Sydney's Tonsillectomy

I've always joked Sydney sleeps like a catatonic ninja. If she's having a rough night, Brent will usually brave sleeping by her but aside from the constant tossing and turning, she snored too. Loudly. Even though she's been potty trained for a while, she had little accidents in the morning. Not enough to soak her, but like she couldn't quite reach the bathroom fast enough so she had to change her underwear. She was also notoriously grumpy in the morning. We didn't think too much about all this until her pediatrician took a look at her throat. Sydney's behavior was classic for a kid with tonsillitis. He recommended taking her to an ENT specialist. 

I've actually seen this ENT with Sydney before- his name is Dr. Livingston and he just frowned at me when I said, "Dr Livingston I presume?" as he entered the exam room. The reason I was taking Sydney to him that time was because she stuck a craft ball up her nose. I asked him why kids do that and he threw up his hands, told me he'd been doing this for 30 years and still didn't have an answer to that. He even sees teenagers who are old enough to know better and they stick stuff up their nose! The point being, I had taken Sydney to Dr. Livingston before and I wasn't exactly thrilled to be seeing him again- but mostly because he didn't think my "Dr. Livingston I presume" joke was funny. 

We were smack dab in the middle of stay-at-home orders so we attempted a Zoom with video and when that failed, I ended up just talking to Dr. Livingston on the phone. They couldn't take in-person appointments but he wanted us to more carefully observe Sydney as she slept- mostly for the apnea where she would stop breathing and then her body would jerk her into another position so she could breathe again. He suggested nasal spray just to see if it opened anything up. 

Eventually, we were able to see the good doctor who discovered Sydney's tonsils were a size 3+ out of 4. She also has high palate and a crease in her uvula and something about that meant he was going to take out most of her tonsils and adenoids but leave a little bit. We scheduled the surgery for the following month and since she was his youngest patient, she got to be the first one of the day. 

Before the surgery, she had to be tested for COVID-19. I decided not to detail what that would be like because Sydney can anguish over things. I'd heard it was invasive, but watching the nurse swab her I was pretty sure he grabbed some brain matter because that whole, looong swab went up her nose! It was over in a few seconds and she handled it like a champ- even he said she did better than most adults. One more pre-op appointment with her pediatrician and she was cleared for surgery. 

We had to get up really early to make it to the hospital by 6AM. We showered and Sydney picked out pajamas and some wedge heels which ended up being a bad idea when I had to try and get them on her when we left the hospital. Sydney was in a really good mood- I think she was anticipating some mother-daughter time.

The hospital allows the kids to take one stuffed animal into surgery with them and Sydney was excited to take Lovie, her bear. They even put a mask on him! It was about now my nerves really set in. I know this is a routine surgery. I know Dr. Livingston has done a million of them. I know this is what she needs. I know, I know, I know. But this is my little girl and her innocent eagerness at being in the hospital- surrounded by medical professionals and people masked and hand-sanitized just got to me. She had no idea what lay ahead and the guilt set in. The guilt that I hadn't seen the warning signs for what they were earlier and the guilt for keeping her in the dark about what was about to happen to her. 

This was when my friend Alisha Garner breezed through the door and announced she was going to be Sydney's nurse. My masked jaw dropped. I follow her on Instagram and she had posted a picture the day before from Washington climbing Mt. Ranier! I didn't know she was back in town and I had no idea she worked at this particular hospital. She chatted away in her upbeat voice and the vice grip of fear I was under loosened a bit. The children's wing of the hospital had been closed due to COVID-19 so it seemed the staff was happy to see a little girl. Alisha told me when she saw Sydney's name on the list she insisted on being her nurse. She listened carefully as Sydney told her all about Lovie and how her favorite color is pink but her second favorite color is purple and how these new socks feel funny... There was a delay with the medication because Sydney was so young and while we waited Alisha advised me that after this surgery most kids are either weepy or angry. She said most parents fall all over themselves trying to help but the best thing would be to turn off the lights and just let Sydney be. Just before she was wheeled off, Alisha let Sydney put up the guard rails on her hospital bed and she was sooo excited to do something so grown up. 

