Christmas came and went with no health concerns. This was quite a relief as we knew that whether or not Chloe would be getting her tonsils and adenoids removed would depend on keeping her healthy. She was scheduled to see the new pediatric ENT that we found on January 6. From the very beginning of the appointment I knew Dr Heatley was a perfect fit for our family. She was straight forward, compassionate and very concerned that our concerns had not been addressed by our previous physician. Upon examination of Chloe she said that she didn't even need the results from the sleep study to see this child needed to have at the very least her tonsils removed. Due to many issues going on within our family, the size of her tonsils and the sleep study results she scheduled Chloe for a priority T & A.
A day after her examination I received a call and the date was set. January 21 would be the magical day for just one more step in Chloe's progress toward being as healthy as possible. The days proceeding her surgery we kept her home as much as possible and kept her away from anyone that even showed the slightest hint of illness. The morning of January 21 arrived and off to American Family Childrens' Hospital we went. Her surgery was scheduled for 3 pm, but uncharacteristic to how most hospitals run Chloe was actually able to go into surgery at 2 pm. Her surgery went off without a hitch and before I knew it she was in recovery. Dr Heatley came in to give me an update on the procedure. She was amazed at just how large her tonsils and adenoids were. Normally she likes to remove the adenoids first and then the tonsils. She had to remove one tonsil to get back to the adenoids. Upon getting into the region of the adenoids, she determined that Chloe had possibly the largest adenoids she had ever seen creating about a ninety percent blockage. She was very sure that this procedure would improve the quality of Chloe's sleep and life tremendously.
Because Chloe has a seizure disorder they wanted to keep her in the hospital to make sure that she was not going to have any difficulties with uncontrolled seizures. She slept the entire evening and all through the night. When she woke up the next morning she was having some issues with pain control and we were a bit worried she would be stuck there an extra night having to deal with pain management. After trying a couple of different medicines Chloe settled in and seemed to be very comfortable around noon that day and we felt comfortable being discharged. Over the next few days we managed her pain and rapidly saw Chloe become sassy little Chloe all over again. This surgery did not at all hinder her from being active and to continue with therapy as scheduled.
I have to add that the change was almost immediate. Her snoring stopped within days. Normally, Chloe would need at least 10 hours of sleep a night. She would easily sleep for 12 hours a night, if her brother would let her. Within a week she was sleeping 8 hours a night and woke up energetic and ready to go. She would take at least two naps if not three a day prior to the surgery. Now she takes one 2 hour nap a day and requires far less down time. Of course, this does mean mom has to have way more energy to deal with the new and improved Chloe. Time to buy better vitamins!
Thus ends the month of January. Now onto much more exciting things for Chloe...
