gained the tubes, lost the adenoids

last thursday (june 30th) my daughter, B, had her very first (and hopefully last) surgery.  after 2 years of a constant runny and/or stuffy nose i finally became fed up with stashing a box of kleenex around every corner of my house, and i took her to the ENT.  the doctor determined that she did have liquid in (or is it behind?) her eardrum and so was a good candidate for ear tubes.  he said that while she was under anesthesia he would look at her adenoids and remove them if they were enlarged.

although i knew this was a very minor surgery i still had to fight feelings of anxiousness.  my husband and i have received so much frustrating and bad news from B's doctors over the past year and a half, that we almost expected something to go not-quite-right during her surgery (i know, pessimism can easily reign at times).

thankfully everything went great... and fast.  i don't think i was in the waiting room longer than 20 minutes before they called my name to let me know it was over and all went great.  she had just a small amount of liquid in (behind?) her eardrums, and the adenoids were definitely enlarged and in need of removal.  buh bye adenoids!

6 am, waiting in the lobby with our beloved "puppy"

dressed in her fetching hospital gown, making everyone in the halls smile with her laughter

our fabulous hospital showered her with gifts, including a new movie "tinkerbell"

small side note:  because of her enlarged adenoids + her constant runny nose, B has been a mouth breather since birth (basically).  this mouth breathing has caused her to have a "weak" jaw since she always leaves her mouth open, which we believe has also led to a "weak" tongue.  all of this, we think, is contributing to (but not the source of) her speech delays, as well as her eating "problems."  her speech therapist noticed that she doesn't really chew her food but kind of gnaws on it then swallows... yes, gagged-up food is a regular part of meal time... thank you very much weak jaw and tongue.  we now have a "chew tube" for her to use to strengthen both tongue and jaw (awesome, add that to my daily to-do list).  it has been so interesting to start uncovering all the different factors that are contributing to her delays.  glad we're finding answers.  frustrated that we didn't find them earlier.  but in this frustration the Lord reminds me, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland."  Isaiah 43.18-19 (my promise for this season in B's life!)  Hello Chew Tube, let's get started!