I'm starting to wonder if Brock Edmond needs to have his name changed to Brock Enigma..... This boy never is easy to figure out! Our most recent events took us to Iowa City Monday. Brock had an appointment with his ENT. (The specialist who placed B's T-tubes, and performed the Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy back in Feb 2007.)
For those of you not following the saga of Brock's ear trouble, let me enlighten you.... Early Spring, Brock had his left ear begin bleeding at school----quite a significant amount of blood! The ped sent us to a nearby ENT and Brock was treated for ear infection. However, Brock has been noticeably bothered by his left ear ever since. He pulls at it, pokes in it, even puts his hand up to it and moans! Exams had shown dried blood and such in the ear canal and it was suspicioned that the remnants of the blood could be causing itching and irritation. To remedy that, Brock was put under sedation and his tubes/ears were surgically cleaned out under microscope. "Clean as a whistle" --to quote the Galesburg ENT, June 08. I thought Brock was finally offered relief, but it only helped a little and we were back in the same boat with the tugging, poking, moaning......
So. Time for the specialist. It took a couple months to get an appt, but yesterday was the day. 2.5+ hrs of driving, 2 hrs in the waiting room, and 10 min with the doctor.... UGH. All that, to only find that "the tubes are in place and clear" ARE YOU KIDDING ME??????? I was more than frustrated and kept describing how Brock is affected by his ear---Can't anything be done??? I was told that perhaps Brock had chronic ear trouble, and now has developed behavioral patterns with putting his hand to his ear. I think differently, but what can be done? Brock has been so aggressive with his hand to his ear, he has often created sores and red marks in the outer ear!
I simply asked the ENT if he has ever seen anything similar with other kids/patients. He said. "as a matter of fact I have. Just today, I saw a 12 yr old who I have seen since he was a baby. He developed a habit of pulling/picking at his nose. He now is missing part of his nose."
I WAS WIDE EYED AND SPEECHLESS. Are you kidding me?
Should I now celebrate that Brock still has 2 ears intact? Oh my goodness.
We are to bring Brock back in 6 months and discuss the removal of his T-tubes.
What a wasted day.
I take that back. Jason was able to travel along for the trip and we looked up a nearby Toy R Us store to shop for the kids' b-day gifts. I have been keeping a list of toys that the kids have been requesting for their Birthday. Can I tell you how much I hate tv commercials geared toward kids??? There should always be a segment after the commercial to tell parents how much the toy is going to cost AND where in the world you find the crazy things! So many items on the "list", I was told they weren't in stores yet! Others gave me sticker shock. Thanks. Just what I needed to hear.
The good news is that the trio won't go toy-less for their 4th birthday.........they just won't be getting what they have been begging for from the commercials. Better start rounding things up for Christmas. LOL
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2 comments:
When my son Dovi was about 3 ish, he got into the habit of hitting his head every night as he went to sleep-he literally was covered in scratches all over his forehead, and gave himself multiple corneal abrasions and ultimately cataracts. The way we finally stopped him was by literally putting him into a hockey helmet-he was having cataract surgery, and if he would've hit his eyes again he would've lost his vision. So he wore a helmet for about 3-4 months. In that time, he dropped the habit because he wasn't getting the input he was looking for. If you are 100% sure there is no physical basis for discomfort, is there a way you can cover Brock's ear-maybe even with earmuffs! It sounds like he's gotten to be like Dovi-we think it started with a sinus infection and then it became a habit. So if you can find a way to take away the feeling he gets from hitting his ear, maybe he'll stop. Make any sense?
-Sara
Drew has problems with his ears filling with fluid and not turning into ear infections, which is good, but it still causes discomfort. He is non-verbal so I don't know when it happens--just guess by his behavior. I have taken him to the doc a million times with what I suspect is an ear infection, but they are clear! I feel your pain. They should be able to see that during an exam tho. HMMMMM. I wish I had more insight! I love your blog.
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