It has been so long since I last updated about Luke. So much has transpired since. First an update on all of his medical "stuff":
After Luke's appointment with his eye Dr. in January we decreased the patching of the right eye down to one hour a week. At that appointment it was also noticed that he was in need of a new prescription. Thankfully, our vision insurance has been wonderful through all of this, and they expedited our eligibility for new lenses, so Luke got those right away. More recently we re-visited the eye doctor in April and received the good news that with his new glasses, Luke's vision is now 20/20 in both eyes! She also decreased the patching even further, to just a few times a month for one hour and pushed out his next check-up to 10 weeks.
I found a new ENT specialist who will now handle all of his ear care (if needed). She came highly recommended from Dr. Dugoni and is also at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. We met with her back in January and she had a good look at Luke's ears. She thought that the ear drums looked healthy and as though they were healing well after the tube removal. She also did not note any fluid behind the ear drums at that time, so suggested that we handle ear infections normally through Dr. Dugoni and come to see her only if they start to become recurrent again. VERY good news! A huge relief. That being said, Luke had a great winter and managed to escape ear infections almost entirely. The day after we returned from NJ, he did start to run a fever and complain of ear pain, but when I took him in his right ear was completely full of fluid, but did not appear to be infected. He started on Claritin in the hopes that it would allow the ear canal to drain and would dry up any fluid. Since then I have noticed Luke asking me to repeat what I say quite often, so I am concerned that that ear continues to be filled with fluid. Although thankful that it isn't infected, I am concerned about his compromised hearing, so we may need to pay another visit to Dr. Dugoni and/or the ENT Dr. in the near future.
Now for the most exciting news: Since the end of January, Luke has been participating in twice-weekly, one-on-one speech therapy with a wonderful (really, wonderful) speech therapist out of Lucile Packard, Miss Amy. After Luke's initial assessment, she noted quite a few two-letter blends that he was substituting other sounds for that she determined necessary to work on. So, Luke and I made the trek up to Menlo Park (NOT fun in rush hour traffic) twice a week to visit Miss Amy. Despite the drive, I have to say that it was really worth our time and effort. I can't imagine Luke loving his sessions or his therapist any more, and we were able to start seeing (hearing) results relatively quickly. We practiced at home and Luke worked very hard ... and I am thrilled to say that after about 10 weeks of therapy, Luke was released on April 19th! After taking a few weeks off, we went back for one last appointment to be sure that what he had worked on was being retained and generalized throughout his speech ... it was, and so we said goodbye and a very heartfelt thank you to Miss Amy (Luke was actually very sad to part with her ... I was not sad to part with the hours in the car two mornings a week). We are incredibly proud of Luke and the progress he has made.
With all that aside, here's a bit about Luke and what he's like at 4 years, 9 months old:
He has gained some weight in recent months and is weighing in at almost exactly 40lbs. Not sure on his height, but believe it is nearing 43". He is now wearing mostly size 5 in clothing and size 11 shoe. His food intake has increased drastically over the past few months - I suppose he was feeding that growth spurt. However, he continues to be be the pickiest eater EVER. :(
Luke is very full of energy these days. His brain is going about a bazillion miles a minute and he has a TON of information to share and questions to ask. All. The. Time. If he isn't talking, he can often be found singing, humming, or making other random sounds (whistling, squeaking, drumming, etc.) Basically, unless he's involved with a task, he is not quiet!
He loves, loves, LOVES school (yay!). He is always happy to go and gets excited when it's a school day. He spends much of his time there playing with his best friend, Christopher (who he now refers to as "Chris"). Apparently they spend a good portion of their choice time at school in the sandbox, judging from the amount of sand that comes home in his shoes and pockets each day. Luke has had the pleasure of being in Miss Sharada's small group this year and she was such a wonderful match for Luke. She has worked quite a lot with him on his social skills, as well as really encouraging him to explore things that interest him. As a result, we've seen his mathematical skills skyrocket (he's a whiz at addition, is starting subtraction, and has an amazing start at understanding the concept of multiplication - we can now see very clearly that he is very mathematical minded), and his reading skills begin to blossom (he is reading very simple rhyming words and sentences made up of such words). Luke's end of year report card was very, very impressive - we were so happy to see the progress he has made throughout his years at Mandala (more on that in the coming weeks as our preschool boy "graduates!")
Luke continues to take weekly swimming lessons. He is a "Sea Turtle" and is working on arm strokes while maintaining strong kicks (a bit difficult still to coordinate those for Luke), as well as roll-overs. Luke is taking a break from soccer for a few months while we are neck-deep in tball, which he seems to really enjoy also.
