Resolution!?

I am so happy to say that Lake is having tubes put in his ears on Friday!

We had our long awaited Children’s Hospital appointment today. It’s perfect timing too, because Lake woke up at 4 o’clock this morning with 102.2 fever!

Driving into the CH in Bellevue, I felt like we were in a special place. They have these shiny pinwheels spinning throughout the driveway and of course, everything is bright and cheery. Everyone, even other patient’s parent’s, were smiling and friendly.

When we got called back they took Lake’s height and weight. He’s grown a pound since his last appointment. He’s a whopping 21 pounds! We only have a pound left before we have to change his car-seat; we better get on that!

When the doctor came in, she asked the normal questions and reviewed his history with his infections. Then she said, “so you want to do tubes?” I told her yes, unless there was something we haven’t tried yet. She said that she thought tubes were a great idea. She said that I can take him out of daycare, keep him home and in a bubble and not allow his sister to ever touch him. But seeing as that is not an option, tubes are the best resolution at this time. I really appreciated her assurance because I haven’t gotten that yet! So then I shared with her other people’s feedback or advice regarding extra vitamins, chiropractor adjustments, etc. She said there is no evidence supporting any of that helps cure or reduce ear infections.

I believe there are certainly health benefits to those things mentioned above, but the fact remains, my son’s ear infections are not going to be resolved without this procedure and that’s where we are at, at this point in time.

She checked his ears and sure enough his ears are, “angry”. She said they aren't technically infected yet, so if we can get him in to get the tubes right away, we should be able to avoid another round of antibiotics.

Then she tells me the surgeon has an opening this Friday. I was totally excited! Although, to be honest, I’m slightly bummed that I have to cancel my reflexology spa appointment, my hair appointment and my coffee date with Ashley, but of course, nothing is going to stop me from going forward with this procedure for Lake.

The only thing I am nervous about is the not eating or drinking before the procedure. When the lady called to confirm the details of the procedure, she clarified for me that check in time is at 10:50 AM on Friday. Lake cannot have any formula or food after 4:45 AM, but that I could nurse him up until 6:45. He’s only wanted breast milk the past two days anyway, so hopefully, we can last those 4 hours without too much difficulty.

The procedure should only take less than 10 minutes and we should only be there for a total of 1.5 hours. The recovery is painless, but they warned me that he could be fussy for a while until the anesthesia completely wears off in a couple of hours. So I know Friday will be a tough day. Tim and I will get to be at his bedside as he falls asleep, but before they start the procedure, they’ll move us into the recovery room. I’ll probably cry, I’m sure.

I’m thankful that we have some hope for relief and can’t wait to have a healthy baby for more than a week at a time.

Oh and as icing on the cake, as the scheduling nurse was leaving the room, she waved, “bye” to Lake. It took him a moment, but he waved (both hands) back at her! That was his first wave! J