In addition to Brooke having her ear surgery today, Caleb had his appointment with Dr. Ohling at the Wellness Clinic this afternoon.
I got a phone call on Monday to tell me they received his blood work results back. Caleb's IGF 1 (Insulin like growth factor) was at 245. It's difficult to determine if this is good or bad. There is something called the Tanner Scale. Tanner Scale refers to sexual development. Tanner Stage 1 happens anywhere from ages 8-15. Tanner Stage 2 :3 happens anywhere from 8-16. Tanner Stages 4 & 5 happens anywhere from ages 11-18. If you are in Tanner Stage one, normal IGF 1 levels range from 52-391. If Caleb were in this stage, his levels would be normal. Tanner Stages 2 & 3 IGF 1 levels range from 39-648. If Caleb was in this stage his levels would still be normal but very low. Dr. Ohling says he's ok with putting Caleb on the Semoralin (that amino acid that acts like human growth hormone) because he still isn't growing even though his numbers are in the normal range. After talking about this and looking over Caleb's info Dr. Ohling said that Caleb's BMI is 16.73%. I asked what it was supposed to be. He said that the cut off for underweight is 19%. This means he is officially underweight.
After further discussion, Dr. Ohling learned that Caleb takes metadate for his ADD. Two common side effects of metadate are anorexia and loss of appetite. It's interesting to note here that Caleb actually eats better on the metadate than he did on the vyvanse. He had nearly zero appetite on the vyvanse and that was one of the reasons we switched medications. Dr. Ohling said that what the ADD medication does is create dopemine (and another chemical I can't remember what he said) and it keeps them in the body longer. Tyrosine is what the body uses to create dopemine. Tyrosine also helps create neurotransmitters in the brain that help calm the ADD as well. Dr. Ohling asked if Caleb is getting 8 hrs of sleep each night. I told him it totally depends on the night, but more often than not, no. We send him to bed at 9:30 pm. Often times he is up and reading until midnight or 1 am. He wakes up anywhere between 6:30-8 am depending on the day. (Can you tell he keeps his mother's schedule?) Dr. Ohling made the point that if he's not sleeping, he's not going to grow as well either.
So, what do we do?
We have ordered the Semoralin. Semoralin is similar to the human growth hormone. It doesn't have the side effects that the hormone does because it is a chain of amino acids that your body makes anyway. It's also much cheaper than human growth hormone. Growth hormone can be as much as $5k/month. The prescription I paid for on the Semoralin was $300/month. Mind you, insurance covers ZERO of what we accrue at the Petersen Wellness Clinic because it's all classified as homeopathic. Stupid insurance. The Semoralin has to be injected into the stomach every night. he will start with .150 mL's. We will have to probably mess with the dosage. Typically he gives this to adults and not children so the dosage is going to be a bit tricky. It's also going to take a few months to see if it's making a difference. With the injections, you use an insulin needle so the needle is tiny. I already know that this is going to be a battle for the first little while. I'm crossing my fingers he's good and I can do this quick and not have to sit on him!
In addition to the Semoralin, we have added Tyrosine supplements. This should help him sleep (Hail Mary!) and it should help with his ADD (another Hail Mary!). I'm not planning to take him off his ADD meds any time soon. Typically those meds wear off about 4:30-5 pm. I should be able to tell if it's working or not because nights won't be such a nightmare!
We are ALSO doing a B complex vitamin. This will give Caleb the energy his body needs for the Tyrosine to make all the neurotransmitters.
Dr. Ohling is also going to give me a recipe for some protein shakes to make for him to try. I couldn't get him to drink the premade ones I bought when he was in first grade. I couldn't ever get him to eat the protein bars either. This should be interesting.
