ENT Update: More talk of more tubes

Big sigh. Luke had another ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor) appointment today. Once again, we hoped this would be the last visit, and once again, we were told he has fluid on his ears that is (or is about to be) infected and is clearly causing a hearing problem this time around (something I noticed a few weeks ago, but I wasn't sure if it was really a hearing issue or an "I'm 5 years old and I'm not listening" problem). We've been doing this for over a year by now. If we were just going to have to do a second set of tubes (grommets), I would have rather done it a year ago and been done with it rather than to keep putting it off until it will now interfere with school. I know it's just Pre-K, but still, we could have done it over the summer or something. And I know they were trying to avoid another surgery for him, but if it was looking so much like they would have to do it, I would just rather have it done and be done with it than to have dragged it out for another year-plus.

And it's not just a second set of tubes. Oh no, it couldn't possibly be that easy. In cases where the problem is chronic fluid on the ears leading to hearing difficulties, they "almost always" (her words) take out the adenoids as well. Putting in tubes? The thought doesn't phase me. Taking a knife and hacking away bits of my kid, particularly inside his head? I have to admit to being a wee bit phased. They won't be taking his tonsils (absolutely no history of tonsillitis or strep throat), and she insists that adenoid removal is "less than 10% of the recovery of a tonsillectomy," but I still don't like it. But if it means we can finally be done with this nonsense, then I'm all for it.

It is possible we'll go back for a recheck in 3 weeks (after yet another round of antibiotics and antihistamine nasal spray). They will also do a full hearing screening. If everything comes back clear (no fluid on the ears and a normal hearing screen), then it is possible they will again put it off, but you know what? I'd really rather not, if that's where they think we'll end up anyway. I'm really just ready to be done with it. We'll know more in a few weeks.

Currently feeling: frustrated

An ENT Tradition

I'm not quite sure how we went from "come back in February and hopefully we won't have to see you again" to "he might need another set of tubes" at the ENT, but I am not amused. Not necessarily surprised, but still not happy. To recap Luke's Ear/Nose/Throat (ENT) history to date: In October 2006, we were told Luke needed speech therapy. They found fluid on his ears and told us to get it taken care of. by August 2007, we finally had tubes put in to help with fluid drainage and ear infections. In August 2008, his tubes had come out and were just sitting in the ear canal. They were removed and we were told to return in six months (Feb 2009) for our final check. If everything looked good, we were done. But of course not! Luke was just finishing an ear infection in February 2009, so there was still some fluid behind his ear, and she said that the eardrum was a little "sucked in." She did say that may just be normal for him coming off an infection, so she wanted to see us back in a month. That would be today.

So, he's been fine for a month. Off and on fever, but no cold or anything. He did come down with allergies when we got back from Disney. We all did. (How could you not when you live in the allergy capitol of the world? I saw a lot of yellow in the puddles today.) I had no idea what that would mean for his appointment today. I actually forgot about his 9 AM appointment until I was strapping him in his car seat to take him to school. Thank goodness it was 8:45, so all I had to do was drive to the doctor instead. We made it just in time. I felt like such a dork.

Anyway, we arrived, we waited 20 minutes (trying not to snort; we were the first appointment of the day, how can you be late already?!), and we were taken back for the tympanogram, which "takes a picture of your eardrum," as the tech explained. It is actually measuring the movement of the eardrum. One ear looked great, the other one looked really wonky. She took a look. I was surprised to learn that she saw a good bit of scarring on his left eardrum. No one had ever mentioned it before, and she did say it was common in children who have had tubes. It just took me by surprise. Then she took him in the soundproof booth for a hearing test. By himself. It was the first time he has ever done one alone. He was a little nervous at first, but he did great. The tech pronounced his hearing normal in both ears, and we were moved into the room to see the doctor, where we thankfully did not wait long at all.

She looked at the tympanogram, she looked at his hearing test, she looked in his ears and mouth. Then she looked at me. "Well, there's still fluid back there. It's not infected, but it's been there for a month at least. The good news is that it is not affecting his hearing. If it were causing hearing problems, or if we were heading into the winter months, I would not hesitate to recommend a second set of tubes. But since we are heading into the summer, and the fluid is not currently causing any problems, let's see if we can clear up the fluid instead." He is now on antihistamines and decongestants every day, and a nasal spray. We see her again in a month. If the fluid is still there, or if he gets an ear infection in the meantime, there will most likely be more tubes. If it goes away, she'll send us on our way for a few months. I suspect even if it is gone, she will check it again in the fall/winter, just to be sure, but we'll see. I shouldn't be surprised, though. Luke is only following in the family tradition. I had to have two sets of tubes, too! (Thanks for the reminder, Melissa! There was also some mention of tonsils and adenoids, but that falls under "we'll cross that bridge when we come to it" and was not discussed beyond a passing mention.)

My apologies for the departure from the Disney recap. I hope to get back to it tomorrow. (I have the pictures selected and shrunk, but no text accompaniment at present.) But, I wanted to get this down before I forgot.

Currently feeling: tired of ear trouble

Mommy, I sleep now?

This is what I get for complaining about not having much to blog about.

You know your child is sick when... you are watching your ritual pre-bedtime cartoon and your child turns to you and says (in a very pitiful voice), "Mommy, I sleep now?" He was ready to go to bed less than 10 minutes into Gummi Bears tonight. Him turning down bread at dinner should have been another clue. I thought he felt a little warm this afternoon, but he'd been playing hard and he was acting fine, so I didn't think much of it. He ate fine at lunch, but hardly ate any dinner (don't know if that is simply because he isn't feeling well, or because he didn't want to try the spaghetti). Thermometer says 101.5. He's shivering some and complaining that his feet are cold (note to self: "my feet are cold" = fever). We've dosed him up on Children's Motrin, and DH is putting him to bed right now.

