It's gonna be another long post . . . consider yourself warned! This is an experience to journal!
So, at our house, we have learned that "routine surgery" does not apply to any one of us. If the doctor says that there is a 1% chance for complications, we have discovered that we ARE that 1%. Lucky us! :)
Tyleigh decided to really shake things up at our house on Sunday night. After her first scare and trip back to the emergency room, things went TOO well. She was in minimal pain for the next three days and felt too good to have just had surgery. Rod and I were both amazed at her energy levels and her pain tolerance! Then on Saturday night, she crashed. She was up every couple of hours in intense pain, and crying. According to our post-op instructions, this was supposed to be fairly normal. Day five was a day for scabbing, and increased pain. We gave her lots of TLC and Tylenol and just decided to watch her closely.
Rod and the girls went to church without us on Sunday morning, and Tyleigh was cranky the entire time they were gone. 10 minutes before they were supposed to be home, she threw up blood again. I tried not to panic, and called my mom. She got on the internet and found that it could have just been a scab falling off, so she told me to have Tyleigh lay down and drink lots of cold water. Tyleigh was extra compliant for fear of going back to the hospital. This seemed to work though, so we did nothing more about it.
She didn't look good the rest of the day, but gave no indication that anything else was going on. We had a baptism to go to that night, so we dressed her up and took her thinking that getting out of the house might lift her spirits. She was so pale and tired, but was so happy to go.
When we got home, she begged to go to bed, which worried me, but I was glad that she would finally allow her body to rest. Rod and I checked on her at about 10:00 that night and she was as peaceful as could be.
At around midnight, I heard her cry out and went in to check on her. She was swallowing like crazy, and I knew it was blood that she was swallowing. I called out to Rod to come listen to her, and started getting ready to go to the hospital. He thought I was over reacting - until she threw up A LOT of blood. He kept her calm while I called the doctor and our dear friend to come stay with the girls. Poor Camryn and Carsyn got woken up with all the crying and came up the stairs right as Tyleigh threw up another basin full of blood. They both started crying, which panicked Ty. The harder she cried, the more she bled. By the time Jason, our friend staying with the girls, got to our house, Tyleigh had filled three of the throw-up basins full of blood. I got on the phone with 911 and asked for an ambulance. Rod told me to cancel because the throwing up had slowed enough to drive her there . . .or so we thought!
Tyleigh asked to go to the bathroom, so Rod tried to help her walk into the bathroom. She fainted and then struggled to come to. Rod and Jason tried to keep her alert while I called 911 for the second time.
The dispatcher was amazing - what a job! She kept me talking until an officer came only five minutes later. By the time he had started his report, the ambulance and firemen were at our house, and had Tyleigh loaded and ready to go! They were angels in disguise!
Ty was pretty much unconcious for the whole ride to the hospital. Rod got to stay in back with her, and I rode in the front so we could both be close to her. They started oxygen and an IV and had her fairly stable by the time we got to the hospital . . . in a horrible snow storm non-the-less. In the meantime, Jason did an awesome job of keeping the girls calm and entertained. They played games and had chocolate at 12:30 in the morning. He stayed with them until my mom and dad could get there, and then came to the hospital just in time to help give Rod a beautiful blessing to Tyleigh before she went back under for surgery. He then stayed to support Rod and I while we waited - which was nice because he has been blessed with the gift of gab, and kept our attention elsewhere with stories and jokes.
The doctor - who is also amazing - came back in after about 40 minutes and felt like she had stopped all of the bleeding. She said that Tyleigh would have to stay for several hours to determine whether or not a transfusion would be necessary. Tyleigh lost 1 liter of blood total, which was scary considering that her body only has 2 1/2 liters on a normal day.
When Tyleigh came to, she was exhausted, but calm. I have never seen such a white, pale child in all my life. She looked so fragile. We were admitted to the pediatric unit of the hospital where she was given more IV fluids, and medicine. She slept for a lot of it, but when she woke up, she was ticked about being there again! She wanted the IV out and begged to go home. It quickly turned into a really long morning with a mad five year old! Rod and I made lots of phone calls to family, and thank Heavens for each of them! My mom and dad were so good to stay with our girls. They were such a comfort to them - and to us, and shoveled our walks, and cleaned our house - and just made life easy again! My sweet sister felt the need to come down - in the snow storm - to be with Ty, which also was such a huge blessing! She came right to the hospital and helped Tyleigh do crafts until her results from her blood came back. It was the best distraction ever! Camryn and Carsyn were also amazing! They were a huge help in getting us ready to go to the hospital in spite of being scared, they helped my mom and dad while we were gone, and have bent over backwards for Tyleigh the last couple of days! I am so proud of both of them!
Tyleigh's blood level went from 35 last week to 20.2 on Sunday night. We were told that if it went below 20 she would need to have a blood transfusion. Luckily, by the time surgery was over, her IV fluids were turned down, and she had rested for a little while, it went back up to 22.6. She was able to come home at that.