In addition to the appointment with Dr. Ohling, I got a call from the nutritionist at the Budge Clinic telling me she had a message from Dr. Sandgren (pediatrician) wanting her to set up an appointment with us to see Caleb. I had already scheduled an appointment for March 29 to go see her. I started talking to her a little about Caleb and told her it isn't that he doesn't eat, it's more along the lines of there's only about 12 foods the kid will eat. She said it sounds like he's got more of a food aversion issue than anything else. She told me that there's a food clinic here in town she helps do and it's currently booked out through the end of April (surprise, it's super hard to get into and there's a massive wait list). She said that she's worked with the Failure to Thrive Clinic at PCMC and has learned several of their tricks as well. She kept our appointment on March 29 and told me to remind her of all the things we talked about tonight. It sounds like this nutritionist is going to be much better than the one we went to a year or so ago! She told me that if she can't help him she can definitely refer him to someone who can. She also mentioned that often times this food clinic and the Failure to Thrive Clinic trade patients back and forth. Sounds like we may make a journey to PCMC eventually anyway. Oh well, if it helps, I'll do it!
And thus, we begin a new chapter for Doobie!
Thursday, March 16, 2017
B has surgery
We had taken her in 2 and a half weeks ago and that's when we set the surgery up. We went back two days later because she had a bunch of drainage coming out of her left ear. Turned out she had puss oozing out of her tube (the tube that was supposedly completely non functional). She was put on a z pack and we were sent home to continue drops as well. I was crossing my fingers there wouldn't still be infection in there today.
B was really good and totally brave when we check in and went back to outpatient surgery. She knew what was going to happen and had her Grandma Butter blanket with her ("mine"). When the anesthesiologist came in she started to get a bit nervous. When I tried to walk out with her I knew she was going to cry. When I tried to turn her over to the anesthesiologist she took about two steps away from me and realized I wasn't coming and ran back to me crying. She was scared and didn't want to go. I convinced her I would see her in 20 minutes. The poor anesthesiologist had to pick her up and carry her to the OR! She didn't wig out completely, but she totally cried.
About 20 minutes later Dr. Blotter came in. He said that when he made the incision into the right ear (the one that was severely retracted) it did really well. There was still a lot of infection in the left ear. He said that the tube was in fact non functional. He said that the ear wasn't "a pus volcano", but there was still a lot of junk in there. Just imagine if I hadn't gotten her on antibiotics two weeks ago! He ended up using a titanium tube - those are the ones she's done the best with. He also only put one tube in each ear. I'm hoping that doesn't come back to haunt us. He said that he chose to just do one because it's less risk of perforation and having to go in and do a fat graft later. He also feels like since she's older and has done so well for so long that perhaps she may do better this go round. We shall see! She has a follow up on March 29th. I'm crossing my fingers we don't have to unblock a tube!
When she came out of recovery she didn't cry or whimper at all! She was SO good! There were a few tears, but no screaming or major crying at all! She did get a bit nauseous a couple times. I was surprised that she complained more of the right ear hurting than the left. Dr. Blotter did say he flushed that left ear out a good couple of times to be sure he got all the infection out. We were able to go home at about 11 am (surgery was scheduled for 9:15 but she didn't go back until about 9:40).
When we got in the car Travis asked her if she wanted to go to Angie's and she said no. I asked her if she wanted to go home and she said no. I asked her what she wanted and she said, "I want to go see Grandpa Scott." So, we drove to Grandpa's office and she had about a 30 minute visit with Grandpa. Grandma Terri stopped by later and brought her a stuffed animal (she loves them and can't ever have enough). She's done so well today you'd never know she had surgery! Hoping it's still like that tomorrow! If it is, I may just send her to school so she doesn't miss centers!
Monday, March 6, 2017
A new day, a new dr, a new possibility...
