Post Surgery Recovery

Post Surgery Recovery

We came home from the hospital on Wednesday, December 3rd.  Elizabeth was very sleepy and slept most of the night and evening.  She is always very drowsy for a few days with any procedure that uses anesthesia, so this was normal for her. 

On Thursday, she seemed to be much better.  She wanted to jump in her Jumperoo.  She also played with her favorite toys, laughed at her brother, and took some extra naps.  She was slowly eating foods with more ease.  I did notice occasionally her wincing when she was swallowing.  The doctors said that swallowing difficulty and some pain with swallowing were normal considering the type of surgery and procedures that were done on her.  So, I continued to give her Motrin and Tylenol as prescribed by her doctors.  Elizabeth tolerated foods and pain well on the medications. 

Friday came and Elizabeth was not herself.  She was very fussy and she seemed to be in a lot of pain.  She was not eating as well as she had done the day before.  She was very restless and fussy and seemed to be running a slight fever.  I continued the doses of Tylenol and Motrin.  I also called the ENT to ask if this was normal, or if there was anything else that we could or should be doing.  They felt that the increase in fussiness was likely not due to her surgery, and they recommended that she see her Pediatrician.  They felt that maybe she had picked up a virus that was complicating her already sore throat.  The pediatrician's office did not have any appointments, so we just watched her closely to make sure that we were not going to need to make a run to the ER.  Around lunch time on Friday, she took a huge nap.  When she woke up, I could tell that she was feeling much better.  I was very relived to see that, and it did alleviate some of my worry. 

We were blessed with a gift on Friday from a family that has become near and dear to our ours throughout this journey with Elizabeth.  Jason grew up and was friends with many people in this family, and one of the family members is a very special part of Elizabeth's EI team.   I was overwhelmed and was very gracious for this lovely surprise.  The gift was greatly appreciated, but they mentioned that they were praying and thinking of us.  Their kindness, support and generosity really meant a lot to us. 

We also had a visit from our Pastor (Joe Boomhower) on Friday.  He sat and visited with us for a few hours, and Celtan shared some of our freshly baked cookies with him.  Pastor Joe has been such an enormous source of support for us on our journey with Elizabeth.  From the very beginning, he was praying over me, for us, and has visited us to check in.  We are eternally grateful for his love, prayers, guidance and support.

On Monday, after a good look in her mouth and a conversation with her OT, I discovered the culprit behind the increase in pain.  Elizabeth decided to cut 4 molars at the same time.  As if the pain from her surgery was not enough, I'm certain that the pain from cutting all 4 molars at once was simply awful.  We continued with the Tylenol and Motrin.  She seemed to do well, and we were able to discontinue the medicines later in the week. 

We have seen some improvement in her swallowing.  She has been choking less when drinking, which is a good sign.  We have noticed some more liquids coming out through her nose, but this may just be temporary until she is completely healed and learns how to swallow again.  The liquids coming out through her nose have to do with her Submucous Cleft Palate, so we will just continue to monitor how often that occurs during feeding. In the meantime, we are hoping to see continued improvement and progress as she recovers.  We return to see Dr. Jabbour for a post-surgery follow up on January 9th.