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The girls had their surgeries on Friday. This picture is the one that Claire did when we arrived home from the hospital.
Claire was very nervous and upset when we arrived at the hospital. Katie was not too happy either but I don’t think that she completely understood what was going on. When they took us back to get vitals and gowns, Claire started crying and wanted to be on my lap. Katie whispered in my ear, “Claire first.” So the nurse gave Claire the pre-op sedative after she was gowned and ready. Shortly after drinking the medication, Claire was relaxed and resting in a bed. Not only was her anxiety completely gone, but she also had a serious case of the giggles. Then she was taken to the O.R. and Katie drank her medicine. It seemed to hit Katie more quickly than Claire and I was surprised to see her get a goofy look on her face right before she had seemingly unstoppable urge to get up and do a little dance. She was swinging her butt as if trying to do “the twist.” It was especially funny when you factor in the hospital gown that doesn’t really close in the back. I had to coax her back onto my lap before she injured herself. I then tucked her into her bed and spent the next 20 minutes trying to keep her there anyway I could, short of actually sitting on her. She reminded me a lot of Drew Barrymore in ‘Never Been Kissed’ when she accidentally ate the hash brownies.
Katie was very relaxed (obviously) but as soon as the nurses came to get her she became upset that I couldn’t go with her. She cried a little but was drugged enough that the nurses were able to distract her pretty easily.
Soon after Katie went back the nurse came to take us to the room that Claire was in. They had already moved her out of recovery into her regular room. Claire was sitting up in bed with several nurses getting her settled in. She was awake and looked great. She told me that her throat was just a little sore. The anesthesiologist had told me prior to the procedure that she likes to give quite a bit of pain medication in recovery, which seemed to have worked out well for Claire. Claire didn’t even seem bothered that she was hooked up to an I.V.
I sat with Claire and was talking to her when a nurse came in and asked if it would be ok to have them in separate rooms. They were not sure that they could fit two beds in the room and all the rooms were private. Claire then said that Katie could share her bed because they wanted to be together. So that was to be the first time the hospital had two post-surgical patients share a bed.
By that time I was getting worried about Katie. It was taking longer for her to get done. One of the nurses went to call about her and returned to the room saying that Katie was fine and awake but was very upset and crying. Claire looked concerned and said, “Mommy, you should go to Katie.” I was shocked that a six year-old could have such empathy for her little sister. I was walking down the hall and saw Katie’s bed at the end of the hallway. She was screaming for me and her face was covered in tears. One of the nurses was nice enough to hold the baby while I tried to calm Katie. She kept crying and screaming that her throat hurt. She had to have her pain medication right away and was soon calm and resting in bed with her sister.
Claire was feeling well enough to go for a walk down the hall, pushing her I.V. pole with one hand and clutching the rear of her gown, trying to avoid mooning everyone. I think Claire remembered seeing me walk to the bathroom in a hospital gown recently when her and Katie both cracked up laughing with Katie saying, “I can see Mommy’s butt!”
In a short time they both had the call light figured out and were pushing the button to place their orders as if they were in a drive-thru. I heard the nurse through the speaker asking, “Can I help you with something?” To which Katie responded, “We would like some ice cream. Claire wants strawberry and I want chocolate.” Fortunately the nurses thought that they were cute and didn’t seem too irritated by all the calls. Claire rewarded them with some of her drawings that she worked on while we were there.
They are home now and very tired. Katie has continued to have more pain than Claire and still needs pain medication on a regular basis. She woke up coughing and crying very early this morning. It seems that they caught colds on top of everything else and once again, it is worse for Katie. She has been running a fever and is just miserable.
Claire’s biggest complaint is that she’s hungry and she wants regular food. It has proven a challenge to keep them full on the soft diet. They are both sick of Popsicles and ice cream. The only thing that Katie really wants today is “hobstable soup” which translates to hospital soup. (chicken broth)
Hopefully Katie will be feeling better in the morning. I would rather be breaking up the fights than worrying about kids that are too sick to fight.
