ENT update

I told someone today I had posted this information on my blog then I realized I hadn't yet, so sorry for the delay to those of you curious!

We took Chelsea back to the ENT Friday for a follow up to her appointment 2 months ago. Here's a little bit of history.

TARC had done a tympanogram to measure any fluid on her ears. (I know it's really common in kiddos w/ T21 so I've been requesting them often!) It turned out flat which means she has fluid on her ears. Soooo...they said we had to wait 6 weeks then check them again.

We waited 6 weeks.

Checked them again, flat again. Finally got dr. to refer us to an ENT.

Waited 6 weeks to get into the ENT (UGH!!!)

Went to the ENT in December and learned that she had minimal fluid on the left ear and more on the right ear. BUT, the good news was she passed the hearing test on both ears! They measure this test by vibrations bouncing off the ear drum. (It's more complicated than that, but a little too complicated for me to explain!)

So...we waited 8 more weeks to return for a follow up.

Noone was getting too excited about the whole thing, so I was prepared for a fairly uneventful appointment. In fact I was hoping to be in and out in 15 minutes so I could make it to a Jazzercise class. HMMMM, that didn't happen. We got there 15 minutes early (can you believe that?!) And of course they didnt' even call us into the room until 25 minutes after our appointment time. In the meantime Logan had ran in and out of the waiting room 3 times, Chelsea had spit up all over her new kicks and new outfit, and she had just finished pushing out her first BM in 2 days. You can imagine the odor. I had checked my purse before leaving the house, but somehow the diaper I had in there had gotten lost somewhere between the hosue and the dr. office! I had a spare one in my car, but I knew that would require bundling two children, hauling them out to the car (in rain and 32 degree weather) and trying to hold onto Logan while carrying Chelsea on my hip. I also knew while we were gone they would call us into the dr. office. So, since I knew it had to be close to our turn, I opted to wait.

I know, poor Chelsea, but she didn't even notice. And I kept thinking back to when I visited a distant relative (not mentioning any names). When we alerted this relative to the poop in their child's diaper they reassured us their kid wasn't done. We would know he's done when it fills his diaper and starts to come up the back! Sorry for that detour, but again just wanting you to realize it could be worse! Chelsea did survive!

Okay, so we went back into the office and the nurse checked the fluid on her ears and sure enough it was completely flat on both ears, meaning there is a lot of fluid on both ears now. Not what we were hoping for. I then asked her to go ahead and do the hearing test which of course she failed in both ears. Uh-oh, now what?

Our next stop was the physicians assistant. He looked in her ears. She doesn't have an ear infection, just clear fluid, so he recommended tubes, to which I agreed. It's scary yes, but I know it's best for her. The thought of her going one more day not able to hear us just kills me. We do know she's hearing as she follows some commands (say "hi", "bye" where's daddy, the pig, etc.) But they said she's hearing very muffled, kind of like how we hear when we're under water.

So he surgery is scheduled for Thrusday morning. We don't know what time yet as they do it in order of age. We're hoping Chelsea will be the youngest. She has NEVER woken up and not been offered to nurse (or the bottle). She gets very cranky if Ryan gets her out of the crib and he doesn't get her to me fast enough. I'm not sure how we'll get her from home to the hospital and wait for the surgery to start without eating! She can't have any food (breastmilk included) after midnight! Yikes, I'm so nervous. I think that will be the hardest part. We meet with the anestesiologist Wednesday morning as they have to put her under for the procedure. While a little nervous, we're confident everything will go well. A few extra prayers can't hurt though! Thanks!