day 82/365 good bye tubes

Day82.jpg, originally uploaded by Darolyn Hamada.

Cassidy had surgery today to remove her ear tubes! She got them in in December 2008...2-1/2 years later, and the doctor said they look like she just placed them in...Therefore, she recommended that they be surgically removed. Having her undergo surgery this time around was really tough. She understands so much more. She was scared. And she cried...but she was brave and did really well. This picture is Cassidy in pre-op! They gave her some crayons and pages to color to pass the time. You can see the ever-present bear-bear is also in pre-op.

I held her when they gave her the anesthesia. That was tough to feel her slump in my arms. But I wanted to be there for her and hold her.

Her surgery only lasted 10 minutes or so. And sure enough...when I went to to restroom, they came to get me. So by the time I went to the recovery room, she was crying...and I mean really really crying like I haven't heard her cry in a long time. She was scared and probably wondered where I was. And then she started to say her ears are "owey". Poor baby. Her tylenol hadn't kicked in yet. And she kept on saying her ears were owey. The nurse kept trying to get her to rate the pain on a 1-10 scale...but how do you explain that to a 5 year old?

She's fine now. Her ears stopped hurting a few hours after we got home. I didn't even have to give her tylenol before she went to bed. She's a trooper. And come summertime, she'll love being able to swim without earplugs!