I survived

Well, my second lingual tonsillectomy was a success....so far! Here is a rundown of my day yesterday:

We got up at 4:15 am and arrived at the hospital at 5:45. My dear neighbor, Chris, came over and watched Kiera all day and all night! After a little paperwork and a quick interview I got my gown on and was headed into surgery about 7:30. But, before I went in we had a little concern. I had to tell the anestheologist that the last time I had surgery they had a heck of a time getting the air tube down my throat. We think it was from scar tissue from the previous tonsillectomy. So this really concerned the anestheologist. He said we have two options. One, put a tube and a camera down your throat while you are awake and then put you to sleep and do the surgery or two, put me to sleep see if they can get the tube down and if not, they will wake me up and do the camera thing. Ummmm...I do not wish to be awake for any procedure, thank you! We asked him why I need to be awake and he said your airway is least likely to collapse when you are awake. Great! He opted to put me to sleep and try the tube---Thank God! They gave me some Versed (a wonderful forgetful drug) and had me move beds into a quite uncomfortable position. Towel rolled up under my back and hands down at my side and then the next thing I knew, I was somewhere else wondering if I had surgery. That is the funny thing about surgery. You feel like one minute passes and you are not sure if you even had anything done. I thought that maybe they had fought my airway so much that they woke me up to try with a camera. I looked at the clock and it was almost 9, so I very carefully swallowed.............OUCH!!!!!!!! Fire!!!!!!! I had the surgery. Well, I was glad about that! After knowing for more than a year I was going to have the surgery (and having it cancelled once due to the Dr. family emergency) I was sure glad to have this behind me. So the Dr. came in the recovery room and told me that he removed a great deal of tonsil tissue by using a snare and cauterized some of the rest. He said I would have a lot of pain and I should probably stay overnight due to the threat of swelling and/or bleeding. I think I have a large gaping wound on the back of my tongue, but I am not sure. Ignorance is bliss sometimes. So off to my semi-private room. You know, in this day and age don't you think we should all have our own rooms? They said they didn't have any private rooms. Hmmmm... The thought of sharing a toilet with someone I don't know (who is in the hospital nonetheless) is a little bothersome. At least she was a quiet old lady who wore a diaper. She didn't have any visitors and only a few callers. I am sure it could have been worse.
At about 8 pm, I was feeling really good and we decided to see if I could go home. We had the nurse call the doctor to see. After two hours of back and forth calls a decision was made....NO! They were afraid of how I might feel once the steroids wore off. So, Kevin went home at 11 and I laid down and prepared for my night of endless awakings. I asked for a sleeping pill, but they said my blood pressure was too low. Oh well. I woke at 5:45 to have my vitals checked (again!). My throat was on fire again, so they brought me more pain meds and some ice cream. I felt better. The doctor came in at 7 and I was released. So, now I am at home trying to rest and enjoy my time of recovery. It is not often that a mom of a toddler gets to lay around and let her husband take care of her.
For those of you wondering how I was able to stay in touch so much throughout the surgery...Iphones and laptops. They go anywhere! Gotta love technology!

Thank you for all of your prayers, calls, comments, and texts. I feel very honored to have such great friends and family members! I love you all!