After months of repeated ear infections, our sweet little baby had surgery today to get tubes put into his ears. Everything went well, and Benjamin was such the little trooper.
His first ear infection came in July, when he was less than two months old. From that point on, he had ear infections every single month all the way up to today where he still had an infection. In fact, many of them were probably continuations from old infections because we had a hard time getting them to respond to antibiotics. During all of the treatments, we discovered that he is allergic to Amoxicillen and Augmenten (Penicillen meds). Ear infections respond best to those two drugs, so we were pretty limited in what we could give him to help, thus making his ear infections hard to clear up.
After the really bad illness he had during Thanksgiving week, our pediatrician said we needed to see an ENT for a tubes consult. Sure enough, the ENT doctor agreed, telling us that because of his age and allergies, tubes were needed.
So, today was the big day (and I know that tubes are a very easy surgery, but any time your child is being put under anesthesia, it's scary). Benjamin did great, though. Despite not being about to eat after midnight, he was happy this morning, giving grins and giggles to the nurses and doctors at Memorial. Although Lou had to work today, he was able to be with Benjamin and me the entire time we were there.
He was the one to carry Benjamin back to the operating room and hand him over to the anesthesiologist (they asked him to stay in there, but Lou did not want to see the surgery). It happened so quickly! Our surgery was scheduled for 8am. We got there at 6:30, were checked in by 7:00, in the pre-op room by 7:05, and he was taken back to surgery by 7:15. Lou and I waited in the anesthesia break room, and in less than ten minutes, his phone was ringing saying that Benjamin was in Recovery! I could hear his cries from down the hall. He was a bit out of it and unsure of his surroundings. We were able to hold him and feed him and within about fifteen minutes, he was feeling pretty good again:
The surgery came at the right time - today, Benjamin had a double ear infection again. The doctor said that as soon as he put a hole in Benjamin's eardrum, a bunch of pus came rushing out. Gross. So, we are praying that the tubes will allow all the gunk to drain out, and he will be able to live the next six months of his life without the constant ear pain he's had to deal with until now. (And maybe, just maybe, he might even start sleeping a bit better at night.)
They moved us to another recovery room (this is the third room in less than an hour!), and he quickly fell asleep while I held him. Before we knew it, we were getting discharged! I was in my car, driving home at 8:10am.
This picture below was taken at 9am. You can see that he was feeling good, and back to his normal self. In fact, today was one of the best days he's had in a long time. He was happy, in a good mood, took two good naps, and was so much fun to be around. I'm so glad I was able to have the opportunity to spend the day with just him. Good memories! I'm not sure if it's directly from the surgery and the relief in his ears, but I'll take it! Now, let's just pray that he stays that way during the night!
We have to take him into the ENT in a few weeks to check the tubes. They could stay in for up to a year. And, unlike the old days, we don't have to worry about keeping him away from water - the doctor says he can bathe, swim, even scuba dive, if he was old enough. The newer studies show that water does not affect the tubes or put him at risk for an infection. So, we'll live life as we normally do, and pray for two healthy, happy children.
Thank you for all of your well-wishes and prayers today.
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