Kate's Big Day

Yesterday Kate 08 was admitted to hospital to have an adenoidectomy and grommets inserted. We arrived at the Mercy Hospital (private) at 07:15 am we were greeted by a lovely nurse who was going to look after us for the day.

Being a nurse myself and working in an hospital setting the first thing that stood out for me was the surroundings and the atmosphere. The hospital just seemed very clean and bright and calm. The staff looked very professional in manner and presentation. The nurse had time for us and I just wanted to apply for a job there. Why did it seem so different from the public system? Does money really make a difference even with the way people present themselves? Trust me I have seen nurses at my work place turn up dressed so scruffy its really embarrassing one nurse even wore ug boots to work (slipper boots), some have face piercing and others you wonder when they last cleaned their uniform. Not at this hospital even the cleaning lady was well groomed. Anyway back to the real reason for this blog baby Kate. As usual Kate had her frown on and no way was she going to smile. It was like her little brain was processing ever move and thinking about why this? and why that? The nurse put cream on both hands and covered them with clear film (this cream numbs the area for cannulation). Kate watched intensely and after kept looking at her hands and looking at me before she would say YUCKY! She then would try and wipe her hands and she also went over to the sink and asked to "wash hands" very cute. How could we distract her from her hands? Then the nurse bought out a blue ride on car which instantly grabbed Kate attention thus for the next hour while we waited for her operation I was pushing her around in this awesome car. At 9am the orderly came to take us to theatre. My mothers nerves kicked into gear and as we entered into the theatre room my heart was pounding. I sat up on the bed and held baby Kate close as they attempted to cannula her. Kate was wonderful unfortunately the doctors two attempts failed. This meant they had to gas her to sleep and that was not a great feeling or very nice to witness. Kate was breathing in the gas but as she began to drift she started to fight the feeling of falling asleep an then the kicking started and the redness in her face was horrible it took three of us to hold her tight and then all of a sudden she collapsed in my arms. Watching her limp little body been taken away from me and laying her on the table was the hardest moment for me. I stayed to make sure she was breathing and her heart rate was showing on the monitor then I kissed her precious little face and left with a huge lump in my throat and being a brave mum. The surgeon told me it should be a 30min procedure so when 40 mins went by I was slightly worried and then 50min and finally 55 min the surgeon came out and told me that all was well and that her adenoids took a little longer due to the size they were 60% bigger than normal and obstructing Kate's airway. He also mention she was very congested in her airway and thus she needed suctioning. Finally he assured me she should improve in a couple of days and she was on her way to recovery. I couldn't wait to hold her in my arms however I had to wait 20min more before I could see her. She wasn't a happy little girl as I entered recovery she was very dopey, screaming and kicking and totally beside herself. I held her tight and tried to calm her down but she wasn't having a bar of me either this meant they had to give her some drugs to calm her down. She instantly went back to sleep and as I looked at her she had blood coming out of her nose and she needed to be suctioned due to the mucous blood coming from her mouth. Now I'm a nurse and this is stuff I see most days but it was hard for me to watch my baby go through. Slowly she came around and she was more calmer and when I offered her boobee she was a lot more settled. So 1 hour later Kate and I are wheeled back to the day unit to recover some more and so I spent the afternoon in bed cuddling baby Kate until she was happy enough that she wanted a ride in the blue car. Kate and I left the hospital at 3pm and already she doesn't snore anymore and she seems a lot happier.