Surgeries....Again.

Nathanial, Ethan, and Noah have been in speech and development therapy for almost a year now (wow!) and so it was time for their bi-annual hearing screens to go with their evaluations for their IFSP's. Nathanial passed his, but was right on the line of a need for a medical referral. The general consensus was, though, that he is hearing well enough to be at a learning level. So he was ultimately not referred on, which was good because he just got a new set of tubes a few months ago. Noah failed his hearing test massively - completely missing entire tones. He did not hear things no matter how loud they got. Ethan failed massively, also, but heard all the tones, just at very loud levels. So they were referred back to Dr. B for an evaluation.

When we went in, it was discovered that Noah's one tube fell completely out, the other was just barely in, and there was a lot of fluid behind both eardrums. Ethan's tubes were both in place, however they were plugged completely, so no longer working. He also had a lot of fluid behind both eardrums. We decided to go ahead with surgery for both of them.

They went in today and Noah knew when we got to the floor just exactly what was going to happen and started sobbing. I was able to distract him with a new blankey and teddy eventually. (I love the hospital that we go to for this - it is very progressive and very comforting for little people, especially considering it's in a town with a population of about 9,000 people.)

Ethan went first, which was a huge help because he doesn't have the propensity for drama that Noah does and he feeds off Noah. He got right in the little wagon and said "bye-bye" to me and was off. He was done in about an hour and Dr. B came in to chat with me. He had a ton of thick mucus behind both eardrums, which was drained and his adenoids were "huge." She feels his speech and hearing should be drastically improved now. His one tube was also fairly buried in his ear, so she had to do a little more "work" to get it out. She said we will probably see more bleeding from that ear than the other three ears and just to know that was why. As soon as they took Noah back, they came and got me for Ethan in the recovery room. He was saying miserably "mommy, mommy, mommy" over and over. Once I started to hold him, he did much better. We got in a lot of cuddle time while Noah was in surgery. Ethan also had/has some breathing congestion now, but they said that should clear up in a few days. He wasn't so bad that he needed a breathing treatment (like Nathanial) which was reassuring; they just heard a lot of "gunk" in his lungs afterward.

Noah went next and because Ethan went without much fanfare, Noah got in the wagon and said "bye-bye" to me, also. Noah had a ton of pus behind both eardrums, so was given iv antibiotics while also being given fluids (Ethan also received iv fluids). Dr B is not sure if he will ever get back some of the tones he totally missed (there was indication of damaged nerves from birth on for those tones), but they are "not tones he really needs." Interesting....

Noah had some dramatics coming out of anesthesia (as always) so one nurse came to cuddle with Ethan while I went back to recovery with Noah. He did better after I got back there and was able to hold him, but still had the little sobbing-breathing problem and would just break into more sobs on occasion.

Ethan drank right away and ate an entire popsicle, but Noah refused. He was not allowed to have the IV pulled until he drank 6 oz of juice and half a popsicle so they could see that he would indeed drink and not vomit when he got home. It took him a good 45 minutes to decide he wanted to go home bad enough to drink anything. As soon as he did, we were GONE.

This afternoon, both are rather hyper and not wanting to rest or nap at all. I believe they may be ramped up on pain killers, but they need to rest. They are recovering well, though, and really don't seem to be in any pain...by now we should be almost out of the effects of the pain meds they had at the hospital!

Nathanial's Surgery

Nathanial had surgery on Wednesday for his tubes and to remove his adenoids. Dr. B went in and took out his old tubes, then cleaned everything out and flushed it with antibiotics. She said that his right ear was just bulging with infection and granulated tissue. His left ear was somewhat better but not a lot. She then put it new tubes and gave him IV antibiotics. He had a bit of trouble with barking and breathing afterwards, so while he was in recovery, they gave him a nebulizer treatment. He would not sit still for me while we were at the hospital, so I only got one picture of him prior to him going back...and of course, he has his tongue out!

I got home to some very sleepy boys (they all got up at 5 am and have all week!) who were passed out on the living room floor. It was kind of funny, but that also meant poor Nathanial didn't get the nap he so very needed because he didn't want to miss out. Not sure I will ever give him pain medicine again, either. He had a bit of an issue with it - he looked rather out of it and was having some issues walking...and that was with 1/2 the dose!

All in all, he's done very well. We are having some drainage still, but I'm hoping that is just from the surgery. Please pray with us that this heals him and he doesn't have any more issues with his ears!

Nathanial at home with his surgical hat on.


Noah is sleep-y!

Ethan is also exhausted!

Surgery for Thano

We went back to the ENT for Nathanial's recheck. We have decided that it would be best to remove the tubes and start over. Dr. B feels that he has a biofilm (?) on the tubes that is causing continuous, back to back infections. She said that sometimes your body will attack foreign objects and that is what appears to be happening here. So on Wednesday Thano will go in to have the tubes removed, then she will clean all the infection out from everywhere, flush everything with antibiotics, remove his adenoids, and give him IV antibiotics. Between removing and adding new tubes, flushing with antibiotics, giving IV antibiotics, and following up with an antibiotic course, we are hoping to stop this continuous cycle. I hate antibiotics and I definitely feel that in today's society they are way over-used, but in this situation, he needs them. He is growing out 'several' different types of bacteria - "so far." Some of the cultures aren't even back yet! Poor little fella!

Please pray this takes care of everything and he stops having so many infections. Also please pray for Dr. B, a quick surgery, and quick healing.

