The ear tubes are out.
Well, they were irritating her ears. After being in for almost 2 years and they were ready (they were supposed to fall out on their own!). She got an ear infection where blood was coming out of her ears instead of puss. Although, this is a bit shocking, it’s not as horrible as it sounds. She wasn’t complaining about her ears hurting, or even feverish, just saying that her ears were popping. When we were coming over the mountains in August, at the top she was crying a bit. Which is weird, since ear tubes are supposed to prevent that, unless they aren’t working properly…
duh duh duhhhhhhh
Ding ding ding!
So, with the first round of antibotics down, which actually cleared it up nicely from the outside, a few days later ---- blood in her ears again…
I wasn’t going to the pediatricians again… They would just refer me back to ENT or give her another antibiotic. So, I called ENT myself and with the symptoms, they had us come in within a few days.
The diagnosis: They were irritating her ears and needed to come out. The left one was plugged, which was why her ears weren’t clearing over the mountains.
Unfortunately, the ENT doc put “easier to fall out tubes” than Alex’s, which were easily removed in clinic with tiny little tweezers and some serious bribing to stay still. Sara’s were supposed to fall out within a year or so, but since they hadn’t and were a different shape and material, they would rip her eardrum if he pulled them out. So, going under anesthesia was the only way. Seriously?
Well, Children’s is the BEST! We got a fast appointment right in Bellevue. We had been to the Bellevue clinic before, but had always had the surgeries to place the tubes in Seattle. The quickest surgery was in Bellevue, so we were lucky. It’s a new facility and designed so smart for the little ones.
First, the elevator is always the coolest part. We had packed her a backpack with all sorts of distractions and toys (new). She was so excited to find out what was in there. Since it’s surgery, you have to have no food past a certain time, and for Alex (who’s HUNGRY in the morning) this was challenging. But, for Sara, it wasn’t too bad. She doesn’t seem like a wake up and eat as fast as she can kind of gal. Not a problem at all, but the distractions are nice.
But, the waiting room was so cool – that we didn’t really need it! Painting!!!! One of Sara’s favorite things. She painted many rainbows and had so much fun and this was just the waiting room. They really think of the kids here.
Then we got called back to her pre-op room. In Seattle, it was a room where they prepped her, but then would take your child from you to go to the OR. Or, if you’re me – they you beg/borrow/steal and swear you’ll be OK – and beg them to let you gown up and carry your child back to the OR so they won’t be so scared. I did this with both kids and it was great.
But, this was EVEN BETTER! The room where she would be put to sleep was right there! They had the moving Brave going, very kid friendly, and we did all the pre-op in this room. There was a bed there and we would be able to stay right there with her.
I must say this was genius!!!!
She peacefully went to sleep to the sleeping gas they gave her – flavored with strawberry scent. Her favorite fruit. We held her hand and she was so peaceful. They took her to the OR on the bed and we were escorted to another room to wait the 10-15 minutes.
At Seattle, there was a recovery room where we couldn’t go. So, not only do you not be there when your kid goes to sleep (although I did and was so glad I did), but you are definitely not there when they wake up. Even though I tried to beg/borrow/steal my way in. Promising that I wont’ touch or do anything that they didn’t want me to.
At Bellevue Children’s, they wheel her back into the room with her still asleep - genius!!!!!!
She stayed asleep for ~5 minutes more, and the nurse assured us she was good. The longer it took her to wake up, the better. She was getting all the sleepy meds out of her system.
Then, with one big breath – she was up and awake. She sat up groggily and I was able to be right there.
We snuggled for a bit, with a precautionary barf thingie.
But, she knew what she was after. The nurse didn’t even have time to start naming the colors before she answered “green” to the question of what popsicle color she wanted. She scarfed it down.
The ENT doctor came in to let us know how it went. He said that the ear drums had grown behind the ear tubes, so that was what it was causing the problems. He said removal was easy and she was good to go. We will be back in ~ 2 months to check to make sure the hole has closed and everything looks normal.
Then, I also brought some muffins and other things to eat and she ate those too, with some help from Dad who was “starving” since he hadn’t ate since 7:30 am.
She was quickly back to our normal “Brave” girl. It’s funny that the movie Brave was showing in the first room, because I had bought her a Brave barbie with red hair and all. It was one of her “new” toys that day.
We went home and Lance went back to work. Sara and I watched movies, played with stickers and snuggled. I tried to get her to nap (I was tired) but with no luck.
Overall – it was a great experience. I’m glad those ear tubes are out, we loved them while they were in and working – but hasta la vista baby – when they are not.
