Monday, 01 December 2008

• Health Update

  Well, we were scheduled for Lúthien to get ear tubes on Nov. 10, then I had to reschedule due to some things at work. the earliest opening they had was Dec. 2. At the time, I remember thinking "Great. Another month means another ear infection!" Seriously, I should have been a doctor! Sure enough, and this one wouldn't go away, so we had to do another round of another antibiotic. Meanwhile, Kary and I have both been sick for over a month, so we're on a pretty hefty course of antibiotics to kill off a wicked sinus infection. We are all feeling much better.

  Lúthien has surgery the morning of Dec. 2 around 8am to put in bilateral ear tubes. The doctors tell us that our lives will be forever changed for the better, and I think they must be right. I'm not overly nervous - after everything she went through this summer at the hospital, it's a lot easier to believe the phrase "minor surgery," but it still has risks, and it still involves a 2 year old under general anesthesia, and she's still my baby girl, so I'll be glad when it's over. Pray for a quick recovery (and that she still naps tomorrow, despite being put to sleep for a while in the morning! She's still really tired from all the holiday fun and travel.) and that she and I get some quality time together tomorrow. Thanks!

  Oh - the other good news: we have lots of reason to believe that, despite all the frequent and severe ear infections, she has no significant hearing damage. Besides the fact that she's pretty verbally advanced for her age, she's started to sing in the last few weeks, and has surprisingly good pitch! She was even playing around matching pitches with me tonight during dinner, so her musician parents are thrilled that she doesn't seem to be suffering in that department! I'll try to post a video soon.

   

  UPDATE: Everything went just fine. In and out, very quickly. Despite 3 rounds of antibiotics in the last 5 weeks, including recent back-to-back rounds, her right ear was STILL infected. I really do think the tubes were necessary. She already seems to feel better than she has in the last few weeks. Draining all that fluid would do that, I think. The doctor decided to use a regular tube in the right ear instead of another kind that tends to stay in better, but has a slightly higher risk of leaving a hole in the eardrum after it comes out. I was happy with that decision! He expects them to stay in at least 4 months, and is hoping for 6. That will easily get us through winter and cold weather, and the last few teeth that haven't quite popped through. We're hoping she won't need them again, but I know that's a likely possibility. She was pretty fussy in recovery, but she was also way overdue for breakfast and hadn't slept well the night before. Once we got some breakfast (french fries at 9am are not normal breakfast in our house, but I'll give in a little when you have a morning like that!), she felt better. The 4 hour nap she took had an even greater impact! Now, she's running around and playing just like normal. She is saying "no" a lot more, but I think that has a lot more to do with her recent status as a 2-year-old than any attitude from the surgery. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers!

  • 10:20 PM
  • 65 Views
  • 10 eProps
  • 7 Comments