Wow. Where to begin? First of all, surgery went well, we came home yesterday afternoon, and Apollo is in fine spirits. So fine, in fact, that Tilly said this morning, "Mom, is he just happy or is that from the medicine?" I am giving him acetaminophen and ibuprofen (rotating between the two) every three hours per doctor's orders. He does begin to fuss at about the 2.5 hour mark, so I am assuming he is/would be in some pain without it.
Since most of you are probably wondering what the outcome was, I'll start there and then add details. The adenoids (which the doctor described as enormous) came out quickly and easily as anticipated. As far as the bronch the doctor said (and I am going to quote him a lot here): "There is some slight narrowing, but not too bad." "It's a bit abnormal." "He could have a vascular ring or sling." "It looks boarderline" "I've never seen a patient this old get diagnosed with a vascular ring and then need surgery." "If he has a ring, he's probably grown large enough that it's not a concern anymore." "We'll consider an MRI or CT scan if his symptoms get worse." "Since he's growing, he's fine."
So what does all that mean? To the doctor is means, maybe he has a vascular ring and maybe not, but it's not worth pursuing since he's obviously doing fine.
What does it mean to me and Chuck? That he may have a vascular ring and fixing it could drastically improve his quality of life.
And those, my friends, are two completely different meanings.
This is the ENT (who is, I have no doubt, a capable doctor and surgeon) who has had no interest whatsoever in listening to Apollo's breathing or listening to Chuck and I when we want to bring it up. He says taking the adenoids our will fix his sleep and feeding issues. And honestly, I would be thrilled with that. I am more than willing to be optimistic that this the magic cure. It is possible that with the adenoids out, he will breathe better, eat better, sleep better and be fine. But what he says just doesn't jive with what the pulmonologist (who has listened to his breathing extensively with his stethoscope and watched him breathe and retract) says. You know, "it's like he's breathing through a straw" and "he has to work so hard to breathe it's like he's running in place all the time". So which doctor is right? I have no idea.
The ENT's job is over at this point. He won't even be seeing Apollo for a follow up visit. Apollo's next appointment will be with the pulmonologist on February 7th. This seems like the perfect time frame to me. Enough time for Apollo to heal and for us to see how much of a difference the adenoids are making. Chuck and I like and trust the pulmongologist. He has spent so much time just listening to and watching Apollo's breathing. We feel confident that if says his breathing sounds better and we see an improvement that we can put this behind us and look forward to a healthy, thriving boy.
I have a lot of conflicting thoughts. I want Apollo to be "fixed" and think this is all over. But when the ENT says things like, "if his symptoms get worse" I keep thinking about how they worsened over the last few months. About how I took him back to the doctor because suddenly he was breathing hard just from running around and crying. I think about the pulmonologists concern of his retracting and the ENT saying "No, the adenoids wouldn't make him retract".
Oh, and the ENT keeps saying Apollo "is just going to be a really allergic kid". Before the surgery, I heard him telling someone right outside our room, "Everything on this kid {speaking of inside his ears, nose, throat} is just a point of potential inflammation". He is attributing everything to severe allergies. This is possible, or course, but Apollo doesn't have so many symptoms you would expect with severe allergies: runny nose, red and runny eyes, skin rashes. But then, when has he ever had the "right" symptoms of anything?
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them. Lorri Dean, I'd love your thoughts on all this...
Best part about the adenoidectomy and bronch? They're over and we all survived!
The worst? The results, like everything in Apollo's life, were somewhat inconclusive.
Best part about still nursing my 17 month old? It was a wonderful way to comfort him after his surgery.
Worst part? He wanted to nurse before surgery and couldn't. This led to many, many tears.
Best part about calling breastfeeding nursing (as in, do you want to nurse)? It's straightforward and has very little potential for embarrassment i.e. no asking for num nums, or mama juice, or any other cutesy term.
Worst? Every nurse who walked into our room pre-op said, "Hello, I'm So and So and I'm a NURSE" which inevitably started a new round of tears for Apollo.
Okay, your turn. Grab the link for your Best and Worst Wednesday blog and be sure and leave a comment so I know you're playing. If you don't have a blog, feel free to leave your best and worst in the comments.
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. If you have questions (or insight!) feel free to leave a comment. Lorri Dean, I'm particularly interested in your thoughts (just reread a bunch of your blog last night).