I took Caleb into the Wellness Clinic today for a drop test with JanaLee. For the first time since he started working with her in October 2015, he tested in the normal range on everything she tested! This is both good and bad news for us. It's good because it means his body is finally in balance and things are getting to where they need to be. It's bad because she's at a point that she doesn't know what else she can do to help him. She asked if I would be willing to see the naturopath and I told her that at this point, I'm willing to try anything! I was in the middle of scheduling an appointment when the naturopath (Eric Ohling) came out and asked if I had a minute. Apparently JanaLee had gone back and talked to him and he had some time. Caleb and I went back and met with him. I really liked him. The first thing he told me was, "I think I have something that can help him." There is an amino acid chain that was created as an alternative to the growth hormone (can't remember the name of it now). It doesn't have any of the possible bad side effects that the growth hormone does. He said the only down side is that insurance doesn't typically pay for it and it runs $270/month. It is an injection but it's with an insulin needle so it's a teeny needle. It's one injection a day in the stomach but because the needle is so small he really wouldn't feel much. He said that he typically uses it with adults so he's got to do some research on dosing for someone Caleb's size. He sent us over to the lab at the hospital to do another blood test. He's checking his IGF-1 levels (hormone and insulin). We've got another appointment next Monday and he should have the blood work results back by then. Hopefully this is something that will at least help him grow. I worry about him getting teased at school. Last year a few of the kids were pretty unkind about his size - asking him why he wasn't in the kindergarten hall, etc. I worry that as he gets older the kids will just get meaner about it. Plus, my gut keeps telling me there's something more going on and to keep pursing it. It's because of that feeling that I've been so persistent in figuring out what's keeping him from growing. People keep saying, "Well, maybe he's just going to always be small." Well, maybe, but my gut says keep digging. So, I'm still digging. Here's hoping for new answers next week.
Sunday, March 5, 2017
More dr. visits
On Friday I took the kids into the allergy clinic for their shots. I decided to take Brooke over to the ENT's office to see if they would peak in her ear because when I dropped her off at school that morning I noticed that there was a bunch of gunk coming out of her left ear and stuck to the side of her face (how I missed them when doing hair, I have NO idea!). One would think that this would be a fairly easy objective, especially at the ENT's office where we have spent so much of her five year old life. Nope. I told the receptionist why I was there and could someone please check her ear to make sure nothing had ruptured as I know that would delay surgery. She went back to speak with the nurse and came back out and told me, "The nurse said to just go ahead and do drops." At this point I knew I was in for a headache. I explained to the receptionist that we had already been doing drops for a month. I re explained the situation and asked if someone could please just check in her ear (Dr. Blotter and Lindsey were both out). She calls the nurse and asks the nurse to just come up and speak with me. The nurse comes up and I explain what's going on to her (we were here the 30th, we've been doing drops for a month, we were back this week, the one ear is severely retracted, the other ear has a 3.5 yo tube in it that's totally healed over, one ear is draining, we're having surgery March 16th, etc.) The nurse finally pulls B's chart up and says, "Well, they're just replacing the tubes in there, aren't they?" At this point I'm annoyed. No. No they are not just replacing the tubes in her ears! Dr. Blotter doesn't really know exactly what he's going to do until he gets n there and sees what's going on. Please, for the love of all that is holy just have someone check her ear to make sure nothing ruptured! If it ruptured we'll have to delay surgery which delays anything the eye dr. wants to do! She finally agreed to have Dr. Wood come look at it. We go back and they put us in the procedure room. B was NOT having that. She's been in that room and knows what goes on in there. She immediately grabbed the door jamb and refused to go in. I had to coax her into the room and promise the dr. wouldn't touch her tube while explaining to the nurse why she's freaking out. Dr. Wood comes in and takes a look in her right ear - same as earlier that week - fluid, severely retracted, etc. Looks in her left ear and goes, "Oh. There's pus coming out of that tube. She's got an ear infection in that one. Since you have 10 days until surgery do you want an antibiotic?" YES! He then asks me what antibiotic they usually give her. I tell him the two options she has (she's allergic to penicillin) and he agrees those are both good ones (duh). He asks which I prefer and I tell him. His nurse called the prescription into the pharmacy next door and I leave the office wanting to strangle people. The next time I go see Dr. Blotter or Lindsey I'm going to tell them that when someone comes up and asks for someone to look in one of the Bown kid's ears they just freaking do it without questioning me!