I hope it isn't an ear infection. I forgot to mention on my blog that the ENT removed his tubes at his 1 year follow up appointment on Aug 19. That's actually how his sinus infection (that required the nasty medicine) was diagnosed. We already had a previously scheduled ENT appointment to check his tubes; the timing of the sinus infection was just coincidental. She said the tubes were just sitting in the ear canal; if his ears weren't so waxy, they'd have fallen out on their own. She just reached in with teeny-tiny tweezers and plucked them out. He held completely still and didn't wiggle (apparently, most children make quite a fuss when they do that). She said he was so good that he deserved a sticker *and* a lollipop. We will go back in six months, but if he doesn't have any trouble (i.e. no unexplained ear infections) between now and then, we're all through. I really want to be all through! We've been messing with this for almost 2 years now, I'm so ready to be done. I know it is minor, and if you had to pick an affliction for your child, this isn't a terrible one. That doesn't make it much fun, though.

Maybe it's just a virus that will be done in a day or two. Yeah, that's it....

Currently feeling: bad for Luke

How about some good health news?

Might make a nice change, no? Luke had his six month ear tubes follow up appointment today, and I would like to quote the doctor: "If all ear tubes looked this good after six months, I would be a happy woman." Yay! Ears look good, tubes look great (clean, no clogs, still in place, etc). They are also not showing any signs of falling out any time soon, which is also good. She wants them to stay in there for about 18 months. Hopefully, we can manage that with just one set of tubes and that will be the end of it. We go back in six months to check on them again.

Currently feeling: doctored out for this week!

Oh please no!

I know I never did a Thanksgiving recap (and recalling history, if I haven't done it by now, I probably won't), but Luke arrived in Brunswick the Tuesday before Thanksgiving (I was already there) sporting a drippy ear and a fever, i.e. an ear infection. This was a month to the day after starting antibiotics for a previous ear infection in mid-October.

So I spent that Tuesday night, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, scrambling around online (since all the "help lines" were closed due to it being "after hours"), trying to find a doctor who took our insurance in a town where no company offers said insurance. Finally found one, so we headed out first thing Wednesday morning (Thanksgiving Eve, if you will) to be there when their office opened for walk-ins, information they thankfully gave on their office answering machine when I called the previous evening. We confirmed with the office staff that they do indeed accept our insurance, and filled out all of the relevant "new patient" information, even though we (hopefully!) will never see this doctor again. We even got a "wow, I've never seen that before" from the doctor. She could actually see fluid dripping out of the tube; usually it's too gunky and inflamed to see the fluid physically oozing out. At least we got to be a novelty for her. [Aside: Just for the record, we received notice from the insurance company this week saying they wouldn't pay for that doctor visit since it was "out of network," despite the fact that I chose this particular doctor because they came up during a search on the insurance company website for doctors in the area who accept on our plan. Recall that the office staff *also* confirmed they accept it before we saw the doctor. ????!!! Yes, we're going to appeal.] Anyway!

It has now been only *four* weeks (minus a day) since seeing the doctor for that second ear infection, and Luke is coughing. Inevitably, a cough like this leads to an ear infection, again if history is correct. Which means he won't come down with a fever until Saturday sometime, and we'll have to try and get a doctor's appointment on Monday. That would be Christmas Eve, for those keeping score at home. I see only one of two possible outcomes, given our current luck: either the office will be closed that day and/or no sick appointments will be available (same result, regardless), or we will get an appointment only to be told that they don't see any sign of an ear infection and send us home without antibiotics, and he'll wake up Christmas morning with a drippy ear because we were there "too soon" for it to show (like our first October doctor visit, remember?).

AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why did we even BOTHER with the tubes if they are NOT helping??!!!

BTW, thank you all for the well wishes. Job is going well so far. It remains to be seen if that will still hold after the holidays, when they give me my first actual project to manage.

Currently feeling: SOOO tired of dealing with his ears (Mom, stop laughing)

Too proactive

Wow, what a rotten two days! I took L to the doctor Thursday morning because he had been running a fever of 100-101 for three days, and he had an absolutely horrible cold that only seemed to be getting worse. I was afraid that it was either something worse than a cold or that he had an ear infection (which he shouldn't, given his spiffy new ear tubes). She checked his ears and said they were fine, and his lungs were clear. Just to treat the fever as needed (if over 100.5) and let the cold run its course. Funny then that he was up three times Thursday night crying about seemingly nothing (we chalked it up to fever dreams), and Friday (we kept him home from daycare) after nap he had fluid seeping out of his ear, i.e. ear infection! If I had waited until Friday to take him, instead of taking him Thursday hoping to catch something before it got really bad, at least there would have been some manifestation of infection. Letting out the fluid is what the tubes are supposed to do, so we're supposed to just wait and see. Yeah, they're not the ones home with the grumpy three-year-old who spends all day wiping snot everywhere and all night coughing so that NO ONE is getting any sleep!

And to top it all off, his fever crossed the 102 mark this afternoon. We take his temp under his arm, which makes his actual temp a full degree higher than whatever the reading shows. For nearly a week now, I have been accustomed to seeing numbers 99.0-99.8, but this afternoon, it just kept going up and up and up, finally stopping at 100.9. How are we getting worse, not better?!! We still have to survive tomorrow (today? pretty sure it is after midnight, which makes it Sunday), and if he is still running a fever come Monday, it will be back to the doctor (for another $30; personally I think this one should be free since she said he was fine (besides the cold) on Thursday) and *another* day home from daycare.

He's not acting overly sick, and if it weren't for the fever, I'd probably send him on to daycare. There's more to keep him entertained there. He is a bit more disagreeable and he tires more easily, which only serves to make him super-cranky and shorten his attention span (can you imagine a *shortened* 3yo attention span? yeah, it's not fun) so that nothing is fun for more than 5 minutes. If the three of us manage not to kill each other before this thing blows over, it will be a miracle.

