Clare's Procedure

Finally after 10 ear infections over a time span of a month and half, 6 different antibiotics, and many sleepless nights Clare got tubes in her ears. This was an option that we had discussed back in November and had I known how much better it would make her feel I would have opted for it sooner. Of course, no one wants to put there child through surgery especially under anesthia so we were a little hesistant about doing the procedure. Also, try explaining to an 11 month old that they can't eat for 12 hours before surgery. Here is a little time frame on how the day went:

10:30 p.m. Woke Clare up to feed her before she couldn't eat.

2:30 a.m. - 4:00 a.m. Clare woke up and wanted to eat. Obviously she couldn't so we brought her into our bed with us for awhile.

6:15 a.m. Arrived at the outpatient surgery place.

6:45 Escorted back to surgery center and started to prep Clare for surgery. This included changing her into hospital issued pajamas, blood pressure monitoring, and trying to console a very tired and hungry girl. This was about the point that I was starting to get really nervous about the whole thing.

7:15 Nurse comes in to tell us that Clare will be taken from us shortly so that they can start the procedure.

7:30 Clare is handed over to the nurse and carried away. This was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do and I was trying my hardest to keep my composure.

7:45 Doctor comes out and informs us that the procedure is over and he was very pleased how things looked. There appeared to be no significant damage and there was no ear infection. It was very hard to concentrate because all I wanted to do was go back to post op and hold Clare.

7:55 We were taken back to see Clare. The nurse had just picked her up from the hospital bed and she was pretty out of it. She was very disoriented and crying pretty good.

8:30 We arrived home and Clare finally slept for a while.

Rest of the Day Clare was pretty sleepy as evident by the pictures below.

Clare just wanted to lay around most of the day.
You can still see she is somewhat out of it.

Finally, the my little girl gave me a smile.

Let me tell you the tubes have made a world of difference. Clare hasn't had a running nose for over a week, sleeps 12 to 13 hours straight each night, takes two great naps during the day, and is full of even more energy than before. I would highly recommend this for any child that is having chronic ear infections, even though the procedure itself is a little nerve wracking it is nice to have our little girl feeling 100% healthy.