TL;DR - Yasmeen had a positive outcome, from a minimally invasive procedure - removal of adenoids and insertion of ear tubes. She’s on the mend and all is well.
That’s really all that matters, but somehow I’m trying to analyze the process and dissect if what she went through for this to happen will become par for the course?
Some context…
Yasmeen, like many Achon kids needs to receive MRIs somewhat regularly. Now because she’s still a toddler sitting still for the 20 odd minutes to take an MRI is nearly impossible, that means general anesthetic. On two prior occasions we’ve had to cancel MRIs at Stanford Children’s Hospital, Lucile Packard due to lack of beds. The first attempt, we were onsite at 630am, checked in and waited for an hour before they broke the news. The second time, they at least had the good sense to call before we left our house.
When we arrived onsite for her adenoid removal, we were expecting more of the same. While things went down a bit differently, they were still the same. We checked in and were taken to surgery intake, in short order. A member of neurosurgery staff also came by to consult us on the game plan for a follow appointment MRI which be dictated by the success of the surgery.
After registration we were lead to the Pre/Post Op recovery room. And we waited, then waited, and waited some more. To the tune of about 3+ hours. The staff informed us of: 1.) A general lack of beds in PICU, recovery and “floor” beds (for general stay) and 2.) a previous surgery with our ENT taking longer than expected. Frustrating but I always wonder if 1.) this is par for the course for any non-trauma, low-acuity procedure and 2.) of all the folks at the facility, who is likely in far more dire straights than my daughter. As any parent will tell you, the reflex reaction is “my child first” (at least that’s what goes through my head). But after a few breaths and a little perspective things come back into focus.
The procedure itself took no more than 45 minutes and she came out of anesthetic a little more pissed off than usual, but after a few hours mommy and daddy were able to get her settled down.
Unfortunately, I left around 7:30pm that same day to pick up our son, Cameron from Obachan’s (grandma in Japanese) house in order to get him to bed and off to school the next day. Nabila wasn’t able to get into a floor room until about 9pm that day, having spent again a few more extra hours in recovery than planned. At some point she’ll need to contribute to the post as those hours would’ve been great to
The next morning, they both came home.
Fast forward a few weeks (mainly because I’m lazy with posting) and her breathing is markedly improved. More consistent breathing through her nose, deeper breaths and better sleep on the CPAP (worthy of another post down the road). But one nagging thing that is just now starting to resolve…a sinus infection. Again, minor in the grand scheme, but after two rounds of antibiotics it’s just now starting to clear up. And the only big question that remains for Yasmeen: is it simply due to a long side effect with recovery from a surgery, or will her sinus issues (now sans adenoids) become improved or exacerbated with their removal.
The upshot is that she’s a much happier little girl now that just keeps keepin on. Here’s a gratuitous shot from Halloween to demonstrate (Michael Jackson - Beat It and Billie Jean)