And idiot me chose Thursday to start redesigning the look of my blog (not quite ready yet) to accomodate all the new Blogger features, which is what is keeping me up late tonight since sick boy won't let me near a computer without wanting to be on it himself (thus rendering impossible any attempts to modify someone elses CSS coding to my liking). I was hoping to debut it tomorrow, but somehow I'm doubting that will happen.

Currently feeling: tired and frustrated

Tubes went fine

He did fine today. Full details later. Been a very long day, but all is well. Wedding tomorrow and parental visit Sunday, so may be Monday before I'm "back."
Currently feeling: so tired

Just kill me now

It has been one of THOSE days. I've had a long hard week since 8 AM on Monday, and it's not even 4 PM on Monday. The new contract has hit a snag *again,* so I now have less than two weeks to make a decision that could impact my financial future for the next four months minimum, if not more for the next year. It's a "bird in the hand vs. two in the bush" situation, which I hate! Super-long story short, there was a new rule put in place that no one knew about saying that there must be a 3 month lapse between contracts if the contractor is switching business units (which I am). The problem is that who knows if her position will still be available three months from now. A big reorganization is coming, and there is no way to know right now if her new vice president will support contractors the way the old one did. So I can either extend my current contract and stay where I am (it cannot be transferred across business units) through December, understanding that there is NO funding and no way it will continue beyond that, or I can end my present contract when it is scheduled to be over on August 20, roll the dice and wait the three months, and hope the position is still available. It's not that she might fill the position, it's that they may decide to do away with that headcount in the new organizational structure if she doesn't go on and fill it.

So, I have been getting new information on the situation every 60-90 minutes throughout the day today, so I haven't even had time to just sit and let it all sink in. I have a zillion projects that I was trying to finish up before the supposed end of my current contract on August 20, not the least of which is finding out if I need to officially terminate my employment with my present contracting company, only to find out (less than two hours after learning of the 3 month waiting period snag) that my current contracting company shows that my present contract is up August 13! As in a week sooner than anyone at AT&T thinks it will be. So we have to figure out why AT&T thinks I'm working until Aug 20, but Tekmark says Aug 13, who is right, and can I work that last week (like I said I would, thus planned mammoth projects to finish then that will be *impossible* to finish in just one week!), and mostly, will I get paid if I do decide to work it!

Luke's tubes are Friday, which pretty much kills that whole day, his pre-op appointment for paperwork and whatnot is Wednesday, which kills that afternoon. Those things I knew about and had planned said projects accordingly. What I didn't know (or had forgotten (hangs head in shame)) until this past Thursday is that I also have lots of family here (in town, not at my house, thank God!) from out of town/out of state for a wedding on Saturday that I *completely* forgot about when I booked Luke's procedure for Friday, and we are trying to work out a time to see them since we won't be attending the (well after Luke's bedtime) wedding, so we need to put in an appearance at some other time, and Friday is out due to the procedure. That leaves Tues, Wed, or Thurs, and Wed is Luke's afternoon pre-op appointment, so that may be out as well. Just stressing trying to make all of that work.

The only good news I've had today is unfortunately creating another problem in and of itself. You will never in a million billion years guess who called around 3:15 this afternoon. Are you sitting down? Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Speech Therapy! They have several slots opening up in the next week or so. Each appointment will be about an hour, once a week. Here are the available slots: Tuesdays at 10 AM beginning tomorrow, Wednesdays at 11 AM beginning this week or next, and Mondays at 2 PM or Thursdays at 2 PM beginning next week. Well, let's see here. 2 PM appointments mean he will miss most of nap. Very bad thing. 11 AM appointments mean he will miss lunch *and* most of nap, an even worse thing. That leaves only the 10 AM slot on Tuesdays, beginning tomorrow. Therapy center is about 15 minutes from daycare, which is 20-25 minutes from my house. We should make it back to daycare in time for lunch and nap (a very good thing), but I need to leave to pick him up at least 45 minutes before his appointment, which would be 9:15. I usually drop him off between 7:30-8 AM, so I don't get home until around 8:30 most days (sometimes later). Is there any point in taking him to daycare Tuesday mornings, only to spend an hour max here doing work, just to have to turn around and go pick him back up? Seems a waste of time and gas. But the alternative is that I lose an entire half day of work EVERY Tuesday because we just wait at home until it is time for his speech therapy appointment. All the bosses are fine with that (current boss and maybe we'll see if we can work it out new boss), but it is just more stress to my life right now that I just really didn't need today! Yes, I am thrilled that he is finally in and we may finally be getting help. But it is hard to feel anything but more stress right now. I can't even get in touch with my current boss to tell her that I won't be in tomorrow morning! Thank goodness that my Tuesday just happened to be completely clear so accepting the appointment was not an issue (I would have cancelled any meetings, because Luke comes first, it just would have been more stress). But the reason Tuesday was clear was to work on said huge project, so that is another entire half day out of my already rapidly shrinking week to do work, not to mention all the hours I spent on the phone today (NOT working) trying to get all of this contract mess/new job mess straightened out.

And to top it all off, today is DH's birthday (he's finally turning 31, almost two weeks after I did), and I really don't want to dump all of this on him when he gets home. Which is now. I hear the garage door going up.

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Currently feeling: stop the world, I wanna get off!!!

Impaired tympanic membranes and a cracked humerus

The long version, as promised. I have to back up a few days from the arm incident, though, to provide some information that will become relevant later in the story.

