better about the decision to have them removed.
After about a half an hour, we were able to go back into the recovery room. While Kyri was really excited about the popsicle part after the surgery, it didn't turn out to be so fun at first. : ) The nurses kept trying to get her to suck on a freeze pop, but Kyri was crying and coughing a lot. They gave her something to make her more comfortable, and it put her to sleep for a while longer. Eventually, the nurses gave us the okay to go home, but K.J. was still pretty tired and uncomfortable.
I got to ride in the wheelchair with her on the way out.
Poor thing...she didn't enjoy getting jostled around.
She was pretty nauseous for the first couple of hours after we got home and got sick a little bit, too. But by late afternoon, she was perking up a bit. She enjoyed getting to eat ice cream for dinner! (Thanks to Auntie Chrissy for giving her a gift card for ice cream - along with a dinosaur book to keep her busy!)
She definitely felt loved after the surgery with so many people sending her well wishes. She is one lucky girl to have so many wonderful people in her life!
Grandma B stopped by with a big bag of books and DVDs to keep her occupied for the next few days while lying on the couch.
Uncle O and Auntie Donna (and the kids) sent her a special delivery.
Uncle B and Aunt Kay (and the kids) sent her this "Make your Own Popsicles" kit.
Uncle Steve and Aunt Sandy sent these cute flowers.
And Grandma Nancy sent her this fairy friend to play with.
K.J felt so special to get so many deliveries, along with cards and phone calls to check on her. Thank you, everyone, for helping lift her spirits!!
Her recovery went pretty well for the next couple of days, but around the 7th day after surgery, her pain spiked up again pretty badly. The paperwork that we got said that would happen, and at her follow up appointment, the Dr. said that was a normal part of the healing process. The poor thing felt worse the second week than she did right after the surgery. We felt so bad for her. Now that we're onto week three, she seems to be doing much better. She still complains of a sore throat occasionally, but she is back to eating all of her normal foods. Hopefully this surgery will help her feel better in the long run!
Looking back on all of the sickness and recovery that went through this house, I have to say I didn't mind having an excuse to sit around and snuggle my girls for a few weeks. I just wish they didn't feel so miserable throughout all of this!
