Can you hear me now?

Well, Lil' Bit got herself some tubes in her ears today.  We woke that darling thing up at 5:30 and, without a sip of water or a crust of bread, whisked her off to the surgical center.  She was extremely pleased with the sticker stash they gave her and that kept her busy until the folks in scrubs started working on her.  Once again, the questions about her medical history were tricky.... we don't know her birth weight or if she was premature or if she was born in a hospital or if she's allergic to those latex gloves.  I guess I would have gotten a bit emotional answering, "I don't know" to all those questions if we hadn't been so busy dodging the Minnie Mouse she was throwing at us or peeling Care Bear stickers off the tile floor.

When it was time to go, Mary went obediently to the nurse (who was a familiar face from our Sunday School class.... don't you just love it when the Lord does stuff like that?) and didn't even whimper.  They sent us back out to the waiting room and, in just a few minutes, were already calling us back to talk with the doctor.

Mary did beautifully during the procedure.  As suspected, there was  a LOT of fluid on both ears and TONS of pressure, so the prediction is that her hearing has DRASTICALLY improved.  We're also hoping that some LANGUAGE comes on fairly quickly now that she doesn't hear like she's underwater!

We were warned (several times) to expect an inconsolable child once we saw her in recovery.  The doctor and nurses all mentioned (repeatedly) that little kids wake up fussy and are miserable for the first thirty minutes or so.  We took a deep breath and rounded the corner into her recovery room.... and were greeted with one of those big smiles that she gives every day when she just wakes up.  The nurse rocking her was amazed...."This child is precious."  Yes, dear nurse... and so, so BRAVE.

We spent the 30 minutes (that they give you so the child can calm down) happily munching on Krispy Kreme donuts that Dad wisely snagged from the waiting room and playing with some more stickers.  Not one fuss.  Not one tear. We waved and blew kisses at nurses and doctors as they walked by our room, and soon, three or four of them just came on in and hung out with us.  Mary has a way of drawing you into her world..... I love her.

Once the donuts were gone, they decided to go ahead and send us home.  We were back in the car exactly 90 minutes after we'd gone in that building.  Nice.

Currently, she has enjoyed some leftover deviled eggs for lunch, watched Dad cut the grass from her perch in her wagon, and danced a little bit to her Raffi songs.  She fell asleep almost immediately at nap time.

Gotta keep an eye on that Minnie Mouse!

Busy girl..... never sits still.

That is, until the nurse comes in to check us over.... then we get VERY still.

Blow Minnie's nose......

Sporting our furry Minnie Mouse socks today.  Don't want those toes to get cold during surgery!

Dad was BRILLIANT to secure the donuts from the waiting room.  Those were the ticket for a quick recovery!

Thanks for all who prayed us through this little procedure!  It is so minor compared to what lots of parents and little ones go through, but it's just another step to getting Mary all the care and love she needs and deserves!