For those who may or may not recall, Luke had an ENT (that would be ear, nose, and throat doctor) follow-up on July 3. I apologize for not giving the following update at the time. You'll see why in a minute. As I predicted, when she learned that he had had two ear infections in the prior three months, she immediately said he needed to be booked for tubes. She also reiterated that he needs to be tested for allergies when he turns three, since his face is showing signs of allergies (whatever that means; she said she could tell just by looking at him). Guess he's just out of luck if he tests positive for cats!

Anyway, the surprise was she said he also has a sinus infection. Huh? We had no idea! I did comment that I had thought on and off during the previous week that he had a fever, but on the rare occasions that it read higher than normal, it was only like 99 or 99.5; nothing really worth bothering about given that he wasn't acting sick at all (good appetite, good energy, etc). He did have a runny nose, but it wasn't bad, and (forgive the TMI) it was clear, not cloudy or yellow like it was infected. According to the ENT, a recurring low-grade fever accompanied by a runny nose is the most common sign of a sinus infection in children. Great, NOW you tell me! It had been barely two weeks since he had finished the previous antibiotics for his ear infection at the very tail-end of May, so she put him on something different and stronger to try and wipe it out. Hopefully, that will hold until his procedure is scheduled. She gave me the scheduler's name and number to call directly to speed up the process and hopefully get him done in the following two weeks. Ha ha, the cosmic joke was on us.

First off, turned out that the scheduler chick was out of the office that entire week (being a holiday week here in the US for Independence Day). Her voice mail says to expect return calls to take up to two business days, and I figure that is when she is actually in the office. I decide to go on and leave a message on the 3rd, but I'd give her a week (that would be July 10) to call me back before I badgered her again. I also decided not to blog about the issue until I had a firm procedure date in hand, since I knew that would be everyone's first question.

Little did we know! (Anyone who has seen the movie Stranger Than Fiction now laughs every single time they see or hear that phrase! Ahem, sorry, moving on....) The week progresses, Luke is taking his antibiotic, and things seem hunky-dory. July 10th dawns, and on my calendar is a little reminder to call back the ENT scheduler girl that afternoon. Also on my schedule was a 9-10 AM Excel workshop that I was teaching at work (I do them every two weeks). We only get about 2/3 of the way through our example by 10 AM, and everyone agrees they want to stay on and finish it, so we continue. At 10:30, we are *almost* finished with the class, and my cell phone rings. I had given scheduler girl my cell number, since I knew the ENT was in something of a hurry to get his ears done, so I excused myself from the class momentarily, apologizing but explaining that I had been waiting for a very important call (I had told my boss that if she called, I would need take it, and she said that was fine). And I answered my cell without looking at the caller ID.

Imagine my surprise when it is not the scheduler girl, but the director of Luke's daycare center. Great, now what? This is not the first time they have called (as regular readers of this blog know). Most often, it is for a fever, but that seems unlikely given that he is *still* on antibiotics for his sinus infection. Occasionally, it is to tell me that they have had to use his spare outfit and to bring a replacement with me when I come to get him (which I appreciate). And once it was to tell me that they thought he needed stitches. So I had no idea what she was about to say, but it was not the following: "Luke jumped off the top of the slide and landed on his side on top of his elbow. He is holding it like it hurts, he won't move it at all, and he won't let us touch it." They thought he might have pinched the nerve or jammed his elbow. They said they would apply an ice pack and see how he was doing, and they would call me back with status. They just wanted to give me a heads-up that I might need to come get him if he didn't get back to his usual self. Lovely. I go back to my class, took about 15 minutes to finish up, and then called my boss to fill her in on what daycare had said. She is totally family-first, so she told me to just do what I needed to do.

Approximately 45 minutes had elapsed since the first call, and I had just hung up with my boss, when my cell phone rang again. Caller ID indicated daycare. This can't be good. Sure enough, he was not doing any better. She said that the real key was that he didn't want to play; he just wanted to sit at the table with his head down. That is just NOT like him at all. She said his arm was also just hanging limp by his side, and that he was holding his forearm constantly. I call the pediatrician, who says that if I even think it *might* be broken, I should take him to the ER. I call my husband to fill him in on the plan, I IM my boss saying I was leaving, I filled a cup with juice for Luke, and I ran out the door.

On my way to daycare, I realize that he probably won't get to eat lunch, and the last thing anyone wants to do is to put up with my injured soon-to-be napless child who has not eaten! I also figure lunch for me would be a good idea as well, since ER visits are never short, so I swing through Wendy's to pick up something for us. I even check with DH to see if I need to get him something, but he has arranged lunch for himself on the way to the hospital. When I arrived at daycare, everyone was rather shocked that I was not only calm, but that I had had the forethought to pick up lunch! (They offered to pack a sandwich or something for the two of us to take in the car, which I sincerely appreciated.) Hey, I'm the daughter of a nurse and a man who worked emergency management for decades. I generally know how to handle a medical crisis without losing my head. As long as no one seems to be in desperate pain or anything, I'm good. And Luke, other than holding and not wanting to move or touch his arm, seemed fine. He wasn't crying or acting distressed, just unusually calm and reserved, similar to when he needed stitches in his finger. Got him loaded in the car (that was a trial, since he didn't want to move his arm enough to put on the harness in the car seat), handed him some chicken nuggets, and off we went.

DH actually beat us to the hospital (which is no where near daycare, and added with the painfully slow Wendy's trip, allowed him plenty of time to arrive in Decatur from downtown Atlanta before I arrived from Tucker). We checked in with the ER desk right at 1 PM. They were blissfully empty! Only three people besides us in the waiting area, and they were clicking through them pretty quickly. We only waited 10-15 minutes. Then we had to wade through one of my pet peeves about the system. I understand why it is this way, but I hate reiterating the *same* story about what happened and what we think the problem is four different times to four different people! The check-in desk, the triage nurse, the doctor, and the radiologist. Just read the bloomin' chart, folks! Anyway, triage ordered us to the rapid treatment center, which is actually much more rapid this time than it was during our last visit back in 2003.