I also got the call last week that Caleb's Celiac's test came back negative. That's good. Tomorrow we head back to see JanaLee at the Wellness Clinic. Hopefully she may have some new ideas for us.
Friday also had Samantha back at physical therapy and the orthopedist's office. She did another treatment of the Iontopheresis at physical therapy. Dr. Seale ran through a series of tests with her in the exam room. I told him that Laura had told me that one of the trainers explained to her in high school that often times with athletes, especially dancers, the outside quad muscles become stronger than the inside quad muscles and it can pull the knee cap diagonally instead of straight. After looking at her a bit more he agreed that it seems that has been happening with Sam as well. He's given her another set of exercises in addition to what the physical therapist has given her. He seems to think that if she can strengthen that inner quad muscle she should get some relief. He said that it would appear she's got a light case of runner's knee as well. yay. On the upside, she was able to compete on Saturday at Will Dance For Kids Project and hasn't complained of any knee pain so that's a big bonus!
I also got the call last week that Caleb's Celiac's test came back negative. That's good. Tomorrow we head back to see JanaLee at the Wellness Clinic. Hopefully she may have some new ideas for us.
Friday also had Samantha back at physical therapy and the orthopedist's office. She did another treatment of the Iontopheresis at physical therapy. Dr. Seale ran through a series of tests with her in the exam room. I told him that Laura had told me that one of the trainers explained to her in high school that often times with athletes, especially dancers, the outside quad muscles become stronger than the inside quad muscles and it can pull the knee cap diagonally instead of straight. After looking at her a bit more he agreed that it seems that has been happening with Sam as well. He's given her another set of exercises in addition to what the physical therapist has given her. He seems to think that if she can strengthen that inner quad muscle she should get some relief. He said that it would appear she's got a light case of runner's knee as well. yay. On the upside, she was able to compete on Saturday at Will Dance For Kids Project and hasn't complained of any knee pain so that's a big bonus!
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
A day for the doctors
This morning we took Caleb to his 3 month med check with his pediatrician. We had to see the pediatrician instead of the health advocate because we had multiple questions the health advocate couldn't answer.
*Caleb has only gained 1 oz in 3 months despite having been working with JanaLee at the Wellness Clinic since December. I was disappointed in this. Last time we worked with JanaLee he made great progress!
*We asked about having Caleb tested for Celiac's Disease since Kris was diagnosed a couple weeks ago. The pediatrician was good with ordering that blood work. I asked if having Celiac's would mess with his growth like we've seen. He said that it would be possible for it to mess with it some, but not a huge amount. It would be more of an absorption issue than a growth issue. After our appointment we went down to the lab and had his blood drawn for the Celiac's disease. They have to send the labs out to SLC for this so it will be a few days before we hear anything. Caleb was NOT impressed with getting his blood drawn. He was quite pissed actually.
*I asked about having him tested for heavy metals. When I had spoken with the chiropractor about everything that was going on, he suggested having him checked for heavy metals. I'm a bit skeptic on this because I don't think he's been exposed to anything. The pediatrician didn't feel like that was going to be worth while to run that test, so no heavy metals testing.
*I asked about a referral to an endocrinologist. I told him what JanaLee had said about his pituitary and endocrin system showing up as being low. I told him how we had done NAET testing prior and he had no idea what I was talking about. I explained it the best that I could but I'm hoping he goes home and does some research to educate himself so he knows what I was talking about. Not going to hold my breath though, I know he's a busy guy. He was reluctant in agreeing to refer us to an endocrinologist. Dr. Clarke was an endocrinologist and he never mentioned a concern with that for Caleb. Dr. Sandgren said that typically the endocrinologists won't do much until you have height going up and weight going down. Although Caleb is growing at an exceptionally SLOW rate, he's still growing, he isn't losing weight (today we learned he weighs 44 lbs and B weighs 51). He said he would put in a referral for us, but I could tell he was reluctant to do so. He had mentioned one in Ogden but I asked about PCMC. I figure if there's anything major going on that's where we'll be sent anyway seeing as how they are the ones who specialize in children - no sense in seeing two different endocrinologists. I agreed to wait a few more months before pursing the endocrinologist.