Aidan's Surgery

Aidan got his tubes in and had his adenoids removed. He did pretty well. The hospital we use is just incredible for little people - actually probably for people of all ages, but they are so good with our kids. This is the fifth surgery our boys have had there (Aidan twice, triplets each once) and it just gets better every single time, I swear. Today, they had a music therapist come in for 45 minutes prior to the surgery and she sang songs with Aidan. She had all sorts of fun instruments for him to play with and he loved it. He got to play the drums, jingle bells, wind chime things, choir bell like things, thunder tubes, shaker eggs, all sorts of stuff. It was awesome and he was so relaxed when she was finished. He waited about 15 minutes after she left and I can't imagine how differently that hour could have gone if she hadn't shown up. They were running late, so he was a little nervous when she came in, but quickly warmed up to her. I wish I would have gotten a picture of him with her, but we were all very happy to just "play" for a bit.

While he was in having the surgery, someone from massage therapy came up to give me a massage. Sweet! I wasn't able to partake, though, because Hannah was eating, but did have a nice chat with the massage therapist.

A local women's group at one of the churches makes blankets for each of the kids (yes, we have five now), someone gives them a hand knit hat, and the anesthesiologist gives each child a little teddy bear all dressed up in surgical garb, so they get plenty of "good stuff" also.

Aidan was done in about an hour. Dr. B came in and said everything went well and Aidan followed after about another 10 minutes. He was not happy. Poor little guy was in so much pain in his throat, he just cried and cried. He got ice cream and that helped a little. We tried to give him lidocain to no avail - he spit it all out in my hand because it tasted "disgusting." She pulled his IV and we decided it would probably be better if we left sooner, rather than later and as soon as we were given the "all clear," we were gone. Aidan was much better by the time we got to the elevator and almost like his old self by the time we got to the car.

He wanted a cheese burger and fries for lunch - I really didn't think he could eat it. He did eat 1/2 the cheeseburger and about 1/4 of the fries, much better than I anticipated. He has been almost back to 100% this evening, other than being tired. He slept all the way home, but hasn't taken a nap today. He did lay around watching Narnia this afternoon. Now, he is getting ready to put lights on the tree and watch A Charlie Brown Christmas. It's a good night for it - here in Iowa, the roads in our area are totally ice covered and there is expected to be a good bit of snow by the end of tomorrow night. It was a great day for Steve to take off. I didn't have to worry about his drive home and Aidan and I were home just as it started getting a little nasty.

And now, he wants to sell lemonaide to his father. One cent a glass - I think he can handle it!

Surgery

Nathanial, Ethan, and Noah got their tubes in Monday. It went surprisingly well. Noah, I knew, would be our Mr. Drama, and he was.

Nathanial went first. He did really well and came back quiet, with some whining as he woke up a little more. Dr. Bell did the hearing test to check his cochlear nerve response while he was asleep. He passed in his right ear, only failing one out of six areas. His left ear was a pass, also, but not a good pass. He failed three areas, passed three areas. She said she may still do the ABR test on him depending on what we see in two weeks. The good news is that with his right ear being strong, he is hearing at a speech-learning-level right now and that is all we ever wanted. So now he should start to hear better and learn. Yay! He isn't responding as well as I would have hoped yet, and is still very quiet, but I still think it's partly his personality and he's just going to take more time to get the hang of things.

Noah went second. He wasn't sure what was going on and was chewing his lip before he went back. He didn't understand why they all got dressed up in little gowns, with footies and hats, and why Nathanial disappeared, but he figured it couldn't be good. I heard him coming down the hall when he was done, howling away. He was not a happy baby. Dr. Bell came in to explain he had similar results to Nathanial, slightly better. He has a strong right ear, and a weak left ear. He passed four out of six areas in his left ear; passed five out of six in his right. So, again, he is hearing at a speech-learning-level and should start talking. He already has! He had several words before the tubes, but he quickly caught on to more. We went to pick up Tylenol afterwards (to be sure I had plenty!) and he was crying in the store. When I asked him if he was just plain mad, he said "mad, mad, mad" and kept on crying. He seems to do really well with "m" words for some reason. He says mom, more, me, mad, mine. Interesting. He also has responded really well to when we talk to him and has said "I do," "I see it," and "Look this." I think he's going to pick up fairly well.

Ethan went last. His hearing test was good in both ears, so that was a relief. He didn't cry at all afterwards, was just hungry and thirsty. He has been picking up more words, also, which is neat to see. He has said to me several times "Here go" when he's handing me something and is saying other things, also. I think he'll catch on to language reasonably quickly.

It was a good experience. I wish I could have done more to prepare them, so they would understand, but you really can't. Poor Noah was just terrified before and was not a happy baby at all until today. Yesterday, he was just as owly as the day before. The difference was Nathanial and Ethan were both owly right along with him yesterday so he didn't seem as bad. Today everyone seems to be getting back to themselves. They are no longer having the balance issues they had Monday and yesterday, which is good to see. And they are finally taking a decent-length nap (gives me time to catch up here!). They hate, hate, hate the drops that go in their ears. Aidan was reassuringly telling them "It's OK, it's just cold...it doesn't hurt...don't cry, you're OK" while I was giving them the drops. I am glad I have someone who can tell me it doesn't hurt and it's just cold...because the way they are acting you would have thought it is a form of torture!