Doc comes in and examines him. She is as gentle as she can be, but she has to manipulate the elbow to try and figure out what is wrong. Much screaming and crying ensued, and DH was not handling things well. I can't say that I was either, internally at least, but I had more of a grip on the outside than he did, plus I knew there was absolutely no other way to diagnose the problem (something DH also knows in his head, if not his heart, while my heart told me it was the right thing to do, even if it hurt). And Luke, of course, simply cannot understand why this woman is insisting on hurting him.

She actually thinks that it is not broken, but is instead something referred to as "nursemaid's elbow," which (in layman's terms) is when a ligament gets caught in the elbow joint. The "cure" is to fully extend the elbow, almost to the point of hyper-extension, which will allow the ligament to slide out again. It would be fairly quick, but extremely painful. The upside is that once it slides back out, the pain immediately goes away and all is well. The downside is, obviously, LOTS of screaming from Luke. DH and I have one of those "quick and silent conversations composed of a single look" that married couples often have, in which we both agree that DH will have to leave the room if that is what they are going to do.

But, just to be on the safe side, she decides to send him to radiology to make sure nothing is broken. She leaves to write up the orders, and my cell phone rings. Yes, I had forgotten to turn it off when I came in the ER. Bad me! I figured it was either my father or my brother (I had intentionally NOT told my mother yet, since I wanted to have an answer for her (broken or not?) when I did), so I just answered, knowing I could just say "don't know yet, I'll call you back" and hang up. Nope! It was the ENT lady, wanting to schedule his tubes procedure. You have got to be kidding me! I very briefly explain that I am currently standing in the ER waiting to find out if he has a broken arm and that I will have to call her back (knowing all the while that it will be two more days before she can return my call once I finally am able to get back to her, ARGH!!).

Radiology was not fun, at all. Once Luke saw DH in the parking deck, he didn't want to be put down for any reason (he is definitely daddy's little boy). All exams to this point had taken place in DH's lap. Obviously, we couldn't do it that way in radiology; he had to lay on the table. And he screamed and he cried the entire time, bordering on hysterical. In order to try and keep him still for the x-rays, DH was up by his head, talking to him and holding the non-injured arm, while I was laying across his legs and holding the hand of his injured arm both for stillness and positioning (had to take off my wedding ring, but I did manage to keep my fingers out of the x-rays). And this x-ray tech (not the actual radiologist, who we actually never saw) was obviously not used to young children, so that didn't help any. He seemed to think that since it wasn't hurting him, Luke should be fine and not scared. Um, yeah, not-quite-3-year-olds don't think like that!

So anyway, x-rays were an ordeal, and the radiologist decided he wanted an ultra close-up of the elbow itself, so we had to go through it all twice. By now, Luke is just a zombie. They give him some children's ibuprofen (finally! why did that take so long?) and some juice while we wait, and I supply marshmallows from the diaper bag. The x-ray tech said everything looked fine to him, our doctor said everything looked fine to her, but she was waiting on official word from radiology. And to everyone's great surprise, the radiologist said he thought that the radius (that would be the larger of the two bones in your lower arm, for those who have forgotten your biology) might be cracked right at the knob of the bone where it meets the elbow joint. He wasn't positive, but he still advised that we see an orthopedist. Great.

They rig him up in a soft cast, which is basically a glorified splint. A hard bent core to support the elbow, wrapped in ace bandages. Add in a prescription for Tylenol with Codeine for pain, follow-up orders for the Ortho, and a CD of his x-rays (which I did download before giving to the Ortho, geek that I am), and we're all set to leave at 3:15 PM. Knowing that Luke would pitch a fit if we tried to get in separate cars (and knowing that we had already hit the daily max charge for the parking deck after two hours), we decide to leave DH's car and all leave in mine. I'd just get my brother to come get me and drop me off at the car later in the evening (have I mentioned how much I LOVE my brother now living locally?).

I don't even think we had left the parking deck before Luke was asleep. Poor baby! We decide to just have me go on and take the other car, since Luke now won't miss me. I actually had to call my husband after I got to the car to meet me at the back door to the deck since I had no cash for parking, but other than that, it was a good plan. I drove to the pediatrician's office, since it is right by the hospital, to see what we need to do about an ortho referral. We then went to Target to fill the prescription; I ran in and DH stayed in the other car with Luke. He did wake up while I was waiting, so they came in and wandered around, and I called the ortho's office for an appointment, which was scheduled for two days later. As we were leaving Target, Luke requested pancakes (IHOP is just up the road), and who were we to refuse at this point. It had been a long and trying Tuesday!

I did go on and send him to daycare on Wednesday. No point in missing a day of work for him to just sit around the house bored. I knew if he was acting like he was in real pain, they would call me. Otherwise, being distracted at school was probably the best thing for him. He did just great.

8:10 AM on Thursday was our appointment with the Orthopedic arm and wrist specialist at Emory. First off, this is the hugest doctor's office I have ever been in. They have *five* windows to help patients: three for check-in, one for x-ray only patients, and one for all other inquiries. The waiting room is half again the size of the bottom floor of my 1800 square foot house! And it has a fish tank bigger than my television (a 53" widescreen HD projection), which Luke adored. I actually didn't even have time to finish filling out the H&P (history and physical) before we were called back. The girl who saw us first (no idea of her "rank" (nurse, PA, NP, doctor, etc; her name badge didn't specify) was very nice, and she checked his arm very gently, merely making him whimper.