The Lord sends me nurses at some of the most helpless and vulnerable times of my life. 

Alisha's advice was gold. Sydney came out of surgery very weepy. She immediately gulped down 5 cups of water in between waves and waves of sobbing. Just as Alisha predicted, I felt the motherly instinct to try and fix it, but instead I turned out the lights and just stroked Sydney's hair. Eventually I crawled into the hospital bed because Sydney wanted to be held and it seemed to calm her a bit. I don't care if a tonsillectomy is a minor, common surgery- it's still surgery and that's a big deal.

I've never seen Sydney drink water like that!

The juxtaposition between her cheerful, perky self pre-op and a child that was just wrecked post-op was stark. He're a quick video of her breaking down in tears:

My ministering sisters brought over a meal for the family. I didn't think we needed it. Brent does all the cooking and he was working from home so he'd be around. A tonsillectomy is a minor surgery, no big deal, right? Turns out we needed that meal so very badly. Post-op I was physically and emotionally drained. I passed out and didn't wake up until late afternoon. Sydney passed out too but she needed her pain meds so Brent managed those while working and dealing with the other girls. By dinnertime, we were eager for that warm lasagna and rolls. I was so grateful to those ladies!!!

Before the procedure, I chatted with lots of friends and family who'd had a tonsillectomy. They all raved about how much better life was afterwards: no more ear infections, they could sleep, they could breathe- life was completely different. Somehow no one mentioned the recovery process. I thought it would be just a few days but Sydney was miserable for a solid week and a half. Dr. Livingston was out of the office so I talked to the on-call doctor about upping her pain meds. If we fell behind on those, Sydney was in agony.  

On day 10 post-op, it was like someone flipped a switch and she was perfectly fine. Believe it or not, she was sick of ice cream and longing for "scratchy" food they had told us to avoid. She had pizza that night and was back to her cheerful, perky self, no worse for the wear!

Bell's Palsy

On Sunday evening, Ireland was yelling at her sisters when Brent noticed... something. He brought her into our room and asked me to look at her. I remember her sitting on the end of our bed and he was right, her face looked- odd. I don't know how else to put it. Half of it was frozen, maybe even a little droopy, and just expressionless. But just half of her face, the other half was fine. We didn't know what to do and we really didn't want to take her to the hospital where surely they were overrun with coronavirus patients.  It didn't seem life-threatening so we decided to wait until the next morning when we could call her pediatrician and thus avoid a trip to the ER. 

Turns out the ER was inevitable. I called the pediatrician's office first thing Monday and they said it sounded like classic Bell's Palsey but just to be sure, any doctor would want to rule out other problems. Since a clinic couldn't do what a hospital could,  in terms of testing, it would require a trip to the ER. I was on my way to an appointment myself and then I had to login again to work. I'd already taken sick time for Ireland's asthma check up and was slated to take more for Sydney's tonsillectomy. I felt like I was in trouble with my PTO as it was. Unless it's blood draws or shots, I'm usually the point person for anything medically related with the kids. I just know their history better and can answer questions easier. But Brent was going to have to step up for this one. 

Brent notified his work and drove her to the ER. He said it was surprisingly empty- I guess everyone was trying to avoid the ER just like we were! Good thing too because they needed a neuro consult. They determined she indeed had Bell's Palsey.

Raising her eyebrows.

Making a kissy face.

Smiling.

You can see the effects more profoundly on a video:

 A round of corticosteroids and eye drops was the prescription. In Ireland's world, the steroids are small potatoes- she's on those pretty much every time she has a major asthma attack. Her prognosis for a quick recovery was good since we got her in within 72 hours of symptom onset. The next day a sweet package from Small Cakes arrived:

We were blown away. It was from Brent's boss who wished Ireland a quick recovery. Brent and I were so in the weeds with managing schedules, this kindness really felt like warm blanket on a cold, windy night. We weren't expecting it at all, and that made it all the sweeter. 

