Thursday, November 29, 2012

Bailey's Surgery

Bailey had her ear surgery early yesterday morning. It was absolutely awful, probably one of the worst mornings of parenting I've ever had in nearly 6 years. It was especially hard because she had been really sick with a bad cold and double ear infection, not to mention the 2 molars she's been cutting. When we got to the hospital she was running a fever and I just knew they wouldn't operate on her. However, the anaesthesiologist and the doctor were in agreement that the fever was most likely a result of the ear infections and because her lungs were clear, they determined that it was safe to do the surgery. That didn't change the fact that Bailey was a disaster, though.. She wouldn't let anyone touch her and even when they tried to put a hospital bracelet on her (the easiest part of the whole day), she just about had a heart attack.

It wasn't long before they took her from me and letting her go off with complete strangers as she was screaming hysterically was not easy. I held it together and lost it as soon as she was out of sight. We went into the waiting room and the whole time I was a nervous wreck. For this surgery they had to put in a breathing tube and IV, which had me anxious from the beginning, and with her nasty nose and cold, I was more worried about a complication. Her doctor is the most popular ENT doctor in this area and he had come highly recommended from several of my friends, along with Bailey's primary care doctor, so that did help ease my mind. 

Before I knew it, the surgery was over and the doctor was out to see us. He told us that Bailey's ears were in horrible condition, some of the absolute worst he's ever seen. He took out her old ear tubes that were completely colonized with bacteria and thoroughly cleaned her ears. He also got cultures of all the crap in there so we can  have a better understanding of what has been causing the never ending infections. In addition, he removed her adenoids, which were covering 75% of her nasal cavity. He said that that is huge and that they could be the culprit for a lot of the issues that she has.. As far as constant colds, infections, etc..  He then said that he couldn't make any promises or guarantees that this would even fix her because the last course of treatment "should have done the trick." He said that if this surgery doesn't work then we're going to start testing her for some type of immune deficiency, which scares me to death. So I'm hoping and praying that it was just the adenoids causing all of these severe problems and that she'll be completely better this time! I guess I have to take it one day at a time...

So that's the latest on Bailey. She's been a wreck and extremely out of sorts. I know that she has to be in some pain, plus she is still teething and still has a cold. I'm trying to be as patient with her as humanly possible! I can't wait for things to get back to normal!

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

The Trouble-Twisted Life of Bailey Quinn

To my sweet Bailey girl:

20 months ago from today you made your entrance into the world with a bang... Quite the bang, actually. One big enough to land you in a NICU 30 minutes down the road. I thought that that troubling experience was just a difficult start to your life but little did I know,  your many challenges were just beginning.

From an awful case of reflux, which caused so much concern that you were admitted into the hospital, strabismus, a trip to the ER for cracking your head open, to horrible ear problems, I'm afraid that your life has been anything but trouble free. Tomorrow you will be having your second ear surgery in your life and as I put you to bed, you were very sad and your ears were bleeding. Oh how I held onto you and wanted nothing more than to wave a magic wand and spare you of the frustrating morning that you'll have tomorrow. I can't even imagine how it's going to feel to tell you can't have your milk or your "bayfest" (As you like to call breakfast) and how my heart will break as I hand you over to the doctors and the nurses.

Each and every day you push me to new levels of patience that I never even knew I had. I cannot put a number on the amount of times in one day that I pull you off of the dining room table, drag you down from the stairs (now that you've gotten smart enough to get around the gate), reprimand you for hitting or biting your sisters, or redirect you when you find the light sockets, my purse, your dad's wallet, the cleaning supplies, etc.. You keep me hopping from sun up to sun down and you really don't even sleep long enough at night for me to recover. You are my earliest riser yet!

The best part is that for every single one of your many "quirks" there is something beautiful about you that I love. I love your sense of adventure, how everything is a game and everything seems to new to you. I love your beautiful smile and how others are drawn to you by it. I love how friendly and outgoing you are and how no situation, animal or person seems to scare you. You keep us cracking up all day long and daddy and I truly can't imagine you not being in our world.

We love you so much, baby girl. Tomorrow will be a tough day but are excited to see you get better and to watch you grow more and more!

With all my heart,
Mama

Monday, November 12, 2012

A Month???

Okay, okay... I'll admit. Maybe, just maybe, I have labeled my blog as "just another assignment." After I do my schoolwork, the very last thing I want to do is sit behind the computer, even if it is for leisurely purposes. I've said it a million times, though, I really do like having a record of our lives so I'll try to keep up!

What's new? Not a whole lot of anything, really. Brookie is doing awesome in school and has started to read really well! She was chosen as the student of the month a few weeks ago and I also received a sweet letter from her teacher about how cooperative and wonderful she is. That's what every mama loves to hear:-) My poor girl had a horrible go at it a few weeks ago... She came home on a Monday complaining that her tooth hurt. I took her to the dentist, where we learned that her previous filling had broken off and exposed her tooth, leading to a horrible tooth infection. This resulted in a root canal... Which was NOT fun to watch. I kept her home from school the next day because she was running a little fever. After a couple of days of that, we took her to the doctor for the continual fever and found out that she had pneumonia and an ear infection. It was a long week but truthfully, it was really nice having her home!

As for Adrienne, she continues to be stubborn and strong-willed. I try not use that infamous "middle child syndrome" label on her but boy, if anyone had it, it would be her! Lol. To go with it, though, she is amazingly funny and silly and she will just come up to you and kiss you, which of course, fixes anything and everything. She is my little buddy while Brooke is at school and she definitely makes my life fun!

Poor little Bailey will be having her ear surgery on the 28th. We her pre-op appointment the other day and the doctor said that her case is one of the most severe he's seen and her situation is quite unusual. Along with new tubes, he will removing her adenoids. He said that there is no promise that it will fix the problems with her ears but it's worth a shot. Thanks, I think??  I feel bad putting her through this all over again but we have to try everything possible to get her better. She's finally starting to repeat more words and say things but the doctor thinks that her delayed speech is mostly a result of constant ear problems, which obviously impact her hearing. Ugh!! I can't wait for this to be over.

We're gearing up to have a houseful for Thanksgiving again this year. I can't wait! I really love cooking and this feast is my favorite meal to make. I don't really like setting up the tables and chairs and all of that, but other than that, I love it all. It's nice to come together as a family and enjoy all of our blessings!

As for me, school is over for the semester in a little over a month! I still have all A's and I'm extremely proud of that... And I'm hoping to finish out on a strong note to lock in those grades! Next semester will be quite busy for me.. During the winter break I will be taking a crash course in chemistry online. I can't imagine what an entire 15-week semester worth of assignments will look like condensed into one month. I had no choice but to make that decision, really... If I had waited I wouldn't have been able to apply for the nursing program for another year. No way! Then, in the Spring I'll be taking medical terminology, pharmacology, another Biology class (that is the second half of the course I'm taking now), and creative writing as an elective. It will all be online and I'm confident that I'll make it work. One step at a time!

Oh, and I can't forget, I became an aunt again on the 19th of last month. My brother and his wife had a little boy, Jacob Matthew. He is so precious! I love having 2 babies to hold and it feels pretty darn nice to send them home with their mommies and sleep soundly through the night:-)

Alrighty, off to make dinner! Until next time... (whenever that may be!)