When I Got My Tonsils Out
By Seema, age 14, California
I remember it perfectly. On December 27th, 2005 I got my tonsils out. The reason I choose to write about this is because it is my third anniversary of being tonsil-less. Previously I had gotten sore throats almost every day, and my right tonsil almost blocked my airway.
I remember always tricking the school nurse into thinking I had a horrible sore throat. I always got to go home. Finally my parents made me go see a doctor. I remember them saying, "She's probably going to have to get them taken out." This thought terrified me! I'd never had surgery before, except when I was only a few months old. So we went to see an ear, nose and throat specialist, and, of course, that "probably" became a set date. I was going to get my tonsils out on December 27th.
I was given a "pamphlet" for kids about the surgery and was totally freaked out. The only thing I was looking forward to was getting to eat ice cream for two weeks and missing school. The night before the surgery I was restless and got no sleep. It was only tonsils. Everyone gets them out. But I continued to be anxious until I was knocked out.
The morning of my surgery was no better. My anxiety reached its height and I became sick to my stomach, literally. I threw up numerous times, until finally the nurse gave me a Valium shot, even though I was just twelve. Now the fun part came, the anesthesia. The nurse came with a huge syringe looking for my vein, which, of course, was nowhere to be found. Still she continued to poke holes through me. Then she called for another nurse who also had no luck finding my vein. The surgeon then came, poking holes through my skin. Since they had put me through so much, they had to perform a local numbing before they inserted the actual syringe.
Thankfully, the Valium they gave me had taken effect, so this is all a big blur to me. There was blood everywhere and I could tell from the look on my parents' faces that they too were scared. The surgeon couldn't find my vein. Finally, the anesthesiologist herself came and found my vein. We were all so happy.
That was the last thing I remember. Then I woke up, as though nothing had happened. I was so out of it, I told the nurses "Merry New Year."
When I went home I fell asleep immediately. It was the best sleep I had ever experienced. For the next week or so I only ate ice cream and Jell-o! It was the best diet I have ever been on. In the end, it was not as big a deal as I had made it out to be, and was a even a little fun. :)