I gave her the x-ray disc, and she went to show them to the doctor. He came in and said that he couldn't actually see anything on the x-rays, but that hairline fractures on the knobs of the bones in children are virtually impossible to see on x-ray if they are not displaced (Luke's was not), so he would have to use what he termed "the caveman method" to check, which basically amounts to squeezing the bones at the joint to see what hurts. Joy. He squeezed all up and down Luke's arm, except the elbow, with no reaction from Luke. (He is very good with children, BTW. Not his first time, I expect! LOL) But when he got to the elbow, Luke whimpered and cried. He even pushed the doctor's hand away and said "NO!"

Based on said squeezing, the doctor said that it is actually the humerus (that is the bone in your upper arm) that is almost definitely cracked right at the knob of the elbow, but that the radius is also probably cracked (at the mirrored knob on the other side of the elbow). The injury itself didn't require a cast to heal properly, but given that Luke is only 2 and unlikely to "take it easy," he wanted to cast it to prevent any further injury and/or displacement should he take another tumble (and, being already cracked, it would take significantly less force to displace it than it did to break it in the first place). Displaced "knobs" like that require pinning (that would be surgically inserting rods to stabilize the pieces until they heal), which no one wants, so casting it is definitely the way to go. The rule of thumb used for children is that it takes one week per year of age for a break to heal, so we would be seen back in about three weeks for cast removal (that is this coming Monday, July 30). We picked blue for our cast color, got that applied, dosed him with some ibuprofen, and he went off to daycare (it wasn't even 9:30 AM yet).

ENT chick called back the next day, Friday, July 13. I decided that I had had enough medical trauma in my life for the month of July, so I booked his procedure for August 10. That is almost two weeks after he gets his cast off. Hopefully, we will all be recovered from the arm ordeal by then. The good news is that they do the tubes at an outpatient facility dedicated to children. They are done in order of age (the idea being that older kids can understand the idea of waiting and that they can't eat better than younger ones, which I definitely appreciate!), so until closer to time, we won't know exactly what time. They'll call the week before to let us know. Also, being run by people who understand children, they let parents go back with their child until the child is asleep with the anesthesia. Hospitals generally WILL NOT allow this (I've heard multitudes of mothers complain about this), so that made me feel significantly better.

The procedure and the tubes don't scare me. I had two sets myself, at ages 2 and 6. I actually distinctly remember breathing the general anesthesia before (what I assume is) the second time. I know it is routine, I know it is what he needs. But for some reason, being that this is MY child, that doesn't help a lot. I'm sure, as usual, I will be doing heaps better than most parents. I am familiar with the procedure, and medicine, doctors, hospitals, surgery, etc do not scare me in general. But that doesn't mean I have to like it when it is happening to MY son! LOL

And can we PLEASE go more than three months before the next medical emergency? I would greatly appreciate it.

Currently feeling: doctored out!

Busy busy holiday

Long time, no (real) blogging! That last one was just copied from an email I sent out late Friday/early Saturday (for those not on the mailing list). Besides that, it has been over a week. Lots happening!

We drove down and visited my parents for the Memorial Day weekend. Also dropped by to see my grandfather and MIL. We took Luke to the beach for the very first time, and he had a total blast! (Yes, photos to come, whenever I get a chance. Who knows when that will be.) We played in the yard with the golf set and the baseball set and the bubbles (and got eaten up by mosquitoes; Luke seems to have inherited his Nana's skin chemistry that is apparently akin to some powerful mosquito narcotic, while I more or less have my father's virtual immunity to bites). We saw Pirates, we sat around and vegged. Luke didn't sleep well the last few nights, and he was up at the crack of dawn before 7 AM every morning (yawn).

And Luke spiked a fever of almost 103 and woke up screaming at 3 AM the morning of the day we left (Tuesday), and (bad mommy who thought of it and then intentionally left it because it had never been needed before) we had no children's fever medicine on hand, so my dad went out to Walgreens in the middle of the night. Given the two weeks of nightly coughing and a week of runny nose, I knew what that meant: ear infection. Which was confirmed at his doctor's appointment this morning. Both ears, incidentally. I know she was about to suggest an ENT referral when I mentioned that we already have a follow-up ENT appointment for July 3 (just how I want to spend the day before my anniversary). This is his second ear infection in 8 weeks, and his fourth in 7 months, plus a history of non-infected (but still present) fluid during in-between visits. Given that his two most recent infections have been since his last ENT appointment in March, I can virtually assure you she will recommend tubes in July. Joy.

And here I was all excited. I finally thought I would have a monthly round-up with no health concerns to report. I guess this is my punishment! (I was going to ignore the fact that I managed to roll my ankle in the sand at the beach and strain the ligaments in the arch of my right foot. The pain goes from the top of the arch on the inside of my foot and wraps all the way around the bottom. Didn't even know you *could* do that, but ouch!)

Currently feeling: pained

ACK!! I'm not ready!

We interrupt this Disney trip recap to bring you two special news bulletins.

#1: Luke has yet *another* ear infection. Was fussy this weekend, spiked a fever Monday, and was officially diagnosed and prescribed antibiotics this morning. Joy.

But the real reason for this post in the midst of the Disney trip review:

#2: Luke climbed out of his crib tonight! We didn't even know he could. And he did it almost silently. As in, we didn't know he was out of his crib until we heard him close his bedroom door behind him. It took a minute for what we had heard to sink in. Unless the cats have learned to open and close doors, there was only one explanation. He was standing at the top of the stairs by the time we got to them. He went back to bed without a fuss. I don't know if he just wanted to prove he could or what, but he definitely got our attention. I see a toddler bed and a baby gate for the top of the stairs in our near to immediate future. And let's hope it won't require a lock on the outside of the door.