*Dr. Sandgren feels that seeing the nutritionist would be beneficial, even though we saw one before and it was a joke to say the least. He feels that she may be able to dig a bit deeper and give us a some helpful advice seeing how Caleb is an INCREDIBLY picky eater on top of these other issues. We go see her March 29th.
*Dr. Sandgren asked if we've noticed Caleb's appetite being suppressed. I told him that he actually has a better appetite when he's working with JanaLee. He still eats limited foods (SO picky), but he eats more of those foods when he's working with her than when he's not. We kept his Metadate the same dosage but are keeping an eye on the appetite to see if it diminishes, as that would be a problem with his size.
After Brookelyn got out of school it was her turn to go see the ENT. We were in and saw Lindsey on January 30th,. At that appointment she had the entire tip of a Q tip pulled out of her left ear. We were told to do drops for 10 days and come back about March. We've done drops for most of February. She's still complaining that her ear is bothering her. She doesn't say that it hurts, it's just "bugging" her all the time.
*We saw Lindsey again today. The audiologist tested B's hearing before Lindsey came in. He told me that her right ear drum wasn't moving (fluid in it) and that the tube in the left ear was blocked (it's going on 3.5 yrs old so I'm not surprised).
*Lindsey said that her right ear drum has fluid in it - more than when she was there a month ago. She said it doesn't look awful, but it looks worse than it did a month ago. It's very retracted (think vacuum tube vs plastic wrap). The tube in her left ear is indeed permanently blocked. It's highly likely the ear drum behind the tube has healed and the tube is basically just sitting there not able to come out.
*We were give a couple different options. First option was that we could do 5 days of a high dose steroid and a nasal spray. We could do this for a week or a month and see if it helps. This makes me leery as she's been croupy and when she does the nebulizer that's already a steroid, so adding another steroid will compromise her immune system and she will be more susceptible to infections. Another option is to go in and take out the tube that's there and put another set of tubes in. Travis was not a fan of this idea. I asked about something we discussed when this last set of tubes was put in. There was talk of possibly going in and removing part of the bone that connects to her jaw bone in an effort to widen her ear canal to help prevent her from getting more ear infections. At this time, her ear canals look really good and she hasn't been getting ear infections, so that option is off the table.
*After quite a bit of discussion, we decided that we would put her under and put another set of tubes in. I asked if they would be putting in two in each ear again as this is what she's had done every time but the first. Dr. Blotter said that's a great question and honestly he isn't sure. That's something he's going to have to ponder on and won't really know until he gets in there. He said that it depends on her ear drums and how they react to the incision. The ear drum that's retracted may be just fine to put two tubes in after it equalizes the pressure and it may increase the size of the incision so that he can't put two tubes in there. We also discussed the possibility that her ears are full of pus pockets (lovely, I know). He said if there's a bunch of infection in there then yes, he will put two tubes in each ear if possible. We also discussed what kind of tubes he should put in. They make a variety of different kinds and to be honest, B has tried them all. She does best with the titanium (that's what's still in there after 3 years). However, depending on what happens after the incision is made, will determine which kind of tube he can use. The shape of the titanium tube is like a spoon. The T tube is longer and more narrow. If the ear drum will allow it, he will use the titanium tubes since that's what she's done best with, if not, he will go with the T tube and hope that at her two week follow up her body hasn't rejected them and kicked them out.
*So, B has ear surgery set up for March 16th. There won't be a fat graft at this time (that's what we discussed a month ago when we talked about taking the last functioning tube out). This will be her 7th (and possibly 8th) round of tubes. They did say that since she isn't equalizing the pressure in her ears, it's essentially feeling like her ears need to pop all the time. No wonder she's always complaining about her ears bugging her! They would be bugging me too!