She is exhausted and weak - but she is a fighter, and she's still here! We feel so blessed that Heavenly Father is giving us more time with our little angel! This has definitely been one of the most humbling experiences of our life! We are overwhelmed with gratitude for our little girls, for our family and friends, and for so many that continue to care so much about our family. We had no idea that anyone even knew, and we have been called, visited, gifted, and loved by so many! Thank you to every one of you for the kindness, compassion and love you have shown our family! You have touched our lives and hearts forever, and words will never be enough to express our gratitude to you! May the Lord bless each and every one of you . . . and may you not EVER read another post like this one from the Madsen family again! :)
So, at our house, we have learned that "routine surgery" does not apply to any one of us. If the doctor says that there is a 1% chance for complications, we have discovered that we ARE that 1%. Lucky us! :)
Tyleigh decided to really shake things up at our house on Sunday night. After her first scare and trip back to the emergency room, things went TOO well. She was in minimal pain for the next three days and felt too good to have just had surgery. Rod and I were both amazed at her energy levels and her pain tolerance! Then on Saturday night, she crashed. She was up every couple of hours in intense pain, and crying. According to our post-op instructions, this was supposed to be fairly normal. Day five was a day for scabbing, and increased pain. We gave her lots of TLC and Tylenol and just decided to watch her closely.
Rod and the girls went to church without us on Sunday morning, and Tyleigh was cranky the entire time they were gone. 10 minutes before they were supposed to be home, she threw up blood again. I tried not to panic, and called my mom. She got on the internet and found that it could have just been a scab falling off, so she told me to have Tyleigh lay down and drink lots of cold water. Tyleigh was extra compliant for fear of going back to the hospital. This seemed to work though, so we did nothing more about it.
She didn't look good the rest of the day, but gave no indication that anything else was going on. We had a baptism to go to that night, so we dressed her up and took her thinking that getting out of the house might lift her spirits. She was so pale and tired, but was so happy to go.
When we got home, she begged to go to bed, which worried me, but I was glad that she would finally allow her body to rest. Rod and I checked on her at about 10:00 that night and she was as peaceful as could be.
At around midnight, I heard her cry out and went in to check on her. She was swallowing like crazy, and I knew it was blood that she was swallowing. I called out to Rod to come listen to her, and started getting ready to go to the hospital. He thought I was over reacting - until she threw up A LOT of blood. He kept her calm while I called the doctor and our dear friend to come stay with the girls. Poor Camryn and Carsyn got woken up with all the crying and came up the stairs right as Tyleigh threw up another basin full of blood. They both started crying, which panicked Ty. The harder she cried, the more she bled. By the time Jason, our friend staying with the girls, got to our house, Tyleigh had filled three of the throw-up basins full of blood. I got on the phone with 911 and asked for an ambulance. Rod told me to cancel because the throwing up had slowed enough to drive her there . . .or so we thought!
Tyleigh asked to go to the bathroom, so Rod tried to help her walk into the bathroom. She fainted and then struggled to come to. Rod and Jason tried to keep her alert while I called 911 for the second time.
The dispatcher was amazing - what a job! She kept me talking until an officer came only five minutes later. By the time he had started his report, the ambulance and firemen were at our house, and had Tyleigh loaded and ready to go! They were angels in disguise!
Ty was pretty much unconcious for the whole ride to the hospital. Rod got to stay in back with her, and I rode in the front so we could both be close to her. They started oxygen and an IV and had her fairly stable by the time we got to the hospital . . . in a horrible snow storm non-the-less. In the meantime, Jason did an awesome job of keeping the girls calm and entertained. They played games and had chocolate at 12:30 in the morning. He stayed with them until my mom and dad could get there, and then came to the hospital just in time to help give Rod a beautiful blessing to Tyleigh before she went back under for surgery. He then stayed to support Rod and I while we waited - which was nice because he has been blessed with the gift of gab, and kept our attention elsewhere with stories and jokes.
The doctor - who is also amazing - came back in after about 40 minutes and felt like she had stopped all of the bleeding. She said that Tyleigh would have to stay for several hours to determine whether or not a transfusion would be necessary. Tyleigh lost 1 liter of blood total, which was scary considering that her body only has 2 1/2 liters on a normal day.
When Tyleigh came to, she was exhausted, but calm. I have never seen such a white, pale child in all my life. She looked so fragile. We were admitted to the pediatric unit of the hospital where she was given more IV fluids, and medicine. She slept for a lot of it, but when she woke up, she was ticked about being there again! She wanted the IV out and begged to go home. It quickly turned into a really long morning with a mad five year old! Rod and I made lots of phone calls to family, and thank Heavens for each of them! My mom and dad were so good to stay with our girls. They were such a comfort to them - and to us, and shoveled our walks, and cleaned our house - and just made life easy again! My sweet sister felt the need to come down - in the snow storm - to be with Ty, which also was such a huge blessing! She came right to the hospital and helped Tyleigh do crafts until her results from her blood came back. It was the best distraction ever! Camryn and Carsyn were also amazing! They were a huge help in getting us ready to go to the hospital in spite of being scared, they helped my mom and dad while we were gone, and have bent over backwards for Tyleigh the last couple of days! I am so proud of both of them!
Tyleigh's blood level went from 35 last week to 20.2 on Sunday night. We were told that if it went below 20 she would need to have a blood transfusion. Luckily, by the time surgery was over, her IV fluids were turned down, and she had rested for a little while, it went back up to 22.6. She was able to come home at that.
She is exhausted and weak - but she is a fighter, and she's still here! We feel so blessed that Heavenly Father is giving us more time with our little angel! This has definitely been one of the most humbling experiences of our life! We are overwhelmed with gratitude for our little girls, for our family and friends, and for so many that continue to care so much about our family. We had no idea that anyone even knew, and we have been called, visited, gifted, and loved by so many! Thank you to every one of you for the kindness, compassion and love you have shown our family! You have touched our lives and hearts forever, and words will never be enough to express our gratitude to you! May the Lord bless each and every one of you . . . and may you not EVER read another post like this one from the Madsen family again! :)