I'm not ready for him to have a big boy bed!!
Currently feeling: overwhelmed

Make it a double

Ear infection, that is. Yep, it's in both ears, though one has more fluid and the other (though with less fluid) is more infected. Fun. And he hates the medicine, so I get to be "mean mommy" and force it on him for the next 9 days, half the time by myself, since DH will have already left for work in the mornings. Joy.

Currently feeling: ear-itated

I'm so tired of doctors

I swear, I've seen more doctors in the last three months than I know what to do with, and most of them weren't for me! Sheesh.

Luke's ENT appointment was yesterday. (That's Ear/Nose/Throat doctor, for those unfamiliar with the term, though I imagine those with kids in the US are quite familiar with it.) They reran all of the same audiology tests that were run on him previously, which sort-of irked me (we've done this already!), but I knew it was to see if things had changed. His tympanagram was normal, so the fluid behind his ears is gone. Each of the four data points used to measure his actual hearing did move up a notch on the scale, which means 1 out of 4 is now in the normal range. With the other three still below normal, though, that means the fluid was not causing all of the hearing loss. There is something else causing his hearing to be below average.

As she put it, we should expect many repeat visits to the ENT over the next several years to monitor and (hopefully) diagnose and treat the hearing loss. It is minor, and even if it is uncorrectable, he can live a completely healthy and happy normal life. But the only way to find out what exactly is wrong (and thus determine if it is correctable) is to do a bunch of tests that require his understanding and participation, and he is just to young to make such tests reliable or even practical right now. We'll have to wait until he is in the 3-4 year old range.

So, at this stage, we are handling the speech delay and the hearing loss separately. His hearing may be contributing to his speech delay, but since there is nothing we can presently do about his hearing, we should move forward with the speech therapy immediately. They will continue to see him every so often to recheck his hearing, using yesterday's visit as a baseline. When they feel he is old enough and developed enough to perform the tests correctly, they will begin the extensive testing for his hearing loss, probably in the late-2007 to mid-2008 range. So, once again, not horrible by any means, but no parent ever wants to hear that there is something wrong with their child, no matter how minor.

Then today, it was my turn. My congestion, while better than it was when I thought I was dying last week, has not gone away, while DH is almost completely well. Since I was running 1-2 days ahead of him in symptoms, this tells me that there is something more wrong. Not that my wheezing, stopped-up head, and plugged and somewhat painful ear wasn't telling me that already. So I made an appointment to see my doctor today. It was actually the first time I've ever met him! I've always seen the PA (physician's assistant). I adore her, but she didn't have any appointments available before tomorrow in the late afternoon, and I really didn't want to wait that long if I didn't have to, so when she said the doctor had availability today, I said sure. My ear is not technically infected, yet, but it is thoroughly plugged up and starting to turn red, so it is only a matter of time. Apparently whatever I had last week lead to the almost-infected ear and a sinus infection (which is why I'm still congested while DH is well). He was also very unhappy with how my lungs sounded, even though I'm not coughing much (mainly just some tightness and wheezing). He didn't make a specific diagnosis like bronchitis or anything, but he did insist on checking me again in six weeks to see if the wheezing is still there.

He really wanted to give me Biaxin, but I asked if that was really necessary. I know it is good for stuff like this, and I'm not technically allergic to it, but it makes me extremely nauseus and makes my stomach physically hurt. Not what I want right before Christmas. So he offered me a Z-pack instead, which is what I usually take when I have bronchitis. He didn't like the fact that it doesn't offer much in the way of anti-inflamatory action, but I promised to take Advil to help wiht that. Maybe I'll be able to hear again by the new year! If this is what it was like for Luke trying to hear for several months, no wonder he's not talking yet! I can't figure out what most people are saying to me right now, and it's only in one ear for me. Sheesh!

I am, however, completely done with Christmas gifts. The last one will be mailed out this afternoon, and all of the ones staying here are wrapped. In fact, I almost have my entire list completed. See!


Movie meme is something I just need to sit down and do, probably tonight actually. Might do my winter movie preview instead. Guess I'll have to call it a review, though, since the winter movie season is almost over. ::rolls eyes:: *Anyway*, decorating will most likely happen either Thursday night or Friday afternoon. Just hand the stockings and put up the tree (2-foot fiber optic, so quick and easy). An hour, max. The family has not discussed activities yet, so that one may not even happen, which is fine. And we'll probably do the train tonight or tomorrow. They run a little train around the "Christmas Village" at the mall, and I thought Luke would enjoy it, but I want to take my camera and I keep forgetting. Soon, though.

Currently feeling: a little better

A little better

We did end up going back to the doctor today. His eye was a little less red, but significantly more puffy. She apologized for not telling me yesterday that being horizontal for any length of time (say, in the morning or after nap) can make it puff up so much, since the tissue is already angry and inflamed. That would have been good info to have, but I'm still glad we went. The eye is progressing fine. She checked his ear, too, and she said she is already seeing some improvement, so we should be good to go there. Just finish the antibiotics and we should be all done (with this one, at least).

He does seem a little better, but I'm not sure that is a good thing for my sanity. Yesterday, he was so sick, he layed around like a wet dishcloth all day. Just a little quiet zombie baby. Today, he is feeling enough better to be tired and grumpy and cranky, fussing and screaming about *everything.* >sigh< I am still running a fever of about 99 for no reason that anyone can figure out. Every time I sleep, either at night or for a nap, I feel like I wake up immediately after having *just* closed my eyes, despite the clock insisting that I have been asleep for 8 hours. I am just exhausted. Add in PMS, and I am really not a happy camper right now. I just want to crawl in a hole and sleep for the next three days. But I can't cancel the party because 1) half the folks are already on their way, and 2) one of them has to ask for time off 3 months in advance (seriously), so it's pretty much now or never for him to visit. But in the mean time, I get to stress that Luke will be miserable and everyone will have a horrible time. Not that anyone would ever admit that to my face, but still. And I still have to clean the kitchen, wrap presents, and decorate.

