Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy

In the last 6 months Pete and I had noticed Afton's severe snoring and occasional sleep apnea. We had discussed the possibility of needing to have her tonsils removed and so I said I would bring it up at her 3-year-old doctor visit. As that day approached we were more and more anxious to get her opinion and hopefully a referral to an ENT for a consultation. Since we moved and began sleep training Peter, Afton was sleeping in our room more and more and we realized how bad things had really gotten! (Side note: Peter started sleeping through the night much better with her out of the room. Her snoring was waking him up, I think!)

So we finally saw a pediatric ENT up at Primary Children's Hospital in mid-March. He said on a scale of 1-10 her tonsils were a 10. And, in his experience, children with that big of tonsils typically had as big, if not bigger adenoids. So he recommended getting them out. The soonest they could put us on the schedule was mid-April but we asked to be put on a waiting list if there were any cancellations.

Well, on Monday, March 28 they called and said they had an opening for the next morning. So we arranged our schedules and headed in to have Afton's tonsils and adenoids removed.

The timing was better for our family since we will be moving in a couple of weeks and Afton should be all healed by then. But it wasn't great for our extended families since the Sundwalls were headed out of town and Grandma Rita just had surgery on her foot. Everyone was so great to help where they could. Grandpa Millar gets the MVP of the whole experience for coming to stay at our house with Peter so Pete and I could be with Afton. Peter is now quite attached to Grandpa and I think Grandpa to him as well ;) Grandpa also made sure to bring Afton a daily milkshake post-surgery so he's on her Good List too.

The surgery went great and Afton has been feeling surprisingly well. I am sure the difference in being able to swallow and breath is amazing! We continue to keep her on some medicine for pain and try not to throw up when we smell the wounds on her breath. She really wants to be active but we are trying our hardest to follow the Dr.'s orders and lay low. Her appetite right before the surgery also exploded and I thought it would slow down post-surgery but she has wanted to eat anything and everything all day long.

Afton's voice has changed and gotten higher and more nasal sounding, which is expected. The doctor thought we would see huge changes with her after having this procedure done. It was likely holding her back in a lot of ways. We are so glad things went well and just hope this will help her to be healthier and not so prone to infection! We are excited to see how this surgery will improve her health and quality of life overall!

Coloring in the waiting room while Mom checked her in

Dressed and watching frozen while waiting for the medicine to kick in

We opted to give her some medication to relax her since we knew it would be traumatic going back into the Operating Room without us there. She was so adorable with her goofy, loopy smile. I wasn't totally sold on using the medication since it is optional but, luckily, Pete was there and had the sense to say we needed it. This girl's memory is a little too sharp and she is a little too aware of things. It would have likely been very traumatic for all of us if we hadn't used it.

Insisting that she needed a "treat" with her milkshake from Grandpa. So she dipped that Tangerine popsicle in her chocolate milkshake and enjoyed every bite.

Grandpa and Peter. Thank goodness for Grandpa who knows how to keep Peter happy (which is not always easy)