and yet another doctor's appointment

We went back to Aidan's pediatrician yesterday. Not for any particular reason, but he had a follow up from 6 weeks ago when he had his ears checked out. His doctor said that his ears look the best they have ever been since he has been seeing her. But I told her about how he developed a cough since his surgery, and well, it wasn't the best news I have heard.

After his surgery, Aidan had started coughing. It was the kind of cough that sounds like it could be productive, but he just couldn't get it up out of his chest. The cough seemed worse at night, and resulted in him sleeping with mommy for a few days. I mentioned this to the doctor, and she listened to his lungs. Crackles. Which means he more than likely developed bronchitis from not being able to 'turn,cough,& deep breathe' after surgery. She said it is common to develop a cough, but most people are able to cough. It is difficult to tell a toddler that he needs to cough and deep breathe, and actually believe that he will understand. Bronchitis can eventually turn into pneumonia if left untreated. She said that the fluid that was in his chest has now settled into his lungs, resulting in the bronchitis. We were given a prescription for Omnicef again (we used that all the time when he had ear infections). So for the next 10 days, we will be doing medication again, but this time for a different reason.

I feel awful. I wish that my little boy can just get a break. It seems that he is always sick with something. I just hope this time is the last for a while!

Aidan's Surgery

Getting up at 5:15AM is nothing new to me, since I usually get up that early to go to work. But today was different. Today, Aidan was going to have surgery to put tubes in his ears. I know its nothing that big, but it is to me. Having to take your 22 month old into the hospital to undergo general anesthesia is a big deal. My lil man was such a trooper though, well for most of it. We waited out in the waiting room for maybe 10 minutes, before we were called back. Can you tell he was a little tired???

He looks so pleased...

We checked in about 6:25AM, and his surgery was scheduled for 7:40AM. We went back to the pre-op room and met with the nurse, anesthesiologist and doctor, as well as some other people. Aidan got into his little gown (so cute!), and watched PBS and colored while we waited for them to take him back to the OR.

Yay! Coloring!

Mom, Stop taking my picture!

He went back with the CRNA, and of course he cried the entire way. Derek and I had to go back out to the waiting room while he was in surgery. Not even 15 minutes later, the Doctor comes out and says everything went fine, and that Aidan was in recovery starting to wake up. He said that there was no infection, but there was still a lot of fluid behind his ears, more so in the left. He gave us some drops to put in for the next few days. After a few more minutes of waiting, we were called back to the recovery room where we got to see Aidan.
He was being held by one of the nurses, playing with the stickers that were on his chest, taking them off and then putting them back on again. He seemed to be doing alright. He did get fussy after a little while, and he took some tylenol finally. They gave him some apple juice and graham crackers, which he enjoyed. We had to stay for 30 minutes before we could take him home.

Still drowsy from anesthesia

Once the anesthesiologist came in to sign off, we were able to go home. Aidan fell asleep in the car.

We got home around 8:30AM. Aidan tried to eat some fruit, but wasn't really interested. He fell asleep about 9:45AM and slept until 1PM. I guess that means he won't be taking a nap this afternoon, but it will probably call for an early night.
We spent the day just lounging on the couch and watching movies. He seems to be back to his normal self now, and hopefully we can get out and get some groceries. We made it through it, and now it is time to see if this is going to make him better. I sure hope so!

Ear, Nose, and Throat Visit

We saw the ENT doctor Monday for his first appointment. The doctor looked in both of Aidan's ears, after digging out a mountain of earwax, found that he still has quite a bit of fluid buildup behind his membranes. After giving him a history of Aidan's ear infections, the doctor agreed that putting tubes in his ears would be the best option. We have scheduled an appointment here in the next couple weeks. I have to admit, I am nervous for Aidan. I can only imagine how scared he will be when he goes back to the OR with a bunch of strangers in gowns and masks. I just hope I will get to be there when he wakes back up. The procedure only takes 10-15 minutes, and he will more than likely be home by 9am. I just hope everything goes smoothly, and we get all this fixed. Will post after the surgery with cute pictures of him in a hospital gown :)