Favorite things right now:
-swinging on the swings in the backyard (he's become an excellent "pumper" and is content to be out there and swing for 20 or 30 minutes alone).
-playing educational apps on the ipad
-Care Bears (that *might* be Mommy's fault)
-Building with legos or Daddy's old Construx (he can often be found doing this early in the morning before the rest of the house is awake)
-Helping cook in the kitchen or water plants in the yard
-Playing board or card games
Luke is still such a sweet, loving, affectionate little boy. We are so, so lucky. Aside from the difficulties he occasionally has with his sister, he is a very easy kid. We love him to the moon ... and back.
Showing posts with label ears. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ears. Show all posts
Monday, April 30, 2012
Friday, December 2, 2011
Eyes, Ears, Mouth, and Nose...
I have been meaning to update on this for quite a while, but it never seems like we've reached the "end." I guess I was trying to wait until we closed the book on some of these issues, but it seems like they are still ongoing.
So, here's Luke's update on all of his "stuff:"
EYES
Luke continues to do great with his glasses. Really, he couldn't be easier or more relaxed about them. He happily puts them on the in the morning, and wears them all day long. Throughout the summer and fall we patched his right eye daily for 1.5-2 hours in an effort to strengthen that left eye. At our most recent appointment last month (November 1st) we received the good news that the patching has continued to make a positive impact and that when wearing his glasses, both eyes are very close in visual strength. This is exactly what we were hoping to have happen. So, as of November 1st, we are only patching 3-4 days per week, and will likely be finished with patching completely at Luke's next appointment in January. At that time he will also be re-examined for a new prescription. All in all, wonderful progress.
EARS
Unfortunately, this is the thing that I was hoping we could close the door on, but it appears that we can't. Luke had an ear infection just before we left for Cabo - his first of the season. When I took him in because of drainage from his left ear, we walked out with both oral antibiotics and ear drops. Poor guy - apparently it looked pretty bad. The good news: the tubes seemed to be working since he didn't have a ton of pain and there was drainage. He took the full round of antibiotics, but I continued to notice blood in his ear for weeks afterwards. I took him back in only to find out that the ear was still very infected and was referred to the ENT. After then paying a visit to Luke's ENT, we now know that the actual tube (which was still in the eardrum) was infected, causing the continued bleeding. The Dr. immediately removed the tubes from both ears (NOT comfortable for Luke on the side that was infected ... poor guy), and we will be visiting the ENT again for a re-examination of that eardrum once the inflammation is down. Of course, we're hoping for the news that it is healing normally now that the tube is out. In the meantime, I'm on the hunt for a new ENT. I've never been super impressed with Luke's and now I'm noticing that he seems to have issues hearing me (now, whether that's a HEARING problem, or a LISTENING problem ... one can't be too sure!), so want to take him to have his hearing re-checked. Ahhh ... the ear drama continues. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for no more ear infections this winter. Without the tubes in, he will definitely feel them again.
MOUTH .... well, SPEECH
The update on Luke's speech is that he was re-screened by the local school district in October. The speech pathologist thought without scoring the test that he would end up being "borderline" on whether or not he would qualify for services. So, as one option we were offered an interim 4 week small group class to work on specific sounds for kids with similar articulation issues to Luke. I took him on the first day, and he completely blew us all out of the water. Answered and clearly articulated every single word correctly. Every. Single. One. It was laughable. SO ... apparently, he is able to articulate with some support, but it just has not yet become habit. Needless to say, he did not qualify for any special services through the district and we didn't go back to their class. In the meantime, Mandala (Luke's preschool) offered a speech screening through an outside company and I requested that he be tested. Of course, their results indicate that Luke may benefit from speech therapy, so I may be looking into that further after the first of the year. As a side note, Luke's scores for language skills overall (comprehension, vocabulary, expressive language, etc.) on the assessment administered by the school district placed him in the 97th percentile :). No issues there!
MOUTH .... well, SPEECH
The update on Luke's speech is that he was re-screened by the local school district in October. The speech pathologist thought without scoring the test that he would end up being "borderline" on whether or not he would qualify for services. So, as one option we were offered an interim 4 week small group class to work on specific sounds for kids with similar articulation issues to Luke. I took him on the first day, and he completely blew us all out of the water. Answered and clearly articulated every single word correctly. Every. Single. One. It was laughable. SO ... apparently, he is able to articulate with some support, but it just has not yet become habit. Needless to say, he did not qualify for any special services through the district and we didn't go back to their class. In the meantime, Mandala (Luke's preschool) offered a speech screening through an outside company and I requested that he be tested. Of course, their results indicate that Luke may benefit from speech therapy, so I may be looking into that further after the first of the year. As a side note, Luke's scores for language skills overall (comprehension, vocabulary, expressive language, etc.) on the assessment administered by the school district placed him in the 97th percentile :). No issues there!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Luke's speech follow up
Just a quick update post our IEP meeting with the local school district regarding Luke's speech/articulation issues...
