Our First Surgery

As a family goes, I guess we are pretty safe and healthy. He haven't had any broken bones or surgeries . . . until now.

At a routine dental cleaning our dentist pointed out that Maren had abnormally large tonsils that we should have them checked out by her pediatrician. Dr. Ally, our pediatrician, said they weren't absessed but that they were growing faster than they should and, in fact, one of the tonsils was larger than the other. She referred us to an Ear Nose and Throat specialist. While meeting with Dr. Owens at Southwest Idaho Ear Nose and Throat, we learned that in some cases (mostly in kids over 8 years old) the tonsils can be cancerous when one is larger than the other. This was a new thought for me and a little concerning but I felt that Maren would be alright. It was a no-brainer that the tonsils had to come out and would be biopsied but Dr. Owens couldn't see passed the tonsils in order to see if the adnoids needed to be removed as well. He would have to make that decision during surgery.

We had two weeks to prepare Maren for the big day (March 2010). What we should have done instead was prepare Sam! We drove her to the surgery center and got all the paperwork, etc. squared away. Then came the time for Maren to leave with Dr. Owens. She just hopped off Sam's lap and went. Sam had such a hard time while she was gone. He couldn't believe she just up and left like that. He was fidgeting, nervous and kept asking how long I thought it had been since they took her back.

We finally got to bring her home and the fun of never-ending popsicles began! I was prepared for a lot of whining but she was such a trooper. One of her favorite things was apple juice in a spray bottle. It kept her hydrated and soothed her throat at the same time. She was even asking for solid food for dinner just 2 or 3 days after surgery. She didn't eat a lot but I was surprised she was even interested. I also didn't expect that she would still need her pain meds 14-days afterwards but apparently it is a pretty painful experience. It took three weeks before she was running and back to 100-percent again.

The results of the biopsy were normal - just large tonsils and adnoids (they removed those too). She sleeps so much better and QUIETER now.