Well, Violet made it through the tubes surgery just fine. The two hardest parts were the wait up until they gave her the pre-anesthetic (because she wanted water and crackers and couldn't understand why we weren't giving them to her when she asked) and after she woke up from the surgery.
It seems that the gas they use to put her to sleep takes a little while to wear off after the surgery, and some kids sleep until it wears off. Others (like Violet), wake up soon after, though, and are frustrated that they cannot control their body the way they're used to controlling it. Their eyes won't open/stay open, it is hard for them to grab/hold things, and sometimes even hold their head up. Violet was soooo upset with this that she just cried and cried for about 15 minutes straight. I kept trying to give her some water from her sippy cup but she was too upset to drink from it. She finally took a few sips and quieted down for a moment, but got upset again soon after, asking to go "bye-bye" as she wanted to get out of that awful place and somewhere comforting.
The car ride back home was pretty stressful – Dee was driving, as she knew the way, and I was sitting back with Violet in the back seat. She didn't want to eat, didn't want to drink, and was pretty much inconsolable for about a half hour. Towards the end she quieted down a bit and started looking out the window. I sang along with a couple of songs on the Ralph Covert CD we had put in the stereo and she seemed pretty tranquil.
We got home and Dee cuddled up with Violet on the couch and put on a kids show on TV for her while I got ready to head off to the office. Got in by 9, which is pretty good considering that I was waiting for Violet to go into surgery at 6 AM this morning.
So all in all, we're in pretty good shape, and Violet should be feeling better this afternoon or by tomorrow at the latest. We've gained two small tubes and lost $900 (copays and deductibles), but hopefully also gained an "immunity" to future ear infections for a while, as well as the potential for some better night's sleep and everything else that comes from Violet staying relatively healthy as a result of the surgery.
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