January 9th she had her crowns put in to cover her back teeth. (She was born with a condition that causes her to have no enamel for those that didn't know. That's why her teeth look yellow.) I took her to the hospital; Brandon took the day off to stay home with the other two. They were REALLY good with her! After registering, they took us back to a pre-op area where they made her feel comfortable, play games, watch cartoons, play on a computer, DRAW ON THE SHEETS WITH MARKERS (she really liked that one since she'll NEVER be able to do that at home). They had a dog puppet named Mr. Wrinkles that they used to demonstrate what was going to happen to her. She got to decorate her gas mask with stickers (which she got to take home). They gave her necklaces and a headband to make her feel like a princess and told her "when you wake up you'll have princess crowns on your teeth." She was really enjoying it and loving being there since it was "so much fun!"
Then the time came to put her to sleep and they took her away. I went back out to the waiting area and sat, read, and ate snacks for 2.5 hours while waiting. One of the nurses came out to me first when it was done and told me how it kinda went. She said that as they were trying to wake Rachel, the first thing out of her mouth was, "This is NOT fun!" lol Big change from before. Everything went great, and once I was able to go back there and be with her, I found a Rachel that was having a hard time waking up. I went and got the car alone and pulled up by the door to the hospital, and they wheeled her out in a wheelchair and helped her in the car. She really liked the wheelchair ride!
Angel Bear they gave her at the hospital after taking her to recovery.
Rachel with the balloon Daddy and her sisters got for her, and her gas mask from the hospital complete with stickers!
On January 16th I took her to the doctor because she had been complaining about her ear hurting. They said no infection in it, may have been a little red so they gave us ear drops with anti-biotics in them to put into her infected ear to clear it up. We did this for 7 days. She said her ear was feeling better while on these, and stopped hurting for a few days altogether when we were done doing the drops. So, I was thinking we were all good and clear at this point. They also tested her for strep, which came back negative.
On January 28th she started to complain about her ear again that night, and the next morning it was really bothering her. She woke up on the 29th to find that puss had oozed out of her ear that night. So, I took her back in. This time is WAS an actual ear infection. Also checked for strep again because the doctor suspected it, and she had strep as well. So, she was given amoxacillin for 10 days to clear those up. Not sure why the ear infection and strep didn't show up on the 16th, unless she was just starting to get it at that point, and wasn't strong enough for the doctors to detect yet?
So, it's been a tough month for Rachel, and mommy and daddy! Hoping that February will be happy and healthy. :)