Over the next two and a half weeks, Ireland slowly regained movement on the right side of her face. We were relieved, but then she lost movement on the left side of her face. It just so happened to be the day she had a follow up with the doctor, which was lucky.

Her doctor said this only happens to something like 3% of people who develop Bell's Palsey. Another round of corticosteroids was prescribed and finally, finally Ireland could smile in earnest again.

Petoskey, MI

I've been itching to make a new family tradition around the 4th of July and Brent's birthday which is the next day. Usually doing anything at the beginning of the month is out of the question because Brent is slammed at work doing month-end accounting. However, the 4th is an automatic holiday and in the past we've done fireworks here and there, maybe made hot dogs, but nothing to really make it a special family gathering that the girls might remember. 

Somehow, Brent agreed to give a small, nearby vacation a try so we settled on Petoskey, MI. When we booked our room waaay back in February, we had no idea the pandemic would have us locked down and the Chicago waterfront completely closed. By the time July rolled around, we were bursting to get out of the house for a little adventure. Hampton Inns are our favorite because the beds are always soft and there's a good, free breakfast. We usually cram into a room with 2 queen beds and someone ends up on a sofa but this room had tons of space for everyone. The video doesn't do the view justice, really.

My friend Sarah grew up in Petoskey and recommended it as a great family vacation spot. She just so happens to be married to the bishop of our ward and they just so happened to be in town when we were. We met up with them for some ice cream from Kilwins. Sarah suggested the chocolate toasted coconut and even though I'm not a fan of coconut ice cream I tried it and fell in love. The moment I finished, I started scheming for a way to return for more. We walked down to the wharf and Bishop kindly interviewed Brigitta for her upcoming baptism. This was the first time we've had a child interviewed in a swimsuit on a dock! She was a little distracted and spacey as he talked to her, I think she was just really looking forward to finishing her ice cream and swimming in the hotel pool. 

On the 4th of July, we arrived at Petoskey State Park beach early to try and stake a good spot before the crowds. Being back at the beach was just what the doctor ordered! 

Traditional beach pics:

My favorite pose!

The girls immediately started hunting for Petoskey stones which is a fossilized coral. They are easiest to spot when they are wet. As if playing at the beach isn't fun enough, throw in rock hunting and the girls were blissfully happy! Ireland found one almost immediately.

Sydney was happy to stay in the shallow water while the waves gently lapped up over her.

She splashed around a bit.

I haven't seen her this happy in a while.

Brigitta was all about digging in the sand.

Sometimes it feels like she brings the whole beach back with her because of all the sand in her suit, hair, ears, etc. She loved being able to be near her sisters but still play on her own.

Between Covid-19 restrictions and her episode with Bell's Palsy, Ireland had become more withdrawn than usual. She didn't frolic at the beach so much, but she did enjoy the warmth and the sunshine.

Liesel seemed a bit more aware of the groups of teenagers at the beach. She spotted a girl with a really cute swimsuit. I told Liesel if she asked the girl where it was from, I would get it for her. It took a little while for her to build up the courage, but she finally did. Turns out the top was from Abercrombie and the trunks were from Nordstrom. I wasn't planning on buying two swimsuits, but she did make the bold move of talking to the girl, so I had to follow through.

Sarah pointed out the breakwall and mentioned jumping off of it was kind of a rite of passage in Petoskey. Her daughter was wearing a t-shirt that said, "I jumped off the breakwall" and as she is between Gita and Ireland's age, the girls became intrigued. After the beach, we had kind of a, "Do you wanna try it? I dunno, do you?" kind of discussion. Finally we decided we could at least go and walk out to the breakwall and then decide. Sydney was exhausted from the beach (not to mention scared) and so Brent stayed with her in the car while the rest of us headed out. We passed some warning signs (which I should have taken a picture of- dang it!) towards the end. I saw a mom with her husband and two kids with wet hair who had clearly just taken the plunge. I approached her and, mother to mother, got the lowdown on how risky a venture this was. "Okay, you've clearly just done this, is the water really rough?" She assured me that it was not. "Is it insanely cold?" She told me it was refreshing. I went back to the girls and while I took off my sunglasses and wrap said, "Ladies, sometimes all you need is fifteen seconds of insane courage." I took a deep breath and before I could chicken out, I ran and I jumped off the breakwall. 

