Tory's surgery

On October 4, 2010 I woke Tory up at 6:30 am to head out to the Scarborough Surgery Center in Scarborough, ME for her surgery to remove her adenoids. It was cold, rainy, and way to early to be trying to get a kid out the door but somehow we managed to make it to the surgery center by 7:15 am as required. We checked in and sat down to watch some morning news, waiting for Andy and Chloe to arrive. Since someone had to stay home to get Livy on the bus to school we drove separately. About 15 minutes later the customer service rep for the surgery center came over and informed us that Dr. Thompson, who would be performing the surgery, was already about 45 minutes behind for the day. He pointed us to the opposite end of the waiting area where there were computers equipped with games like Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario brothers. They made a great distraction! It wasn't until about 8:30 that we were taken back to the Pre-op room. Tory changed in to her gown and chilled with Chloe watching Dinosaur Train on the TV . I honestly kept waiting for the meltdown. I knew it was coming and was shocked I had hardly even seen a trace of fear from her at that point. She was fine discussing what was going to happen with the nurse. She was fine talking to the anesthesiologist and practicing breathing in to her mask. She was fine when Dr. Thompson came back and explained the procedure and and what to expect afterwards. It wasn't until he was done talking and said "Ok, I guess we're ready to go!" that she freaked out. Tears. Sobs, really. It completely broke my heart. But both Dr. Thompson and the anesthesiologist agreed there was no reason I could not accompany her back to the OR until she was asleep so the waterworks turned off and she was fine again. She even giggled at the knock knock jokes Dr. Thompson told her as they wheeled her back.

Long story short, the surgery went well. She was in and out and spent 3 days on the couch recovering. Amazingly she was able to go back to school that Thursday with no problems. So far, everything looks great too! No more pain and those dark circles that had been under her eyes frequently for years are gone. Her post-op follow up is November 2.