After about the 6th double ear infection his pediatrician finally referred us to an ENT here in
Fort Dodge. We took along the video of him snoring (below) so that the doctor could clearly make the best decision for our little man.
When we went for his consultation he wanted no part of them touching him, poking him, etc. The doctor looked in both ears, down his throat and up his nose despite every attempt Lucas made to prevent him doing so. Then he sent us to have Lucas's hearing tested. It took me and two other nurses to restrain him. He didn't like being forced to sit still. It came back that his right ear drum was completely collapsed and the left ear drum had fluid behind it. This meant that he was entirely deaf in his right ear and limitedly deaf in his left. Even though Lucas had just had strep throat for the first time the doctor decided it was in his best interest to refrain from taking out his tonsils until he is older if they continue to give him problems. He was also dead set on giving him tubes in both ears and removing his adenoids so he could breathe while sleeping instead of snoring or gasping for air throughout the night. This decision meant we had to schedule another surgery for Lucas.
The day of the surgery, Nonna and Grandma Audrey drove up to be here with us! This one wasn't as nerve-wracking for me at least. We waited for it to be his turn in his room. We watched movies on the iPad, played with his Endless ABC's app and watched Mickey Mouse Club House. He got dressed in a hospital top and slip resistant socks.
Then it was his turn. It required three female nurses and one male nurse to restrain him and take him back to the operating room. He's a strong little boy.
His surgery went great and the Doctor was very pleased with his outcome. He said his adenoids were the size of a walmut. Holy cow! I can only imagine that would have been uncomfortable - like a huge bugger that you couldn't retrieve.
This is his stuffed animal from Grandma Audrey that the nurses wrapped up with a surgical mask, gauze and gave stickers to. We thought it was really cute.
After the surgery he was so upset. He kept trying to rip the IV out of his hand. As you can see in the picture above, we had to wrap it up and keep it away from his other hand to prevent him from pulling it out and them having to start all over.
Once they took the IV out of his hand he completely settled down and was able to rest and wear off some of the anesthesia.
Fort Dodge's outpatient hospital isn't as congested as Des Moines's and we were going a bit stir crazy waiting for the doctor to arrive to release us. Once we were released, we went to get his prescriptions, lunch and then we went home to settle in for the day. When we got home I turned on his favorite cartoon so he would settle on the couch, and soon after the program started he said almost as clear as day, "Bubble Guppies". I was completely shocked. I hadn't heard him talk that clearly ever.
Soon after the show ended he fell back to sleep on me. But then I got too hot and snuck out from underneath him. He slept for four hours.
When he woke up he was very hungry. He was limited to soft food diet, which wasn't a problem because he absolutely loves yogurt.
After his drowsiness wore off, he was running around and acting 100 times better than he had in quite awhile.
Luckily he has done very well with his tubes, so far. We only hope that it continues. He will go back to the doctor six months out from his date of surgery, but at his one week check-up Dr. Delucca said he looked excellent.
Praying for good health!
With love,
Matthew, Heather and Lucas
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