*Sam goes to physical therapy on Wednesday for a re evaluation on her knee. I'm a bit concerned about how that's all going to turn out. She's essentially quit wearing her brace because it hurts as much with the brace as it does without now and the brace is starting to hurt the back of her knee. Based on how she's been filling out the paperwork the last time or two at physical therapy, I'd say the pain has increased. I find this odd because she's been saying the iontopheresis helps her knee feel better. My gut is telling me we will be going for an MRI after we see the orthopedist on Friday. I'm crossing my fingers that she hasn't got any damage to her meniscus. I'm not sure how she would handle sitting out an entire dance season. It's possible she wouldn't survive or she would drive me to the brink of insanity.
All I can say is that things are suppose to come in three's, right? I've got three kids and four-five issues (Caleb & weight, B with her eyes and ears & Sam with the patella & meniscus). I'm just glad we have insurance again and apparently it will be a "Meet the deductible quick" kinda year.
*Caleb has only gained 1 oz in 3 months despite having been working with JanaLee at the Wellness Clinic since December. I was disappointed in this. Last time we worked with JanaLee he made great progress!
*We asked about having Caleb tested for Celiac's Disease since Kris was diagnosed a couple weeks ago. The pediatrician was good with ordering that blood work. I asked if having Celiac's would mess with his growth like we've seen. He said that it would be possible for it to mess with it some, but not a huge amount. It would be more of an absorption issue than a growth issue. After our appointment we went down to the lab and had his blood drawn for the Celiac's disease. They have to send the labs out to SLC for this so it will be a few days before we hear anything. Caleb was NOT impressed with getting his blood drawn. He was quite pissed actually.
*I asked about having him tested for heavy metals. When I had spoken with the chiropractor about everything that was going on, he suggested having him checked for heavy metals. I'm a bit skeptic on this because I don't think he's been exposed to anything. The pediatrician didn't feel like that was going to be worth while to run that test, so no heavy metals testing.
*I asked about a referral to an endocrinologist. I told him what JanaLee had said about his pituitary and endocrin system showing up as being low. I told him how we had done NAET testing prior and he had no idea what I was talking about. I explained it the best that I could but I'm hoping he goes home and does some research to educate himself so he knows what I was talking about. Not going to hold my breath though, I know he's a busy guy. He was reluctant in agreeing to refer us to an endocrinologist. Dr. Clarke was an endocrinologist and he never mentioned a concern with that for Caleb. Dr. Sandgren said that typically the endocrinologists won't do much until you have height going up and weight going down. Although Caleb is growing at an exceptionally SLOW rate, he's still growing, he isn't losing weight (today we learned he weighs 44 lbs and B weighs 51). He said he would put in a referral for us, but I could tell he was reluctant to do so. He had mentioned one in Ogden but I asked about PCMC. I figure if there's anything major going on that's where we'll be sent anyway seeing as how they are the ones who specialize in children - no sense in seeing two different endocrinologists. I agreed to wait a few more months before pursing the endocrinologist.
*Dr. Sandgren feels that seeing the nutritionist would be beneficial, even though we saw one before and it was a joke to say the least. He feels that she may be able to dig a bit deeper and give us a some helpful advice seeing how Caleb is an INCREDIBLY picky eater on top of these other issues. We go see her March 29th.
*Dr. Sandgren asked if we've noticed Caleb's appetite being suppressed. I told him that he actually has a better appetite when he's working with JanaLee. He still eats limited foods (SO picky), but he eats more of those foods when he's working with her than when he's not. We kept his Metadate the same dosage but are keeping an eye on the appetite to see if it diminishes, as that would be a problem with his size.
