Day 25: Tonsils

Today was the big day. Got up early (and had a little trouble waking up... grrr) and got the kids up and ready to go.

Sabrina was excited, Mom was nervous, Edgar was helpful. We packed Sabrina into her orange chariot, and headed to the clinic for her 7:30 AM surgery, just her and daddy.

your chariot awaits.

pre-surgery selfie

dressed and ready.

We got to the office, filled out paperwork, and Sabrina and I went back to change into her "fish pajamas" and "party hat" and meet/get quizzed by several flavors of nurse and doctor. We had enough time to hurry-up-and-wait that we got to take lots of silly pictures:

paperwork.

Bats.

Then, Sabrina was led to the "party room" with the promise of watermelon-flavored anesthetic gas, and I went to the waiting room to do the waiting room thing. After a while, the doctor came out to inform me that the surgery was successful, there was no bleeding, everything was great, and that after getting in there, he could tell that Sabrina really needed the surgery. It seemed a little sales pitchy to me, but what do I know. Anyway, the operation was a success. I called Jen, and waited some more. Jen arrived, and about 10 minutes later, they called us into the recovery room because Sabrina had woken up.

She woke up sad. She was uncomfortable, and sad, but brave. She wanted the IV and machines off her, and wanted to take them off herself. She was a good drinker, and had drunk 3 cups of water and had a popsicle before we even headed home. Apparently good hydration is the key to recovery, pain management, and everything else, so let's keep the drinks going.

Immediately after waking up.

Get these things OFF me.

My wife is HOT.

As I mentioned a few days ago, we're sponsoring her drinks today in lieu of the Jog-a-thon. She very much hit her maximum. 12+ drinks, and we lost count.

Sabrina came home to snuggle grandma (who had come to watch Betty), and set up in our bedroom eating ice cream and watching Netflix.

 

a little green around the gills.

... but nothing strawberry ice cream can't fix.

After 4 bowls of ice cream, she started to slow down. Then she threw up. Then she was back on the ice cream. Oh well. I took a nap until Edgar came home from school.

Edgar was such a prince today. He picked up Sabrina's homework for her (without being asked), and sat down and did a week's worth of homework at the kitchen table.

I had some Sabrina snuggle time this afternoon, reading some books, and watching TV with her. Edgar was as solicitous and helpful as he could be. Here's Edgar bringing a gigantic glass of chocolate milk to Sabrina. I do believe she eventually drank it all.

baby snuggles,

By dinnertime, Sabrina got pretty owly-- she was sick of the same old foods, and wanted something different. Jen got her to eat most of a bowl of chicken soup, and she envied her brother's lunchables, so she tried them, but the crackers and meat were too much, so she ate all the cheese.

After dinner, a bit of snuggling, some reading of Winnie-ther-Pooh, and bedtime. By doctor's orders, Sabrina is sleeping in a recliner in my bedroom. Edgar is sleeping on our bed, next to the recliner, because he refuses to be parted from his sister. Jen and Betty are sleeping in a recliner in the living room. I'll be joining Edgar and Sabrina in the room shortly, for what I anticipate to be a long and tough and not very restful night.

Unlike these two, who will sleep relatively peacefully.

Doctor says Sabrina's pain will get much worse before it gets better. I'm not looking forward to the stress of the next few days, but we can handle this, right?

Long ago, I took Jen skiing. Jen is not a very good skier (despite being a born and raised Utahn), and I made the mistake of taking her on a slope that was simply too steep for her to handle. At the time, though, the only way out of her predicament was to continue down the hill, so I kept repeating "You can get down this hill!" to her. That's been our motto in life. "You can get down this hill"... because sometimes that's the only way you CAN go.

So... we can get down this hill.