Tubes, Tests, Passport, Aruba (Not Necessarily in That Order)

You've Never Seen A Kid Who Loves The Camera More!

We got Jaden's Blood Results back yesterday. His annual blood work. Everything was normal. I am always happy to hear that his thyroid is ok. They even test for lead now...Interesting. I didn't know lead exposure was on the rise again, I thought that was years ago a problem. We also took him to the annual ENT to make sure hearing was good. Well, we know he hears fine because he repeats everything we say, he talks non stop, if I call him from another room he looks for me, he responds to every little sound, so we weren't worried. First the DR. checked his ears and said they look fine, as well as everything else. Then he went in for his hearing check which he failed. So the lady said he probably has fluid in his ears. Now, I wouldn't be surprised if he had a little fluid even though he has never had an ear infection, because he does get congested sometimes and does have a runny nose a lot, which we always attribute to some sort of allergies. I'm trying to figure the allergies out. Anyway, he went back into the Dr's chair and he said he would have to take out the ear wax (all "healthy normal" amounts that every child should have he assured us) to get a better look. So, there he went, while Jaden screamed at a level I've never heard him, and his dad held him down, the Dr. took out all of his ear wax! Finally when Jaden caught his breath, the Dr. took another look and did found a "small" amount of fluid in the ear.
Does this look like a kid with Fluid in his ears? I ask you!

He explained that he doesn't know how long it's been there since he obviously has no infection now, and other than that his ears look fine, not red or inflamed etc. I then said he's never had an ear infection, how does the fluid get there, he said Jaden HAD to have had an ear infection at one point, that went away on it's own, that we didn't know about, that is why the fluid is there. Wow, that sucks. Poor little guy had an infection at one point, and we had no idea! He never has a fever, always is fine, never complained, tugged at his ear, seemed sick etc. I started thinking back over the last few months with his bad teething bouts..Maybe it was that. The Dr. then said that almost all kids have this problem when they're little because of the size of the ear canal and their physiology. The only thing that can prevent fluid build up is time, they actually have to out grow this problem, he said usually by the age of 3 or so. That is why older kids don't end up with this problem. He said it had nothing to do with DS and that his ear canals were a fine size. So....he said he could prescribe antibiotics which have a 9% effectiveness rate of clearing up the fluid (that's right 9% not 90%!). But, he said it's worth a shot to try and clear up the fluid. I said, if the percentage is only 9% and we know he currently has NO infection, I didn't want the antibiotics. The Dr. said that's fine, let's see him in 6 weeks and see if the fluid clears up on it's own. If not, we will have to consider tubes in the ears.
At The Park on an Unusually Cold Day in Florida

He then showed us the tubes, about the size of 3 ballpoint pen tips, (super small) he says the procedure takes 5 minutes, and it really makes a huge difference. They can be left in for 6-12 months. That is the most effective way to make sure there is no fluid build up until he can grow out of this problem. Since his hearing is obviously fine and good, the fluid has to come out or his hearing can be permanently affected, all of which I already knew. Honestly, it's no big deal to us. I know he'll have to be sedated, but if the procedure is 5 minutes (2-1/2 minutes each ear he said), then I won't think twice about it. I do know Jaden's weak spot is his sinuses and we've been so fortunate up until now with his health. I am not concerned with a few plastic minuscule things going in his ears to ensure no fluid. So, back in 6 weeks we go to see how his little, perfect ears are, poor little guy. Maybe the fluid will be all gone! He did say he only had a "small amount" which I guess is better than a "large amount", things could be way worse...I always say!
Posing for Dad

Friday it's his annual Cardiologist exam to see if his little PDA closed. The Dr. said that even if we came back in a year and it hadn't closed, they wouldn't do anything probably because it was so teeny weeny...they could barely see it on the Echo. So..that will be the last of all of his annual DR. visits. I am going to take him to a Holistic Dr. though, and see what we can do about his nasal congestion. We have him eating so healthy, no sugar, no processed foods, pretty much no dairy, no juice unless we juice ourselves, healthy snacks etc. We really try and have a healthy house, that's why I'm pretty perplexed as to what is causing his allergies, if indeed he has them. It could be something in our house. We'll figure it out.
Yah! I will get rid of all of my fluid!

On a really good note, my Husband surprised me for our Anniversary/Birthday/Valentines Day (my B-day and Valentines day are the same day) a trip to ..............ARUBA! I knew he was up to something when he said I had to get a passport! We go next week! His parents are coming in from NY to watch the kids! Wow, what an amazing surprise, right! I can't wait. Very exciting. The last place I went out of the country was Mexico, no Bahamas. But that's it for world traveling and me. We definitely want to do more traveling. Nothing like a little trip to break up the Monotony!
I Love My Dad

1 comments:

agmon said...

hi
beautiful pictures,
the best thing for ear infection is the eardoc (eardoc.info) , it is non invasive, it solves the problem and not the symptom.

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