Claire was very nervous and upset when we arrived at the hospital. Katie was not too happy either but I don’t think that she completely understood what was going on. When they took us back to get vitals and gowns, Claire started crying and wanted to be on my lap. Katie whispered in my ear, “Claire first.” So the nurse gave Claire the pre-op sedative after she was gowned and ready. Shortly after drinking the medication, Claire was relaxed and resting in a bed. Not only was her anxiety completely gone, but she also had a serious case of the giggles. Then she was taken to the O.R. and Katie drank her medicine. It seemed to hit Katie more quickly than Claire and I was surprised to see her get a goofy look on her face right before she had seemingly unstoppable urge to get up and do a little dance. She was swinging her butt as if trying to do “the twist.” It was especially funny when you factor in the hospital gown that doesn’t really close in the back. I had to coax her back onto my lap before she injured herself. I then tucked her into her bed and spent the next 20 minutes trying to keep her there anyway I could, short of actually sitting on her. She reminded me a lot of Drew Barrymore in ‘Never Been Kissed’ when she accidentally ate the hash brownies.
Katie was very relaxed (obviously) but as soon as the nurses came to get her she became upset that I couldn’t go with her. She cried a little but was drugged enough that the nurses were able to distract her pretty easily.
Soon after Katie went back the nurse came to take us to the room that Claire was in. They had already moved her out of recovery into her regular room. Claire was sitting up in bed with several nurses getting her settled in. She was awake and looked great. She told me that her throat was just a little sore. The anesthesiologist had told me prior to the procedure that she likes to give quite a bit of pain medication in recovery, which seemed to have worked out well for Claire. Claire didn’t even seem bothered that she was hooked up to an I.V.
I sat with Claire and was talking to her when a nurse came in and asked if it would be ok to have them in separate rooms. They were not sure that they could fit two beds in the room and all the rooms were private. Claire then said that Katie could share her bed because they wanted to be together. So that was to be the first time the hospital had two post-surgical patients share a bed.
By that time I was getting worried about Katie. It was taking longer for her to get done. One of the nurses went to call about her and returned to the room saying that Katie was fine and awake but was very upset and crying. Claire looked concerned and said, “Mommy, you should go to Katie.” I was shocked that a six year-old could have such empathy for her little sister. I was walking down the hall and saw Katie’s bed at the end of the hallway. She was screaming for me and her face was covered in tears. One of the nurses was nice enough to hold the baby while I tried to calm Katie. She kept crying and screaming that her throat hurt. She had to have her pain medication right away and was soon calm and resting in bed with her sister.
Claire was feeling well enough to go for a walk down the hall, pushing her I.V. pole with one hand and clutching the rear of her gown, trying to avoid mooning everyone. I think Claire remembered seeing me walk to the bathroom in a hospital gown recently when her and Katie both cracked up laughing with Katie saying, “I can see Mommy’s butt!”
In a short time they both had the call light figured out and were pushing the button to place their orders as if they were in a drive-thru. I heard the nurse through the speaker asking, “Can I help you with something?” To which Katie responded, “We would like some ice cream. Claire wants strawberry and I want chocolate.” Fortunately the nurses thought that they were cute and didn’t seem too irritated by all the calls. Claire rewarded them with some of her drawings that she worked on while we were there.
They are home now and very tired. Katie has continued to have more pain than Claire and still needs pain medication on a regular basis. She woke up coughing and crying very early this morning. It seems that they caught colds on top of everything else and once again, it is worse for Katie. She has been running a fever and is just miserable.
Claire’s biggest complaint is that she’s hungry and she wants regular food. It has proven a challenge to keep them full on the soft diet. They are both sick of Popsicles and ice cream. The only thing that Katie really wants today is “hobstable soup” which translates to hospital soup. (chicken broth)
Hopefully Katie will be feeling better in the morning. I would rather be breaking up the fights than worrying about kids that are too sick to fight.
1 comment:
How touching--both being in the same bed and Claire telling you to go to Katie. And the ice cream request cracks me up. They must be such a joy. Hope the healing goes well
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