Sedation makes me nervous. Really nervous. She's tiny. And we were not having the procedure in my comfort zone, of Childrens Hospital. They did it at Moore Medical Center. Why? Well, Hearts For Hearing, sponsored (I guess thats the right word), this test for McKinley. Meaning, we did not have to pay for the facilty, the test, or the anathesiologist. Blessing.
We had to be at the hospital at 7 am. McKinley could not have food or drink from midnight Sunday night. We prayed that we would have to wake her up Monday morning and she would be so groggy getting into the car that she would forget about being hungry or thirsty. Which is exactly what happened.
She did great, letting the nurses get all of her stats. She did get a bit bored having to wait for all the doctors to get there for her procedure. But when that time came, she went straight to the anathesiologist and let her carry her back to the operating room. Putting the tube in should take about 15 minutes and the hearing test was supposed to take 45.
Dr. Berryhill came out after about 15 minutes and told us, his part was done. He told us the tube was in. She had a "very unhappy left ear". It was "very ugly". She was experiencing "at least 35% hearing loss because of the fluid". He described it, as if we had a cotton ball stuck in our ear all the time.. that is what she was hearing. :( He asked if she slept well, which she wakes up NUMEROUS times in a night, and he said he wasnt surprised. This tube should eleviate the negative pressure she was experiencing and reduce the fluid as well.
After the hearing test was complete, a nurse came out to get us. She said all the nurses were fighting over who would get to hold McKinley. When we got to recovery, she was not joking. There were literally 8 nurses around McKinley. They had her all wrapped up in warm blankets. As soon as I got her, she became VERY aggitated. She was screaming and thrashing. They said it was because of the medication wearing off, she just felt strange. She was also livid that they had things on her feet. They had clearly tried a couple of times to get the IV in her hand and couldnt get a vein, so ended up with one in her foot. They gave her a super cute stuffed animal, that she promptly threw across the room because she was so angry. It wasnt until we got home that she was able to settle down. She ate a pancake, snuggle her new stuffed animal and is sleeping.
We did find out from her hearing test that she can hear from BOTH inner ears. It is her airway hearing (?).. (he was going over the results when she was so angry so thats the word I remember, could be wrong), that she is struggling with.. one because of the lack of canal, and the other because of all the fluid (which shouldnt be a problem anymore). So its good news.
He is evaluating what McKinley's needs are, at this point. He said that we are in the "sweet spot" for new medical devices being introduced. She is not a candidate for cochlear implants because of the lack of canal. Even though the inner workings of her ear are there and obviously work, it is alot more invasive of a surgery with not many successful results to go in and make a canal. At this point, he feels like the best option would be going into her skull and attaching a hear aid (bone anchored hearing aid).. BUT he feels like with the new advances, we might have other options without having to do surgery. With that being said, he might have her start wearing a hearing aid attached to a band that goes around her head so that it can help aid her in hearing, to help advance her speech, etc. We will find out more at our follow up appointment.
Thanks for praying friends, no matter how minor the procedure is, its never easy sending your baby back with doctors....
2 comments:
Friend, I will continue to pray for your sweet McKinley! Thanks for these updates; it helps us all know exactly how to pray. Love you {and am praying for you, too!} Hugs ~ Shara
So glad you got some answers! Sending E back for tubes was the worst. :(
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