After Brookelyn got out of school it was her turn to go see the ENT. We were in and saw Lindsey on January 30th,. At that appointment she had the entire tip of a Q tip pulled out of her left ear. We were told to do drops for 10 days and come back about March. We've done drops for most of February. She's still complaining that her ear is bothering her. She doesn't say that it hurts, it's just "bugging" her all the time.
*We saw Lindsey again today. The audiologist tested B's hearing before Lindsey came in. He told me that her right ear drum wasn't moving (fluid in it) and that the tube in the left ear was blocked (it's going on 3.5 yrs old so I'm not surprised).
*Lindsey said that her right ear drum has fluid in it - more than when she was there a month ago. She said it doesn't look awful, but it looks worse than it did a month ago. It's very retracted (think vacuum tube vs plastic wrap). The tube in her left ear is indeed permanently blocked. It's highly likely the ear drum behind the tube has healed and the tube is basically just sitting there not able to come out.
*We were give a couple different options. First option was that we could do 5 days of a high dose steroid and a nasal spray. We could do this for a week or a month and see if it helps. This makes me leery as she's been croupy and when she does the nebulizer that's already a steroid, so adding another steroid will compromise her immune system and she will be more susceptible to infections. Another option is to go in and take out the tube that's there and put another set of tubes in. Travis was not a fan of this idea. I asked about something we discussed when this last set of tubes was put in. There was talk of possibly going in and removing part of the bone that connects to her jaw bone in an effort to widen her ear canal to help prevent her from getting more ear infections. At this time, her ear canals look really good and she hasn't been getting ear infections, so that option is off the table.
*After quite a bit of discussion, we decided that we would put her under and put another set of tubes in. I asked if they would be putting in two in each ear again as this is what she's had done every time but the first. Dr. Blotter said that's a great question and honestly he isn't sure. That's something he's going to have to ponder on and won't really know until he gets in there. He said that it depends on her ear drums and how they react to the incision. The ear drum that's retracted may be just fine to put two tubes in after it equalizes the pressure and it may increase the size of the incision so that he can't put two tubes in there. We also discussed the possibility that her ears are full of pus pockets (lovely, I know). He said if there's a bunch of infection in there then yes, he will put two tubes in each ear if possible. We also discussed what kind of tubes he should put in. They make a variety of different kinds and to be honest, B has tried them all. She does best with the titanium (that's what's still in there after 3 years). However, depending on what happens after the incision is made, will determine which kind of tube he can use. The shape of the titanium tube is like a spoon. The T tube is longer and more narrow. If the ear drum will allow it, he will use the titanium tubes since that's what she's done best with, if not, he will go with the T tube and hope that at her two week follow up her body hasn't rejected them and kicked them out.
*So, B has ear surgery set up for March 16th. There won't be a fat graft at this time (that's what we discussed a month ago when we talked about taking the last functioning tube out). This will be her 7th (and possibly 8th) round of tubes. They did say that since she isn't equalizing the pressure in her ears, it's essentially feeling like her ears need to pop all the time. No wonder she's always complaining about her ears bugging her! They would be bugging me too!
*Sam goes to physical therapy on Wednesday for a re evaluation on her knee. I'm a bit concerned about how that's all going to turn out. She's essentially quit wearing her brace because it hurts as much with the brace as it does without now and the brace is starting to hurt the back of her knee. Based on how she's been filling out the paperwork the last time or two at physical therapy, I'd say the pain has increased. I find this odd because she's been saying the iontopheresis helps her knee feel better. My gut is telling me we will be going for an MRI after we see the orthopedist on Friday. I'm crossing my fingers that she hasn't got any damage to her meniscus. I'm not sure how she would handle sitting out an entire dance season. It's possible she wouldn't survive or she would drive me to the brink of insanity.
All I can say is that things are suppose to come in three's, right? I've got three kids and four-five issues (Caleb & weight, B with her eyes and ears & Sam with the patella & meniscus). I'm just glad we have insurance again and apparently it will be a "Meet the deductible quick" kinda year.
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