Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Upcoming Surgery

Our #1 little man is getting his nose cut off.


Well, not quite.

Though sometimes I feel like I'm going to wipe his nose off with as many times I've used a tissue on it. The boy has a yucky nose.

And smelly feet.

And a sweaty head.

And lots and lots of laundry.


For the last 2 winters, we had been in and out of the doctor's office so much that Mallory and Ethan would start adding it to the list of "fun places to go" because at least they get a sucker along with an antibiotic once a day for 5 days. We finally went to see and ENT back in February. He tested Ethan's ears and saw that they have fluid on them and that his adenoids were enlarged. Now, 4 months later, he still has fluid in his ears and his adenoids are still enlarged and his nose seems to get runnier and runnier, even on a daily regiment of Zyrtec.

It's just gross for me and it must be extremely annoying to him. And I know it's not good for my 2 year old to have sinus infection after sinus infection.

So, after much research we've decided to get his adenoids removed. The fluid in his ears are not causing him to have severe ear infections and his ear drums seem to be fine. But since he's "going under" for the adenoidectomy, the tubes are going in, too.

The surgery is for July 22.


I wish my boy wouldn't have to have general anesthesia, but I feel the surgery would help him out A LOT because enlarged adenoids are most likely the culprit of a very stuffy nose, so the he can breathe only through his mouth; snoring and trouble getting a good night's sleep; and ear problems. There is no guarantee that the surgery will improve these things, but there is a very good chance it will.

The ENT told me that Ethan's speech should improve quite a bit after the tubes are in, which doesn't make sense because the boy has a very impressive vocabulary and speech quality for a 2-year-old. I asked the ENT if Ethan will naturally turn down his volume with the ear tubes and he unfortunately said no. He also said that Ethan would have bad breath for about 10 days after the surgery too.

Great.



Bad breath and smelly feet. Such a lovely combination.

5 comments:

Kristin said...

Alex had his adenoids out 5 years ago and let me tell you, his breath was brutal...just sayin'

Courtney said...

Ok, first, love the baby butt crack!

Second, the best thing we've done with MD (medically) so far was getting tubes. They were a miracle for his ear infections. We've not had to go the adnoid route yet, but I'd do it in a heartbeat, if needed. He was sick pretty much the first 6 months at daycare. Now, I think we've had one sickness since last summer.

Good luck...it will be so worth it!

Unknown said...

Cameron had tube surgery at 8 months. Easy-peasy. Plus he got some designer earplugs for the bathtub and pool.

Robyn said...

Samantha is getting her tonsils and adenoids out on the 27th. Although she doesn't get sick very often from them, she snores horribly and I think she may have sleep apnea. ENT took one look in her throat and said they are huge and have to come out. She had tubes in her ears 3 yrs ago and that helped a lot with the ear infections.

Melanie said...

Robyn, welcome to my blog! Thanks for letting me know about Samantha. The ENT said that E's tonsils looked fine but his adenoids are pretty large. I hope Samantha's surgery goes well as I hear that a tonsilectomy is a more difficult recovery than an adenoidectomy. I will be praying!