At Last
Yesterday was clinic day here in town. I’d geared up for a fight, honestly, when I talked to the receptionist because she doesn’t usually take messages that involve the doc calling someone back, and I know damn well she doesn’t like making last-minute appointments. But, I demanded to have Dr. B. look into what was going on – it’s been just over six months (and three rounds of antibiotics) since Dr. B. was going to refer Care to an ENT doc in the city. Mid-September was when we first talked about it, because within a week of school starting, the kid was back to not swallowing.
She was out of school for a full four weeks in the fall, another three days in December, and at least ten since the new year. December was bad, though – it wasn’t just her throat, it was her ears and jaw.
Since then, Care has almost completely stopped eating solid food, and when she does eat it, she either smashes it up soft, or picks it apart into little pieces. I know she thinks no one notices… but geez. It’s kinda obvious. Thing is, it’s not only hurting to swallow, it’s hurting to chew. She’s been in almost constant pain with her jaw – it’s even started to disrupt her sleep – which is already broken up thanks to apnea, choking, coughing and on and on.
Dr. B. didn’t shrug it off, but did suggest she try to manage the pain with tylenol or advil. Since this last round of antibiotics, from the doc I can barely stand in – the one who claims I don’t suffer from migraine and refused to prescribe the drugs suggested by the neurologist, she’s been even more miserable than usual. There are lumps by the joint, and just under and behind. Even swallowing water hurt the other night, and I know she was doing that thing I’m not allowed to mention (involving the tear ducts…) after she went to bed.
Anyway. I figured six months is plenty of damn time, since I’d been assured numerous times that the receptionist/secretary had sent it in.
o_O I got bitchy on the phone yesterday, and lo…a call back within an hour, with an appointment scheduled. Didn’t even need to speak to Dr. B., which leads me to think maybe someone dropped the ball, again, with health care paperwork involving my kids. But, anyway…for now, we can relax knowing Care’s gonna get in there, finally.
I’ve also been reading the stuff the other doc sent, and it’s familiarly interesting.
For those of you who have said I’m a better mom than my mom was, you’re right, at least in this instance. I always knew it was my tonsils causing me so much grief…but because she was under the impression I was faking to get out of school (until the time the school called my grandparents because I passed out in class – but she still didn’t take me to the doc) she never did anything. I don’t know if I had as many bouts with it as Care has, but I don’t remember most of the last BIG bout, and that’s what makes me focus on getting Care fixed now, rather than later.
I don’t want her to be stranded with two babies and no help, with a 105*F temperature, and a missing four day period. The husband was away working – and I probably would have called him home if I was conscious – our lane (we lived on a farm at the time) was packed closed with 3 foot deep drifts of snow and I had no way out but walk. The neighbor picked up a prescription for me (I managed to call the doc as it was settling in and he called the pharmacy, etc.) and I met her halfway down the lane. I got in the house, and after that I don’t remember a damn thing until four days later. I know I was alone with the girls, but I don’t know how I took care of them. I did, apparently, because they were fine when my ex got home, but… I don’t know how I did it. Maternal stuff, I suppose.
There are many other things that could be causing Care’s illness and pain, but I’m going to focus on it being chronic tonsillitis/adenoiditis. Everything from the apnea to the pain (even her asthma!) can be explained by those little glands misbehaving.
Fingers crossed they all come out in three weeks!
I hear you loud and clear, Jodi. We’ve been struggling with Connor’s sleep apnea for weeks now, but we’ve been nervous about putting under the knife. He’s really been suffering of late, not getting any sleep and the poor little guy has dark rings under his eyes that break your heart. He goes in for his tonsillectomy next month. Hopefully that will clear all this up and he can finally gets some honest to goodness rest.
I wish you and Care the best.
There’s nothing worse for a parent than for them to see their child suffer.
Better days ahead…
I send her my best wishes, Jodi. My little brother went through the same sort of thing a few years back. Well, first it was a hernia, then his tonsils. They eventually removed them after a year of problems but the unfortunate thing is that policy on removing tonsils changed a decade or so ago and now they generally refuse to remove unless they have thoroughly and completely exhausted (and frustrated) all other options. The reason was simply because, since it is mainly a childhood issue, that it wasn’t worth the risk entailed with surgery. Infection could be just as bad as the ailment. I don’t really agree with it, when it comes to constant and chronic cases, because it isn’t fair to the child suffering.
Here’s hoping they get off their butts and get those things out.
Jodi Glad to hear about Carrie. Had an interesting conversation with a mom in the local insurance office. Her son just had his adnoids out. Made a big difference. The ENT specialist who did the surgery is from Germany and said that he thought many North American kids were misdiagnosed with asthma when the problem was their adnoids and/or tonsils. Evidently adnoid removal is more common in europe.
Ah Jodi, how awful for both you and Care! My brother had the same problems when he was much younger– when he was about 5 or 6 he’d go to sleep after lunch and wake up with food still held in his cheeks. Hurt too much to swallow, and he didn’t even realize that was odd enough to tell us.
I’m pulling for the paperwork jerks to get their shit together. It’s appalling that someone can drop the ball when something so important is involved– but well, we know how that goes :/ Get well vibes coming!
*hugs* Glad they finally scheduled her in! : )
And I say good riddance to those tonsils! Dirty little bastards. Hope all goes well and they get ‘em out of there–sending the best vibes I can. When the kidlets aren’t well, the rest of the world doesn’t function like it should.
Sounds like a resolution is in sight. Best wishes for Care!
Apparently, someone decided by the time my middle daughter got to where hers really did need to come out that removing tonsils was a terrible thing, on at least a par with ignoring parking tickets and possibly even not putting the toilet seat down. Poor kid suffered for years, and finally was able to get them out as an adult. When, of course, the surgery is a lot more complicated and prone to go wrong. It went fine, but I attribute a good deal of her teen-age rebellion to the short-sighted doctors who made such a wrong-headed decision for her, in the face of over-whelming evidence that their position was bass-ackwards. I feel like forwarding her juvenile record to them with a stern demand for an explanation and apology, as well as financial recompense for various automobile repairs and several hundred dollars in bail money.
I have been without tonsils for forty-seven + years, and don’t appear to have missed them very much. Doctors need to listen to patients instead of patent-medicine salesmen and quacks when treating kids, especially. It’d be nice if they paid some attention to complaints from we Auld Pharts, too.
Eeeek – Brandon and SirOtter, sirs – your comments were caught in the akismet box, and I didn’t see them until today…sorry about that!
Thanks for the well wishes, everyone! I haven’t seen her this excited about something for a very long time…well, she was more than this excited when we called in to The Funky Werepig so she could tell Mr. THE Frickin’ Dunwoody that he’s awesome.
She’s very much looking forward to being pain and drug free, but slightly concerned that an operation will interfere with the upcoming baseball season… *eye rollage*. If the doc we see on the 5th won’t cooperate and operate before the end of May, we’ll see the other one that has been recommended to us, but I honestly can’t see any doc not taking 11 rounds of antibiotics in 18 months as an indication they need to be removed.
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