Survival

Yesterday was the big day - a double tonsillectomy for our family! Steve and Ashton both went in for surgery and as of today they are surviving. I am getting to be the ultimate nursemaid to both while also attending to the "healthy" ones in the house. This new job of mine has literally kept me running most of the day. Steve is upstairs and Ashton is downstairs in the guest room (it has a TV and DVD player ... and she doesn't have to get on and off of the top bunk) so I am making trips up and down the stairs constantly. They are living on a diet of popsicles, sherbet, smoothies, soup, mashed potatoes, jello, etc. right now. The doctor said they could easily lose 10 pounds during recovery which neither of them can really afford :) They are both doing a bit better than I expected - guess I set myself up for the "worst case scenario" so I wouldn't be totally stunned. They are only taking pain meds occasionally and are both eating (if you can call it that) and drinking well. Both are pretty low maintenance people in general and are proving to be just as easy as patients. I'm having to remind Ashton to eat and drink so she stays hydrated but she isn't fighting me on it which is nice. Steve is taking care of himself more than I feel he should but that is his stubborn "I don't need anything" kind of way. I feel really lucky. Ashton keeps coming upstairs to ask Steve how he is feeling which I think is so cute and sweet! Steve does the same when he comes downstairs for more ice water. They are really keeping tabs on each other. I did manage to sneak in some "me time" today with a 4 mile run and took the non-recovering girls swimming while Cougar napped this afternoon - other than that it was up and down the stairs, making smoothies, filling water bottles, heating up soup, running to Sonic for slushes, KFC for mashed potatoes, warming the heating pad, dispensing medication, etc. If today is the worst it gets then I think we're in good shape!!

As for yesterday, we had to be at the surgery center at 6:30 A.M. My friend Beth (I would link you to her blog but she doesn't have one yet ... hint, hint, Beth) came over at 6 to stay with the sleeping kiddos until they woke up so she could take them to her house for the day. That was such a big help!! As we drove there we saw all of the damage from the storm the night before - more on that later. I was actually worried that there wouldn't be power at the surgery center because all of the street lights were out when we got off the freeway! Lucky for us they were open for business when we arrived :) Ashton was scheduled to go first so they took us all back, got all of the vitals, etc, got them into gowns, we met with the anesthesiologist and doctor, and she was off! While she was in surgery I got to sit with Steve while he waited. The doctor came in and said he was done with Ashton and she has been an A+ patient. Everything went perfectly and he said that her tonsils were so huge and disgusting that they should have come out long ago. At least they're out now ;) I headed into recovery with her and they wheeled Steve off to surgery. Ashton had a very difficult time waking up ... it was the hardest part of the entire day watching her and listening to her cry. You could see in her eyes that she didn't know what was going on - she looked panicked. She kept trying to get off of the bed and kept grabbing her throat saying how much it hurt. It was heartbreaking for me to watch!!! I kept putting my arm around her, rubbing her arms and legs so she would know I was there, telling her everything was going to be okay. She came around much better after about 10-15 minutes and could then talk to me, eat ice chips, and drink water. Shortly after they brought Steve out to recover. They moved Ashton's bed right next to his which was great. It was also by a window so I actually had cell phone service and could text message ... a lifesaver! Steve was out of it much longer than Ashton was - stronger more long lasting drugs, I'm sure. In fact, he was telling me the first thing he remembered after the procedure yesterday and I told him he had actually been awake for an HOUR before that!!! Glad he knew I was there ;) I went back and forth between them giving them water, ice, and popsicles. The hardest part was feeling like I was neglecting one at all times. It was easier knowing that Steve was pretty far gone and didn't want much. It allowed me to focus more on Ashton. She got up to go to the bathroom and walked over to give him 5 ... so cute! She kept looking over and saying "hi" to him and he would wave. I'm actually glad they got to share the experience together - I think it made it easier for her and gives her something "special" to remember. They had to stay in recovery for 2 hours so we got to go home around 11:00. I must add that the entire nursing staff was amazing ... we were so lucky to have them looking after us! We hit Jamba Juice on the way home for smoothies, stopped at Walgreen's to drop off prescriptions, and made it home around noon. Beth willingly kept the kiddos (minus Cougar who came home for a 4 hour nap) for several more hours so we could get them settled and give them some quiet time to rest. I was glad it was over and now just hope the recovery continues to go smoothly. Ashton will be out of school for a week, no PE for 2 weeks. Steve was told 2 weeks off work minimum, but in true Steve fashion he is taking a full week off and then has scheduled patients half-days the next week. If he isn't feeling up to going back it will be easier to reschedule half a day worth of patients than a full day ;) No basketball or running for 3 weeks for him which will be hard but I will make sure it is enforced! We are just hoping everyone is feeling well enough to go on the Daddy Daughter Campout on September 12th!! Here are just a few pics of the fun time yesterday ....