Surgery itself went great - it was the before and after that was so hard. Allie freaked out when the nurse tried to take her back to surgery - it was awful. Matt and I were both in tears. Allie had received the verset medicine but apparently it didn't work this time. She screamed all the way back to the operating room - yes, we could hear her!
Surgery took about an hour. I guess it takes a while to get the caps fitted and put in place over her teeth. Allie's gums were growing around the back side of her teeth so they also had to grind down the gums all around her mouth - this would insure a good fit for the caps.
Of course she woke up from anethsia kicking and screaming but this was like nothing Matt and I ever seen before. Allie was completely inconsolable. She was crying out, "mom, help me". It was awful. But, we managed and she's fine. We left the hospital about 15 minutes after surgery. Record time for getting out of there no doubt - I personally think the nurses (and staff) just wanted us gone because Allie was being so loud with her kicking and screaming. If she was much bigger, I don't think I would have been able to even hang onto her.
Once we left the hospital, she calmed down and she was clonked out. We didn't even put her in her car seat, I just held her in the backseat on the way home. I slept with her for about 2 hours in her bed and when she woke up, she was happy.
Her mouth is a little sore but we are continuing with tylenol and motrin. Out of everything, she says her throat hurts the most. It's probably from being incubated - not sure. But she is handling the pain very well - she is even eating a little bit.
Glad this procedure is over and like I said, I totally under estimated this. I guess I was thinking a dental procedure wouldn't be too difficult, however I was wrong. This was awful for Allie. Her mouth was bleeding like crazy, she swalled a lot of blood during surgery (we vented her stomach with her tube after surgery and she vented out a ton of blood). Her recovery seems to be quick though - it's 24 hours since surgery and she's almost back to her normal self.
Thank you to everyone for keeping her in your prayers. We truly appreciate it.
In addition to Allie's surgery, our dog Cosmo was sick yesterday too. She was scheduled to be spayed but woke up not being able to walk on her front leg. I took her to the vet and she was diagnosed with lymes and anaplomosis. It can be very serious but it seems we caught it early and she's doing good now. She's on pain medication and antibiotics to keep her comfortable.
The Berndt household should be back to tip top shape in no time :)
Here are a couple pictures and video of Allie's surgery from yesterday.
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| Allie still happy before surgery |
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| Allie not happy because they want to take her away |
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| Both sick patients yesterday |
Oh big giant hugs Jodi, that's so terrible :( It is such a strange blessing for us that H doesn't really get what's happening when she goes back for stuff, so she never freaks out. While I wish she connected more cognitively, I can't begin to imagine how hard it is to hand over a terrified and hysterical kid. I hate all this crap we have to do to our kids, "for their own good", but feels just so mean. I'm so glad to know she is recovering well from it, and hope the experience is quickly purged from her memories!
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