Henley's Tubes

So I think I had posted a little earlier about how Henley was going to get tubes in her ears. Well on November 23rd that is exactly what happened. We were so worried because she had an infection and had been running a 101 fever the night before her surgery. On all the pre-surgery information it talked about notifying the anesthesiologist of any fever etc... because they might delay the surgery! No freaking way was I letting that happen! Henley has been so miserable lately with all her ear infections and I was not about to take her out of town on an airplane no less with an ear infection! I do not think there is anything worse than a sick child, but a sick child out of their own element!

Anyway, I gave her some Motrin and put her to bed that night! I prayed and prayed that God would please keep her healthy enough for her surgery in the morning. All night long I heard her moaning and groaning and I knew my sweet baby was just hurting and I prayed again that she would be alright in the morning! Well we had to be at the hospital at 6:15am and 5:15 came very quick especially when you have been up since 2:00am worrying about whether your baby will be able to feel better soon! I was a mess! We decided to wait right until the last minute to get her out of bed to take her to the hospital...I was so scared she was going to be burning up and sure enough!!! It took about a second for me to realize she had a fever of 100 0r higher when I touched her! Seriously? I just started to panic and was so worried this was going to be delayed until after the holiday and I just did not want that to happen!!! So the drastic things we parents do to help our children! It was cold outside and I thought that maybe if I took her pj's off that would bring her temp down...I know I know that is dumb and probably a little irresponsible as a parent! Well, I figured it was a mute point because she was not going to get tubes today! We got to the hospital and I was just ridiculous! I did not even have time to be nervous because I was so worried about her fever. The nurse called us back and took all her vitals and of course she had a 100.9 fever! We told her she had an ear infection right now and was on medication. The nurse believed the fever was due to her ears being so bad and told us it really was not a big deal because the do not intubate them during the procedure. A small fever is alright with a procedure like tubes. WOW...the relief that came over me was huge! Now, the nervousness was setting in! Anytime you put a child under anesthesia it is scary and especially this young!

We were taken back to our room and told by the nurse and anesthesiologist exactly what would happen and how long it would take. They told us how she would react to the anesthesia and that she probably would be very upset when they brought her back to us. They told us how she would scream when we gave her over to the nurse for the procedure and not to worry. They told us to give her quick kisses and pass her off at the door! The anesthesiologist told us the more they scream the quicker they go out because they take in more of the gas used to sedate them! He told us it was like hitting a pause button! They go out and it literally takes about 3 minutes to do the procedure and they they wake them up and it is immediate screaming! He told us it took Henley about 10 seconds and she was out!!! We heard her screaming when they took her to recovery! Wow, my daughter has a set of lungs!!! They brought her to us and it took a few moments to calm her down, but not long! She just went back in forth snuggling mommy and daddy! Holding on for dear life! What the heck just happened? The doctor came in and talked to us about her ears and post-op stuff. He told us that her ears were so clogged that it was like "GLUE"! He told us she should be able to hear much, much better and feel better too! We have seen a huge difference in our baby girl! She is so much more happy than before! We are so glad that we did this and so glad we did not have to wait any longer! Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes you all gave us!