Thursday arrived

And it was metal pin removal time!

We had to be at Starship at 7:30am for Elsa’s pin removal so it was an early start which was good because Elsa couldn’t eat.

We didn’t haven’t to wait long before Elsa was called into a room where her obs were taken by the nurse and we met with Dr Nicol’s registrar too who told us we had been bumped to the top of the list so things were moving quite quickly.

We also met with the anaesthetist who was one of the best anaesthetist we’ve come across. He was so funny and really got down to Elsa’s level by listening to her pony’s heart beat first, then Elsa’s and also making a lot of jokes.

We were worried about how Elsa reacted to the anaesthetic last time with the vomiting so I expressed my concern with the doctor. He asked if she was just nauseous after the anaesthetic or actually vomited. I said she vomited 30 mins after waking up and continued to do so for a few days. He said that they would try something different today and that feeling nauseous as opposed to actual vomiting can require different drugs.

We had to give Elsa her pre-med which is the drug that sedates them. This was quite a battle as Elsa remembered how it tasted from last time and so she put up a big fuss. They wouldn’t be able to do her surgery unless she took it so after numerous attempts at coaxing her and encouraging her we had to be the mean guys. Which meant Daniel had to hold her hands down and I had to shove the syringe in her mouth and squirt the medicine down. Thankfully she didn’t spit it back out.

We went to pre-op and by now the pre-med had well and truly kicked in and Elsa was away with the fairies! Sudden outbursts of her laughing at something on the TV to her then swaying back and forth and her words slurring. It was pretty funny and Daniel and I were trying really hard not to laugh too much.

I went into the OR with Elsa and again held her hand while they put the gas mask over her mouth. I spoke to her while she breathed in and soon her eyes closed and I kissed my baby girl good-bye once more.

Dr Nicol came into the room and I had a quick chat with him about the surgery as we hadn’t seen him prior due to him doing his rounds. He said if the pins come out easily Elsa would most likely go home later that day and not need to stay in overnight. But he would only know once they go in. I also let him know that Elsa had requested to keep her pins as she has a little collection of her metal ware.

About half an hour later we got a call to say to come back to pre-op. I wasn’t expecting to be called back so soon so I was feeling a bit worried which I didn’t need to be. Dr Nicol came out to say everything went well, Elsa’s pins came out easily and that she could go back home later that day. He said he would see us again in 12 weeks time to check her hips and mobility. We were so relieved and thankful!

Elsa took a while to come to so she was in recovery longer than when she was in the OR. When she did come to she was pretty dopey and woozy. She was given an ice-block and this would be the test to see if she managed to keep it down.

We were taken back into Day Stay and into one of the rooms and slowly the effects of the anaesthetic started to wear off. She became more alert and aware of her surroundings and the ice-block stayed down. Hurray! Soon she was asking for food as she hadn’t eaten since the night before so I went out to the cafe to pick up a few things.

While watching movies on the iPad Elsa ate an egg sandwich, a packet of crisps and some crackers as well as water. This all stayed down and she didn’t complain about feeling sick so that was great.

I contacted the OT as one of the nuts on Elsa’s wheelchair had come off and it was no longer very safe. I also asked if there was any chance Elsa could have a smaller wheelchair too now that she didn’t need the leg extensions. Soon a much smaller wheelchair was delivered which looked very zippy and Elsa could now drive this herself.

At 1pm we were able to leave which was awesome. Another hurdle jumped over! Yay!