Thursday, March 27, 2008

The Specialist

Landon and I met his most recent pediatric specialist this morning, a very personable otolaryngologist (ENT). I briefly explained Landon's recurrent (really, persistent) ear infections for the past 2 months- how he'll be on a 10-day course of antibiotics and on Day 11 or 12 start screaming at night, only to be diagnosed with yet another infection and put on yet another antibiotic. She checked his ears, noted the perforated ear drum in the left, and the newly budding infection in the right (he was up most of last night, so much for our fantasies of being well rested), and immediately started talking PE tubes. I had already done my research and was ready to sign the consent form. The ear infections hurt him - they're very painful and keep him from eating, sleeping, and drinking properly, and the constant antibiotics are wrecking havoc on his little body. The infections aren't great for us either - I have never wanted to call my mom more at 3 AM just to cry than the night before we took him to the ER, after he screamed all night and JP and I got about an hour of sleep (if you add up the short moments of unconsciousness). Yes, taking action sounded like an excellent idea.

The doctor only operates on Tuesdays, and it normally takes a month to get on her surgical schedule, but she's going to try to fit him in this upcoming Tuesday. I wanted to hug her. Landon gave her a big smile. Of course this means he'll have to undergo general anesthesia and near starvation again, but hopefully the ear infections will come to an end. And given his pitiful little face looking up at me at 4:00 this morning when he was so tired but cried when I tried to lay him down, I think he'd agree it's worth a try. And after seeing a pediatric urologist, gastroenterologist, orthopedist, geneticist, plastic surgeon, and ENT, hopefully this will be the end of the parade of specialists.

8 comments:

  1. Poor Landon and Mommy and Daddy. I am so glad you are getting the tubes in ASAP. It has made a huge difference for us. We did the 3 am ER visits and the back to back antibiotics before saying enough and getting tubes. Bear still gets sick but nothing like the refusing to eat, burning with fever, screaming sick of an ear infection.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, yes, by all means, get the tubes. Our son went through a year of monthly ear infections before someone finally mentioned tubes. We got them, he had 1 more ear infection, and then--a blissful YEAR, ear infection-free. Since the tubes fell out six months ago, he's had maybe 2 ear infections. (our son is now almost 3)

    Don't get me wrong, the tubes didn't prevent him from getting sick in other ways, like my favorite--the double-whammy strep & flu--but it was MUCH less often, and I finally felt like we didn't need our own dedicated exam room at the pediatrician's office.

    Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  3. So good to get them done early! In addition to the pain and the side effects of the antibiotics, the ear infections can cause (completely reversable) hearing loss. I noticed a huge difference in Charlie's speech after his surgery (but he is older than Landon). And he's been feeling so much better. Our ped said he had a really bad cold the other day and I was surprised because compared to what we went through before tubes it seemed more like the sniffles. Good luck! It sounds like you have a great doctor!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anything that makes him feel better would be worth it. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  5. YES! GET THE TUBES! Then maybe you guys can all sleep! You all have had way more than your share of baby drama . . . you deserve some months of smooth sailing!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Aww, poor little guy. I used to have ear infections so bad I couldn't open my mouth. I had the tubes when I was about 4 years old (old enough to remember the surgery) and haven't had an ear infection since. I'm all for it obviously :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. My middle son had tubes put in a week before his first birthday. He went from a cranky baby who never said a word and didn't respond much to a happy, smiley, responsive baby who started saying words almost immediately. Literally overnight.

    Handing him over to the nurse was the hardest thing I've ever had to do, and I cried, but it was a great thing for him. He's 15 now, and has only had a couple of earaches since. I resisted the surgery, and now I wish I'd done it sooner.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Amen to that last sentence.

    I have a feeling Landon is going to be a doctor.

    ReplyDelete