Audrey- Swallowing Surgery

Today sweet Audrey had a surgery done at our hospital to see if we can pinpoint the root of her swallowing problem.  In case you need to be caught up, Audrey aspirates thin liquids (that is, basically any liquid that we have not thickened with her gel thickener) up into her nose/ airway and also down into her lungs.  She has had 3 swallow studies done that have shown us this occurring.  The purpose of the surgery today was to have her esophagus examined using an endoscope and to take biopsies of her esophagus to see if she has damage from acid reflux.

We arrived at the hospital at 6:45 and got checked in.  Poor Audrey couldn't have anything to eat or drink and she was not very happy about that.  We walked around and waited in the waiting area until they called us back.  We were visited by the anesthesia team and also by Dr G, who was doing her surgery.  They gave her some liquid versed and she started to calm down.  She actually got pretty funny-- looking at her hands all weird and giggling a lot.  I think it would be a very handy substance to have on hand when we have to fly with the girls, just saying. ;)

Finally she was calmed down enough for them to come and take her.  I was very upset and didn't really want to let her go, but obviously we needed answers so I handed her off.  She took her Piggy Pig that she always sleeps with and headed back to the OR with a really nice nurse.

We waited about 40 minutes or so (I have no idea...it felt like 350 years!) and finally Dr G came out to us.  He showed us some images he had taken during the surgery and explained things.  Apparently she is right on the cusp of having something called a Type 1 Laryngeal Cleft, although he's not quite sure her defect is big enough to warrant surgery to fix it.  He wants to consult with a physician in Cincinnati about her case before he makes any recommendations.  He said she did great during the surgery and there were no complications.  We thanked him and went back to the waiting room to wait on Audrey.

After a little while longer they called us.  We had no sooner gotten within about 20 feet of the doors to the recovery area when I heard her SCREAMING bloody murder. I pushed past the nurse who was waiting for us and turned into Mother Bear... I scooted back to where she was and there was a team of nurses crowded around her.  Audrey's poor voice was crackly and straining and she was in full-on freak out mode...she has never cried so long or so hard.  It turns out that they had to give her IV Tylenol and had not done it before she woke up.  Apparently it has to be administered through the IV at a certain rate and was going to take 15 minutes to give to her.  So, the nurses were trying to control her, keep her still, prevent her from ripping out the IV, give the Tylenol, give her the paci she kept losing from crying/yelling so much....it was a disaster.  My poor little baby was just losing it. I picked her up and tried my best to hold her still and help the nurses.  Finally the 15 minutes was over and they removed the IV (more screaming).  She wouldn't let them put a band aid on it so I had to try to hold a piece of gauze on her... pointless.  She was flailing around so much, she just couldn't seem to get calmed down at all.  They had originally told Paul that she would have to stay in recovery until she drank something but they didn't make us wait that long- they basically gave Paul the checkout information and said, "If you're good, we're good..."...pretty much so nonverbally begging us to get this crazy crying baby OUT of recovery.  I can't imagine how hard it was for the other recovering patients to listen to her crying so much!  It was hard on everyone.

Paul and I took her to the car and I put her in her carseat and just waited with her for a while.  She was so drowsy and fell asleep on the way home.  Once we got home she wanted to play but she was way too wobbly to do anything.  I eventually just had to lie her in her crib and she fell asleep in just a few minutes.  I was worried about her but she just needed to rest a lot to get feeling better.

She slept for about 2 hours and then woke up STARVING.  Remember that she hadn't had anything since around 7pm the night before- so this was 17 hours of nothing to eat or drink.  That baby ate like nobody's business!!!! She had tons of food and drink...I seriously wondered if she was ever going to stop eating! She took another nap after we played for a while (she wasn't wobbly anymore after the first nap) and when she woke up after the second nap I felt like it would be OK for me to leave her and go to the dance recital that Emily was in that night.  It seemed crazy to leave a baby who had just had minor surgery but honestly, you couldn't tell at all that anything was different.  I was so glad she was feeling better and I didn't have to choose between which child to support tonight!   Now we wait to hear something back from the physician.  Hoping for good news, and maybe a cause as to what's causing her to aspirate.

PS- No photos with this update. I didn't think it was appropriate for me to be taking photos in the hospital, and I wanted to be "present" with Audrey- not trying to get a good shot.  I know you understand. :)