Third time is a charm! Wyatt gets another set of ear tubes...

Wyatt went in today for yet another set of ear tubes. This poor kid has just been plagued with ear problems. We have known for some time his hearing is not good. He always wants the TV or music turned louder.  He will constantly ask us to repeat ourselves or say it louder. "What Mommy? What did you say?" Dayven says it's like talking to my grandma. It's really heartbreaking to watch.

We had an appointment with his ENT back in July and his ears were full of fluid and he did poorly on the hearing test. He's already had two sets of tubes, so the doctor was hesitant to go for a third unless he was sure he really needed it. Since it can typically take 6-8 weeks for the ears to drain after a cold/congestion and he'd just had a cold, we decided to give them a chance to clear on their own and re-evaluate in a couple of months. He had another ear infection in the meantime, which was a bummer, but we certainly know how to treat those. We went back in September for our follow up and they were still full and he scored poorly again on his hearing test. We just couldn't let him go on not hearing well. That was the doctor's first concern. The ear infections are just an unfortunate side effect. He advised us he thought it was best to proceed with the tubes, the benefits outweigh the risks. He told us about 15% of kids do need a second or even third set of tubes, but most outgrow the need between the ages of 5-7 when their skull gets longer (taller?) and the Eustachian tubes become more vertical and allow for better drainage. We were torn up about doing this for a third time, but really trust our doctor and felt we are doing the right thing.

Since Dayven is traveling, I had my sitter come at 5:30am in the morning (is that a good sitter or what!?) to watch Hadley while Wyatt and I left for the children's hospital. I was not looking forward to the surgery and didn't sleep well at all the night before. I only told Wyatt about it a couple of hours before bedtime because I didn't want him to start building it up and get really stressed. Even then I wasn't sure how to explain what would happen. It turns out I didn't have to explain much. He was happy to just sit with me in the private waiting room and play the new game I had downloaded for his LeapPad. He did mention a couple of times that he was hungry and ready to leave now. Poor guy! He still didn't fully understand what was happening, even when I put the scrubs on him.

I always go in with him into the OR. They have me put scrubs on and hold him until the anesthesia takes over, then I go back to the waiting room until he's in recovery. He was fine walking in to the OR. He was chatting it up with the nurses and doctors and showing them his LeapPad. When they put him up on the operating table, he started cluing in something was happening. He started to get scared and upset and began to struggle. It took three of us to restrain him while the anesthesiologist gassed him. He went from thrashing around to just limp in my arms. It was brutal to watch and I left in tears.

I had barely made it back from getting a coffee when the pager they gave me went off, indicating he was done and in recovery. I turned in my pager and followed the familiar screams back to his private recovery room. According to one of the nurses, if they go under mad, they usually come back up mad too and he was fighting hard. He had ripped out his IV and the front of his scrubs had blood all over them. There were three nurses fussing over him, trying to pin him down on the gurney. I asked why they were trying to hold him down, figuring they needed to do something else to him. One told me they were just trying to calm him and I said the best way to do that is step away from him. Hello? I'm sure he thought they were trying to do another procedure. I was a little freaked out coming up upon the scene! Sure enough, after they left him alone, he started to calm down. I explained it was over, took his scrubs off and put his regular clothes back on and this relaxed him. They let us go shortly after that and we headed home. As we left, Wyatt waved goodbye to the nurses and said "Bye! Thanks so much!!" with the biggest smile on his face. He was fine once he knew it was all over. They seriously looked at him in total disbelief, probably not believing it was the same kid screaming and thrashing 20 minutes earlier!

I'm glad it's over now and we're back home resting. Wyatt is in great spirits and has a surprising amount of energy. The weather is so nice here, we may hit the playground later if he's feeling up to it.

As I was looking around the pediatric surgery ward this morning, I noticed everyone had a spouse there and some also had a grandparent as well. There were at least 2-3 adults for each child...except us. It is hard sometimes doing things like this alone, but I know Dayven would have been there in a second if he could. He felt so bad about missing it and kept checking in to see how we were doing. I figure it's not ideal, but it really does make me pretty confident and independent. I really am comfortable handling most things alone, which is good. 

I am very lucky to have such great friends willing to help out. We are like surrogate family to each other. Several were offering to help with Hadley and one stopped by and brought a card for Wyatt and a tray of Jello Jigglers for a special treat. So sweet!

We are praying this will solve our ear problems until he outgrows them as we have no plans to go under again. We are certainly hoping the third time is a charm!