She was 100% right, it was refreshing! It was a rush and I'm so very glad I did it, if only to be an example to my girls of facing your fears. Even though I got that quote wrong (it's actually twenty seconds of courage), they all found it within themselves and took the leap. Liesel took it to the next level and did a FLIP into the water! 

Brigitta was having a hard time so Liesel offered to go with her. Gita's heart failed her at the last second- much to Liesel's chagrin- ha!

I reminded Gita that if she did it, I would buy her a t-shirt. She weighed that in her mind a bit. Finally she found her inner beast and took the leap.

"You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it."

                            ~Benjamin Mee, We Bought a Zoo

Liesel even jumped off the breakwall on the more turbulent side.

We walked back to the car wet, exhilarated and the girls were excitedly anticipating their own t-shirts attesting to their feats of bravery. The only problem is that the store that sold them was out, so I ended up ordering custom shirts off of Etsy. I didn't mind though, the girls really earned them!

Believe it or not, the girls were ready to go back to the hotel pool to do some MORE swimming! All of them except Ireland. I was a little tired of being wet and felt she needed some cherishing. Brent took the other 3 while Ireland and I headed downtown for some one-on-one time and shopping. We also wanted to try out the Petoskey Pretzel Co not far from the wharf. 

We ordered the parmesan & garlic and the sour cream & chive with dipping sauce. We were both halfway into our own pretzels when it dawned on us we had grabbed each others! It didn't matter since they were both delicious but we laughed that we didn't notice the difference in flavor right off the bat. 

They were sooo good! Ireland and I had a lovely time just the two of us, sitting by the park, looking out on the water and enjoying warm pretzels. It was perfect.

By now, Ireland's Bell's Palsy was getting much, much better. She could move more of her face and wasn't as uncomfortable.

You can see where the right half still isn't quite as animated as the left, but it's so much better than it was!

We stopped by Grandpa Shorter's for souvenirs. We picked up a Petoskey stone Christmas ornament, an oven mitt with a map of Michigan on it that I found too clever to resist and I found some drop earrings made of polished Petoskey stones. Even though they were a little pricey, I'd never seen anything like them so I had to get them. We agreed Ireland could borrow them once she finally got her ears pierced. Running out of time, we got ice cream from Kilwins (I couldn't resist a second chance at the chocolate toasted coconut) and ate as fast as we could. Our last stop was to pick up some pizza and cookie dough bites for the family, who by now, were really ravenous. By and large the girls are happy kids but they were so dang ecstatic to be back at the beach, having adventures and seeing new places. We needed this trip so very badly! 

Some 4th of July selfies:

We watched a spectacular sunset from the hotel balcony. Sarah said the parades and fireworks had been canceled but apparently individuals still set off fireworks and we had a fabulous view to take it all in. 

I laughed when Sydney said, "Heloooo people below us!" to which a man's voice responded, "Heloooo people above us!" We've done the crowds at firework shows in the past and I have to say just watching from a hotel balcony is the way to go. When Brent and I were done, we slipped inside to watch tv and the girls stayed out there, sun-kissed and scrubbed in their pajamas. 

One last swim in the pool before heading home. There's nothing like being that very first person to jump into a pool that's smooth as glass:

 Brigitta perfected the art of jumping right into the center of the floatie donut:

She and Liesel also started doing these ninja jumps:

 More creative than a cannonball if you ask me.

As we began packing up, Brigitta broke down and I mean she really broke down! She just started sobbing about how she didn't want to go home and it really hit me how much lockdown had stifled that poor girl. We all felt perhaps we should have stayed for just one more day. As her sisters gathered around her and gave her an empathetic hug, we decided this is a great family tradition.

We all really needed this little vacation!