Medical Update

     Yesterday Daren and I took Mackenzie and Nathan to an ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat dr.) in Valencia.  He's the same ENT Cindy goes to for Jacob and she highly recommended him.  Several months ago Mackenzie failed her hearing test at school.  They retested her a couple of months later to make sure that it wasn't just a cold or something stuffing up her ears.  She failed again.  So they sent us to an audiologist.  By the time we got the letter and made the appointment it had been another couple of months.  We finally got in to see the audiologist in March.  She said there was definitely fluid or a vacuum going on behind her earsdrums.  We went to the pediatrician and she said it was beyond her abilities so we needed to go to the ENT.  I scheduled the appointment with Dr. Vadapalli for April 11. 
     In the meantime, Nate's ear started draining again for the 4th time this year!  The first 3 times were in January.  So back we went to see Dr. Kitty.  It was funny because the last time his ear drained it happened on a Saturday night.  I waited until Monday morning to go in because I wanted to see Dr. Kitty about it since it was the 3rd time that month.  By the time we got in there she said there was no sign of infection whatsoever.  I told her I was sure it was pus that came out so she gave me a swab to take a sample of it the next time it happened.  When it finally happened a couple of weeks ago, I had Mackenzie hold him while I got out the swab to take the sample.  Just as I was about to swipe up the pus, Mackenzie sneezed!  There was no way I could be sure her sneeze hadn't contaminated the sample.  I told Dr. Kitty about it but she just laughed and said she didn't need it because he had plenty of goop left for her to see.  She said he need to see the ENT as well so I called again and they still had the appointment right after Mackenzie's available.
     So back to yesterday.  Daren got permission to take the day off work.  He took Natalee and Haylee to school while I finished getting the little ones and myself ready to go and then off we went to Valencia.  We made great time!  We came out of San Fransisquito Canyon at about 10:15, only about an hour and 50 minutes after we left.  So we dropped by and visited Cindy and Jacob.  I was hoping to get to visit them a little and I knew we would probably have to leave right after the appointment so I was glad we got to see them.  It also gave me a chance to nurse Nathan.  Our appointments were at 11:00.  When we got there we just had to fill out a little more paperwork and before long at all we were back with the doctor.
     Mackenzie went first and sure enough, there was fluid behind her eardrums.  He said he wanted to take an x-ray of her adenoids to see how big they were but he also was thinking she might need allergy testing to make sure that wasn't the problem plugging her ears.  Next he looked in Nathan's ears.  Nathan did not have a perforated ear drum like Dr. Kitty suspected. (She thought he might because he never fussed before his ear started draining.)  He also had fluid behind the eardrum.  Because of his age, having fluid behind his eardrum is actually pretty common.  He said Nate was like the poster child for tubes in your ears.  The other possibility was to keep doing antibiotics until the fluid is absorbed into the body so that he doesn't develop another infection.  Then we'll hope that he doesn't get more fluid until his body outgrows the problem.  We're leaning toward just getting the tubes.  I'm planning on calling tomorrow.
     After we finished with Nathan's appointment, we took Mackenzie to get her x-ray.  Because of her age, it's very uncommon to have the fluid in her ears so the doctor is trying to find the root of the problem.  She got her x-ray taken and we headed home.  Of course we first had to stop for lunch at a McDonald's with probably the nicest play area I have ever seen.  It was also probably the nicest doctor's office I have ever seen.  All the buildings in Valencia are pretty.  The kids had fun playing on the playground for a bit and then we headed back home.
     Later that evening, Dr. Vadapalli called to give me the results of Mackenzie's x-ray.  He said her adenoids are larger than they should be, which very well could be the problem.  However, before doing surgery to remove them, he wants her to get allergy testing so that allergies can be ruled out.  Basically, he doesn't want to do surgery only to find out the adenoids weren't actually the problem after all.  I called the allergist in town today and we were blessed to be able to get an appointment only 2 days away!  (Thank you to the guy who cancelled his appointment.)
     All we can do from this point is schedule Nathan to get tubes in his ears, and wait to see the results of Mackenzie's allergy testing.  If she doesn't have allergies, she will most likely be having surgery as well.  Two at once!  When it rains, it pours.  But really, compared to what so many others go through, it's still just sprinkling.
     Now, about my feelings for all of this....
Actually, I do have some strong feelings.  Sometimes, when we're so busy taking care of the many things we're responsible for each day-cleaning, work, callings, PTO, helping kids with homework, making sure they brush their teeth, etc.-you don't always stop and think just how much you love these little guys.  I mean, I think about it.  But when they're about to go through something that may or will cause them pain, my heart is just breaking for them.  I hate to see them go through any of this and I can just feel how much I love them and want to protect them from going through all of this.  I am so grateful for these 5 sweet babies I've been blessed with.  And I'm so grateful for my wonderful husband who helped me make them- even though he had the easy part of the job! :).  I am really grateful to Daren for taking off work to be with me during the appointments.  It helped so much to have his support, emotionally and taking care of restless children.
     I'll keep you posted on Nathan's surgery date and Mackenzie's allergy tests.  And thank you Dad for picking up Natalee and Haylee from school yesterday! :)