Is it November yet? I've already had more than enough October for this year.

Currently feeling:

His first ear infection

Not the thing I would have wished for him for his second birthday. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, at the age of practically-2, Luke has come down with his first ever ear infection. Now, I have been completely paranoid about his ears since he was born. I had horrid innumerable ear infections as a child, resulting in 2 sets of tubes. In fact, I still get them if I get any sort of water in my ears whatsoever, and yes, that includes in the shower and in the pool. I have to be extremely careful. So I have been extremely pleased that Luke has not had one. Until now.

I am not one of those moms who runs him to the doctor for every little sneeze and sniffle. As long as he's acting okay or it goes away within 48 hours, I'm good. Every time I have ever said "if he's not better by tomorrow, we'll call the doctor," he's been better. But he started daycare three weeks ago. And after only three days, he came home with his first cold that ripped through Luke and me, and that my husband is currently attempting to get over. But Luke was improving; he was almost well in fact. I figured he'd be totally fine by his party this coming Saturday (with the possible exception of a runny nose, which I expect to be practically permanent for the next several months).

Then I went to pick him up Monday from daycare. I happened to spot him peeking over the half-door in the infant room as I was on my way outside, thinking he would be with the other toddlers and two-year-olds. Odd, but the teacher said nothing to me when I picked him up out of the room. He was a little hot, but I didn't think much of it at the time. As I was walking out the front door, the director caught me. "Did she tell you he has a fever of 101?" NO! That would have been useful information, don't you think? The director said she was just looking up his file to call me to come get him. He has to be fever free for 24 hours before he can go back, so I knew he would be home at least Tuesday. I figured it was a 24-48 hour bug, and he'd be fine come Wednesday or Thursday. Little did I know!

He ran a fluctuating fever of 99-102 all of Tuesday and Wednesday. He clearly was tired and not feeling well, but I wasn't alarmed. Still, I felt it best to call to find out if and when he needed to be seen by the doctor. I called the nurse, and she said that 72 hours of an up and down fever was not uncommon, but if it went in to day 4, or if he started showing some other symptoms beyond fatigue and loss of appetite, I should call and make him an appointment. Good to know; we'll wait it out. By Wednesday evening, his temperature was normal and he was up and about playing for the first time in days, and I figured he'd be back to his tired-but-normal self by Thursday. Ha!

Thursday dawned, and he clearly was feeling poorly again, though his temp was only 99. He was also crying a lot, something he had not done to this point in the illness. I got him to eat a little breakfast (yes, I bribed him with Cookie Crisp), but he was clearly worse today than yesterday, which was odd considering the drop in temp. He only ate about 2/3 of the cereal, then started crying again. He cried most of the morning, actually. I could get him to stop briefly while we watched Finding Nemo and some of Empire Strikes Back, but it never lasted more than 20-30 minutes, and he would then cry for a good 15-20 minutes straight. He had also progressed from mearly being tired and lethargic to extremely listless. My gut told me to call the doctor, but I put it off for a bit to see if I could get him to sleep some. I know he didn't sleep well; maybe he's just really tired.

I let him sit with me in the recliner, and that helped, but he still started crying. After I changed his diaper (which he screamed through), he was just inconsolable. Then he climbed up onto the couch, curled up into a fetal position facing away from the television, and just started whimpering and moaning. I was totally alarmed! He has NEVER done that before in his life. I took his temp again, which was now reading 101.5, and immediately phoned the doctor's office. He was booked for an 11 AM appointment. That gave us just enough time to get dressed and get there.

He seemed to perk up quite a bit in the car. Maybe he was just really bored being home with me for 3 days? He seemed significantly better playing in the "sick waiting room" at the doctor's office (our first time ever in that room). Maybe I was over-reacting? As we waited to be called back, I noticed some redness and puffiness under his left eye. It had not been there yesterday, and with all the crying he had been doing all morning, his whole face was too red and puffy for me to see it before now. I'll just ask her about it when we get back there.

We were called back, and I ran down his symptoms with the nurse. She weighed him (30.5 lbs), but didn't measure his height (his 2 year check-up is Tuesday, so we can wait). Then she took his temp. Still 101.5. Okay, at least I'm not totally crazy. The doctor then comes in, and the very first thing she asks about is his eye. How long has it been this way? (Just today; it was fine yesterday.) How long has he had the fever? (Since Monday.) Has he had pink eye recently? (No.) She was clearly much more concerned about his eye than anything else. She listened to his chest, which sounded fine, then turned her attention to his ears. She checked his right ear first. "This ear looks perfect!" Yay! Then on to his left year. "And this ear is totally infected!" Joy. It is also his left eye that is pink and puffy, which is probably not a coincidence.

She said that the eye thing is called "pre-septal or orbital cellulitis," and it needs to be watched very carefully. The antibiotics she gave us are stronger than what she would normally give just for an ear infection to help with the eye as well. If he isn't better from the ear infection by the end of the weekend, we should come back Monday. But, if his eye gets any worse, AT ALL, we are to come back tomorrow. I'll admit, being the daughter of a medical professional, this alarmed me quite a bit. It is rare that you are given such a short window for "if symptoms continue," and her extreme concern of the eye over the ear/fever makes me very uncomfortable. I truly hope it does not come to that. She did say that we should see a remarkable improvement in how he feels by Saturday, but there is also a possibility that the ear infection will not respond to the antibiotic she prescribed (it never worked for me; I had to use something different), which means he will still be sick for his party come Saturday. I truly hope it will work for him. I'm not sure how much longer I can watch him feeling *this* bad.

Please send any good thoughts you can spare his way. This is the first time he's ever been really and truly sick, and neither of us is handling it very well.

Currently feeling: concerned and helpless