Ear Tubes & Other Medical Fun

If I’d known how often Jose, Emma or I would be visiting the doctor this year…well, let’s just say I would have put a lot more money into our healthcare flex spending account. Because our month of sickness in May just wasn’t enough, we can now add Labor Day weekend to the list of times I’d rather forget.

Friday was superflex day for me, but I spent half of it taking Emma for a blood draw (recommended by her pediatrician as part of the standard 1-year checkup to check iron levels) and then to a “pre-op” appointment for the ear tubes she got yesterday. More on that later…

On Saturday, we drove down to Jose’s aunt’s house in Sinton to be there for a surprise 30th birthday party for my brother-in-law Alex. Emma had developed a slightly runny nose that morning, but it seemed better as we hit the road after lunch. By the time we got to Sinton though, it was running like a faucet and it was obvious she had caught another bug. Joy. Later that night when I checked on her, she was running a slight fever that continued through Sunday. A few doses of baby ibuprofen helped, but poor Emma still seemed miserable.

(We did have a fun time at Alex’s party though, and although he suspected something was up, he hadn’t anticipated that we would be there too — especially since we were just there two weeks ago for Emma’s party. It was fun. Happy Birthday Alex!)

On Sunday, Jose felt horrible so I ended up driving back home with both Jose and Emma zonked out in the car. Still, Emma seemed to be doing better and things were looking up.

I woke up Monday feeling a little under the weather, but nothing too awful. Emma’s nose was still running like crazy and she had a cough, so we had to bail on our plans to go to a Labor Day hangout at Gavin and Jen’s house and instead, we headed out for some lunch and a trip to the grocery store. Towards the end of our time at HEB, I started feeling worse. By the time we got home around 4:00, I collapsed on the couch and barely moved for the rest of the night. It was stunning how quickly I went downhill.

On top of all that mess, Emma was scheduled for ear tubes — an outpatient surgery — on Tuesday morning. I called them bright and early to ensure that they could still do the surgery given that she was still super congested and had recently had a fever, and they said it would be fine. So I managed to pull myself together enough to go along, instead of making Jose go alone. I know ear tubes are a pretty standard procedure, but I still wanted to be there.

Fortunately, Emma was in a great mood and actually smiled at the nurse who carried her away! The only time she cried was as she woke up from the anesthesia — and we had already been warned that ALL babies are cranky as they wake up from that. She was only out of our sight for about 25 minutes, and she was back to her usual happy self by lunchtime. The doctor told us she had a lot of infected gunk in each ear that he was able to clean out — so that’s a 5th ear infection, and 3rd in the last 2 months. Getting ear tubes was a no-brainer, and I’m very optimistic that the recurring ear infections will come to an end! On top of that, the constant fluid in her ears was likely affecting her hearing which is scary and sad to hear as a mom. I’m so happy that she’ll be able to hear more clearly now!

All things considered, the ear tubes were actually the EASIEST part of the whole weekend of sickness and medical procedures.

Playing only a few hours after getting tubes

After rallying for the ear tubes, I felt pretty awful for the rest of yesterday. And now here we are on Wednesday, Emma’s happily back at daycare, and Jose’s at work…but I’m still laid out on the couch. The last time I was this sick was two years ago on the last day of our cruise, and the ship’s doctor diagnosed me with the flu. I don’t know if that’s what I’ve got this time, but I just hope it goes away soon.

Labor Day 2013. Fun times!