Whitney the Paper-eating Troublemaker!

This is the face of a paper-eating troublemaker! We arrived at the hospital bright and early for Whitney's surgery to put in her second set of tubes. Her first set was placed in July of this past summer and at the beginning of December we realized she had fluid in both ears. We tried ear drops and also a hydrogen peroxide/water mix that the ENT's office suggested to clear her ears... neither worked and at the beginning of February, at her 6-month checkup from her tubes surgery the otolaryngologist said that both tubes were no longer in place. We have been looking forward to March 9th for a month, just waiting for new tubes so that Whitney could have the fluid out of her ears and hopefully be able to hear properly. Well... Whitney had her own plan for how today would go --- as we were sitting in the room waiting for her to go to surgery, the anesthesiologist came in to talk with me. She and I were talking and Whitney was sitting next to me on the hospital bed playing with the package that her hospital socks came in. This package was plastic with a paper label that you peel apart and take the socks out. I was paying attention to the anesthesiologist and realized that Whitney had put the package in her mouth. I turned to Whitney to get the package out of her mouth and noticed that the paper label was wet and a piece was missing. I looked in her mouth and there were two pieces of paper - I swiped her mouth to get the paper out and was able to get the bigger of the two pieces. I went back in to get the smaller one that I had seen toward the back of her mouth and she had SWALLOWED it! The anesthesiologist then said, "I hate to tell you this, but we are not going to be able to do surgery now." WHAT???!!!! She explained that while she is out for the surgery that her gag reflexes would not be working and that there was a danger that Whitney could aspirate the piece of paper into her lungs and that would be very dangerous. I certainly did not want to take any risks, but I also did not want to go home without the tubes placed in Whitney's ears. I asked if we could try gagging her, since she had just swallowed it, to get the piece of paper. She looked at me in shock that I would even consider gagging my own daughter on purpose (not something I would ever normally want to even think of doing... but I would rather do that and still get the tubes, I guess I am just a heartless mom??? :) Anyway - she said she would speak with the surgeon and see what we should do. Luckily, they are not making us reschedule - but we have to wait at least 6 hours since Whitney ate the paper but we are to arrive back at the hospital by 1:30 p.m. even though they will not be able to operate until 2:30 or 3p.m. So.... please keep Whitney in your thoughts and prayers --- especially that she can get through this day without food or drink and that she will not be so desperate to eat when we go back that she decides she needs to eat more paper!!!!!! Whitney is seriously a little troublemaker!!!! She has made what was supposed to be her easiest surgery yet, complicated! :) As I was walking out this morning the word had already spread with the nurses and other doctors on the floor - they smiled at us and one nurse said, "make sure you get this in her baby book"... our nurse said she has been on this floor for 20 years and never had anything like this happen or heard of anything like this happening... guess we just don't like to make things simple or easy. Oh, Whitney - I love you, even if you are a paper-eater!