Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Ears and Adenoids and Thyroid...Oh My!

Well, Friday we headed to outpatient surgery to have tubes put in Reid's ears...or so we thought. In the last few months Reid started to be a little wobbly in his walking and we wondered if he was having equilibrium problems because of fluid in his ears....also the fact that he called me "Bob" instead of "Mom" up until a few months ago also made me wonder if something was going on with his ears (Luke was so sad when Reid started to call me Mom, he thought Bob was the funniest thing ever!). Anyway, to make a long story short Reid ended up not needing tubes after all as there was actually hardly any fluid there...and she said his ear canals were just too teeny tiny to put the tubes in. I know children with Down syndrome tend to have small ear canals but apparently Reid takes the cake when it comes to teeny tiny. So, no tubes....but she did decide to take out his adenoids (hmmmnnn in for tubes but out with no adenoids...okay, I can handle it). Actually I was glad she took it upon herself to do this when she saw the need because that was on my "checklist" of things to discuss with her a little later down the road....but apparently I can now check that one off. Actually, I can check another thing off as well....as Reid was in having the ears taken care of a nurse called me on the phone and said, "Reid is okay, but we need to know when you last had his thyroid checked?"...This seemed like a weird question and it made me nervous so my first response was to ask if he was having a hard time with the anesthesia...the response was, "No, it is just a Down syndrome thing, and since we had to get a line in him to draw blood we might as well draw an extra vile for the thyroid since it should be checked". Wow, when I got over my initial nervousness I was actually so pleased....so pleased that this Dr. knew about Down syndrome and had the forethought to utilize this time to be as comprehensive with his care as possible. Though our time in outpatient surgery took FORRR-EVER.... I was and am so pleased with our doctor! Ears (check), Adenoids (check), Thyroid (Check)!! :)
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7 comments:

Heidi said...

What a great doctor! It's rare that you find a doctor who knows so much about Ds and is proactive in checking things.

I agree with Luke - Bob is so much more exciting than just plain old Mom!! I laughed when I read that!

Nan P. said...

That is some adventure! But it's done, all of it! How was Reid afterwards?

It's good that you found such a good competent doctor.

And I am with Luke about Reid calling you "Bob", it IS funny! :-O

Mel said...

Glad things went well- hope Reid took it in his stride. Our Luke is off for an echocardiogram on Monday. Don't you love hospital visits?!

I love the 'Bob' thing too. Funny boy!

Heather said...

Sweet boy you have BOB.I like it.It has a nice ring to it!Reid is looking darling as ever Cheri and it is so nice to check things off the list.Mine has grown extensively and I feel as if i will never get things checked off.At least not in my type A personality time frame.Hoping we can get together soon.Side note:Matt,Jessica's boyfriend, is heading to Long Beach for a EMT class for all of July.If you know of anyone who has a guest house that they would like to offer him for a a couple weeks let me know.He is a great kid deciding to go to the fire academy.Any idea for housing there would be appreciated my friend.

Cheri said...

Hi Nan...Reid actually recovered really well. They gave him popsicles while the anesthesia wore off which he loved...and then was a little groggy the rest of the day..but was a real trooper! :)

Kele said...

I'm with Luke, I am kinda bummed that your not BOB any more! Jett always called Mikah 'Gikah' until recently when he started to pronounce it properly, which kinda crushed my heart a little bit!
Happy about the 3 checks, great to have a doc who is ahead of the game!

Glogogo said...

WoW! A lot of "stuff" to do at once, but good it is over. :) I like the BOB thing also. My girlfriend's son also called her Bob. His 1st word was Duke (the dog) then dad, and then Bob (for mom!)VERY CUTE! He is 22 now and we still tease about Bob. LOL!