Why They Had to Go

This is a picture of EmmaLee's throat before her tonsils were taken out.  The slightly lighter pink thing in the middle is her uvula, but you can't clearly see it because her tonsils are so big they are practically blocking her whole throat opening!  I don't have an after picture yet because she is still a bit sore and can't open her mouth that wide yet, but I can tell you that as miserable as her recovery has been, it was SO worth it!  Before she snored SO loud, and not just snored, but STRUGGLED to breath.  It was the most horrible sound and thing to watch, especially for a parent who already struggles with paranoia when it comes to her children breathing!  The first day or two after the operation, she did snore a little due to swelling in her throat from the surgery, but now she breaths WONDERFULLY!  She is so quiet and peaceful that I sometimes have had to put my face almost on top of hers before I can hear her!  It is a night and day difference!  

One funny side effect from the surgery that is suppose to be temporary (about a month long) is that her voice is different.  I don't know how to describe it, but it is different!  It's cute too, though, so if it goes or stays, we're okay with it!  Another side effect that I wasn't expecting was how much weight she ended up loosing.  I don't have a scale, so I don't know officially how much weight she lost, but she did loose several pounds at least!  Pants that used to fit snug or even tight are super loose on her now, and you can see it in her face how much thinner she is!  She ate almost nothing for a week and a day before she finally turned the corner and started eating.  She drank just enough to keep her hydrated enough, but it was very disconcerting as her mother to see her not eating!  I'm sure she'll put the weight back on, thank goodness, because she is making up for her lack of food by wanting to eat all day long now!  But, it's one time I am happy to oblige her!

Overall, it was a much tougher recovery than I had anticipated, but the long term results are definitely worth it!