14 days post op

Zadie had her tonsillectomy two weeks ago today.  She is eating and drinking pretty much like normal, she hasn't had any pain medication for over two days, and her breath smells much better.  So I figured we were past the whole recovery period.  Then this morning, I walked into her room to check on her one more time before work and I see this:

It was pretty shocking to see the big blood stain on her pillow.  She didn't have a night nurse last night, but I do check on her periodically through the night, and she's hooked up to a pulse ox that alarms if her heart rate goes too low or too high or if her oxygen levels go too low.  She had a quiet night, and she must have had her head on this stain the first time I checked on her this morning, because I definitely didn't see it.  BJ checked on her in the morning as well and didn't see it.  I noticed dried blood on her lips, so I could only assume that the blood came from her mouth.

I called the ENT's office when they opened and the nurse there asked how big the blood stain was, and when I described it, she said that Zadie should be looked at in the ER right away.  She said while it wasn't usual to have bleeds that long after the operation, it wasn't unheard of.  So once again, we go off to the ER!

Zadie really hates the hospital now, and cries even when they're putting the hospital band on her ankle and when they're weighing her.  She was really upset after getting weighed, and that's when the tech took her temperature with the forehead thermometer, and it came up as 101.  Zadie's nurse and I were both surprised at that, since she hadn't had a temp earlier.

When the doctor came in, he didn't really know what to do.  He looked at the tonsil area as well as she would let him and said he didn't see any blood.  He listened to her lungs and asked about the congestion (she has a bit of cold/allergies right now).  He suggested a chest xray to rule out pneumonia because of the "fever" and her congestion!  I suggested that we try the temp again when she's calm before we go running to get a chest xray, because I was pretty sure she did not have pneumonia.

After that, he really didn't know what to do, and even asked me who he should call.  When I hesitated, he said, "well, since CHOP is so far away, maybe I'll call the pediatrician."  I told him the ped is not going to know at all what to do, so CHOP is probably the best bet.  Then he asked me for CHOP's phone number.

Later on, the tech came in to take Zadie's temp again, and it was 98.2.  I was glad that I knew enough not to just immediately agree to a totally unnecessary chest xray!  Meanwhile, he had consulted with CHOP, and their suggestions were the same as a week and a half ago, transfer her to CHOP (no thanks...just for the distance) or admit her for observation.  This time I asked what we could do to avoid the admission.  We agreed that we would hang out in the ER for a couple of hours and see how it goes.  And Zadie entertained herself!

It was clear that Zadie was quite well, so she was discharged with a "You know where to find us, we're always here!"  

We don't really know why she had more bleeding.  But hopefully that was it!