Ear Tubes Were NOT Bad

Well, we finally bit the bullet. Lucy got ear tubes on the 15th. She'd had 9, yes NINE, ear infections since September. Actually, the ENT thought it was probably the same infection-it just never cleared up. So anyway, after much debate, we decided it would be best for Lucy to go ahead with the tubes. Why do this again next year? Yes, she might grow out of it, but she might not! How could we put this cutie patootie through another crappy winter?!

The night before the surgery, I barely slept. I was N E R V O U S. When we got to the surgery center, they took us back into the pre-op room. It was there we met several nurses and the anesthesiologist. All were sooooooo nice! They told us that they usually give the kids a little "coctail" of versed (sp?) and valium before they go back. This is to help ease breaking away from the parents and going with the nurses. Lucy however, went straight to the nurses and was totally chilled out. NO COCKTAIL NEEDED (which is fine because if you know me, you know I am NOT a medicine person).

We were warned before we went to the waiting room that although the surgery itself usually only took about 5-10 minutes, the never know how long it will take the child to wake, so be patient. We were also told that the majority of the children wake up very combative and unable to be consoled, even by MOMMY! EEEEK! They said sometimes is takes a good 30 minutes for the child to calm down, and in some cases, the child doesn't calm until they get out the front doors. GREAT.

Sure enough, about 10 minutes later, Dr. Little came out and said all went well. She did have fluid on one ear, but it should be fine now. He gave us some ear drops to do for the next week, and said for her to take it easy for a few days. Also, she might have a low grade fever. Ok, we can handle that, right? Only about 10 more minutes passed before the nurse came to get us. When we approached Lucy's room, she was lying calmly on a nurse. We said hello and she lifted her little head and smiled. She came right to us and was PERFECT! Everyone kept stopping in and telling us how lucky we were and how rare this reaction was. We were elated! We went home and she was great...until about 4:00.

We knew to expect a slight fever, but that afternoon, her fever shot up to 103. Um, that is so not low grade. We called the hospital and they told us to just give her some tylenol. Well, the fever never went away. We were up all night. It was BAD. My parents stayed home with her on Friday so B and I could work. Her fever kept up (HIGH) all day. B called the doc and they told us to take her to the pediatrician. 103 was NOT NORMAL. DUH. The pediatrician took blood. Not fun. They couldn't find anything abnormal in her bloodwork, but said that it could be a fever virus. Hmmm, I always like a more clear diagnosis, but that is what we got. So, we got some motrin AND tylenol, staggered them all night and all day Saturday. Poor Lucy's fever was still 102-103. I should also mention here that the pediatrician put Lu on antibiotics (oral, not more for her ears) due to the BITE she received earlier that week at Baby School. Nice!

Saturday morning Lucy woke up GREAT! She had a slight fever, but seemed totally herself. We did a few errands and she played at home in the afternoon. However, about 4:00, she started to get pretty grumpy. Her fever went way up, then she couldn't walk or stand. It was like her equilibrium was totally off. This was VERY alarming. We called the pediatrician, they said to go immediately to the hospital. You can imagine how calm we were now.

When we got to children's they took her back almost immediately. We told the doc what was happening, and he said he'd seen A LOT of this virus going around, but just to be safe, he wanted her tested for a few things. They took more blood, but this time with a NEEDLE IN HER VEIN!!!!! They tested for flu, but not with a little qtip swipe of the nose. THERE WAS A SYRINGE AND TUBE SUCKING MUCUS FROM HER NOSE!!!!!! EEEEEK! You can imagine what kind of state she was in...not to mention me (although I kept it together pretty well I think). Then she got strapped down to a table for xrays. This night was NOT one of my top 10 most favorite. All test results came back GREAT, so the doc said it must be the virus. He also said to expect several more days of the fever.

After SEVERAL more days of fever, cold baths, rubbing down skin with alcohol, LOTS of DRUGS, and VERY LITTLE SLEEP, things got back to normal. Bryan had to leave town, my mom went to CA for business, so dad and I tag-teamed taking off from work and caring for sweet Lucy. It was some week!

I will say that since she's been better, her walking AND speech have really improved. She now runs (not far, but she gives a great try!). She is saying words much more clearly, and talking a LOT more (if you can imagine that!). We are glad we did the tubes, but really could have done without the whole fever virus thingy. Oh well, I guess you have to take the good with the bad!