I’ve been meaning to write about this for weeks, but I kept putting it off. Better late than never, right?

I took Emma in for her evaluation with the Pediatric ENT, Dr. Grimmer, a few weeks ago. We talked about the issues Emma has been having related to her tonsils and adenoids. Mostly about how she snores and has periodically failed her hearing tests at school. He also talked about another issue that I wasn’t even aware could be related to the tonsils. He asked me if she wets the bed a lot. I told him that she doesn’t now, but she was NEVER dry at night until we tried the bedwetting alarm. He told me that is a classic symptom of children with obstructive sleep apnea. So that added one more symptom to our list. Given all of her symptoms, plus her dad’s history of sleep apnea, we decided that it would be best for her to have both her tonsils and adenoids removed. I felt very comfortable with the doctor and lucky to have such a great children’s hospital so close to home.

Since then we have talked to Emma about the surgery a few times. She thought it was a terrible idea at first, but came around when she learned she would get to eat ice cream and popsicles for every meal afterwards!

Primary Children’s has a surgery class that they recommend for children. I took Emma to the class this week. It was such a good idea and a great experience. As we walked in Emma was totally nervous. She didn’t want to leave my side. When we got there they showed the kids a little video about the surgery and the hospital. Then the child life specialist met with the kids and showed them all the equipment. The kids got to put on surgery hats and play with the anesthesia mask. They got to touch and feel the IV catheter, and see what the EKG leeds looked like. They even gave them all little cloth dolls called “surgery buddies” to take home with them. After that they gave them a tour of all the rooms they would be in. Emma’s favorite was the slurpee room! By the end of the class she actually seemed excited about the surgery. I am really glad that we went. I think it helped to ease a lot of her fears and just make her feel more comfortable.

When we got home Emma decorated the surgery buddy. She drew a face on it and then we worked together and figured out how to put hair on it. It turned out so cute! Emma loves that doll. She has been dressing it and taking it everywhere with her. She changes it into pjs and puts it to bed at night. I have never seen her take such an interest in a doll before. It is really cute and it will be good for her to have it with her on the day of her surgery.

The surgery is scheduled for next Monday. I’m sure everything will go fine. I’ll keep you all posted.