In short, he does not qualify for services as of now. Apparently, in order to qualify, children need to test about 6 months or more delayed, and Luke does not at this time. That being said, their requirements at age 3 are pretty minimal, so it is likely that if his difficulties with articulation continue, he will qualify at 4 years old.
We also have a lovely neighbor who is a speech pathologist and who screened Luke when he was 2.5 and offered to screen him again in about 6 months. Based on her findings, we may pursue some private speech therapy.
What ALL of the "experts" who have met with Luke have said is that he has an amazing vocabulary, advanced sentence structure and phrasing, and an above average attention span for a boy his age. They all seem to agree that his articulation issues stem from that period of time when he essentially lost a good portion of his hearing due to ear infections (from about 15-21 months) until he had the tubes placed in his ears. That time frame is essential for the language and speech development in kids, and Luke missed out on that due to the fluid behind his eardrums. :(
Our hope (and the hope of the speech therapists who worked with Luke recently) is that his speech will continue to develop and catch up over the next 6-12 months.
In short, he does not qualify for services as of now. Apparently, in order to qualify, children need to test about 6 months or more delayed, and Luke does not at this time. That being said, their requirements at age 3 are pretty minimal, so it is likely that if his difficulties with articulation continue, he will qualify at 4 years old.
We also have a lovely neighbor who is a speech pathologist and who screened Luke when he was 2.5 and offered to screen him again in about 6 months. Based on her findings, we may pursue some private speech therapy.
What ALL of the "experts" who have met with Luke have said is that he has an amazing vocabulary, advanced sentence structure and phrasing, and an above average attention span for a boy his age. They all seem to agree that his articulation issues stem from that period of time when he essentially lost a good portion of his hearing due to ear infections (from about 15-21 months) until he had the tubes placed in his ears. That time frame is essential for the language and speech development in kids, and Luke missed out on that due to the fluid behind his eardrums. :(
Our hope (and the hope of the speech therapists who worked with Luke recently) is that his speech will continue to develop and catch up over the next 6-12 months.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
28 month update
Wow! The past two months with Luke have brought about so many amazing changes. He is such a little boy and so very sweet. Some of his most recent accomplishments:
1) PUZZLES are one of his most favorite things right now. He LOVES his 24-piece Thomas floor puzzle, and can put it together entirely on his own within a few minutes. He also has a fire truck floor puzzle which he can very nearly complete on his own.
2) Learning the ALPHABET. He has been singing his ABCs for a few months now, but just in recent weeks we have noticed that he is able to match a letter name to its shape. He loves using the alphabet game on his computer, and calling out the sponge letters in the bathtub as he puts them on the wall. He is also able to identify his name now and verbally spell it out. Pretty amazing how much he is learning every minute of every day!
Letter naming in the tub
4) Saying goodbye to the PACIFIER. Yep, it's gone! We had been talking about how big boys don't need "binks" for a while now (and I was nervous about the possibility of some sleepless nights), but finally last week I took them away and told him that they had gone to the babies who need them. He whined a little bit on the first day, and we had one incident about 3 days in when he woke up from nap crying for it, but that's about it. I do notice that sometimes it seems to take him a little extra time to settle down into sleep, but I'm sure that as the days go on, he will learn to soothe himself to sleep quickly without it. Yay!
5) Sitting in a BOOSTER! I ordered Luke a booster seat that came just this week. He was getting too big for his highchair and his legs and feet would often get stuck when getting in and out. Despite all of Luke's eating issues, he really, truly loved sitting in his highchair. However, he surprised me again when he very happily and easily transitioned to the booster. We made a big deal of it and even went to the store together to pick out some special place mats (his choices: a monkey face and a frog). He seems happy with his new spot at the family dinner table - and we love having him there. For the time being, the highchair went up into storage at my parents' - that way it is not an option to go back to for Luke, and it makes room in our house for the baby swing which will be back very shortly!
7) Using the POTTY. Okay, despite an effort over the weekend that Michael was out of town a few weeks back, Luke is not officially potty trained. I was hoping that we could get it done that weekend, but after a few days Luke decided that he was NOT going to cooperate. He ended up screaming, arching his back, and simply refusing to even sit on the potty. So, we are taking a break and will revisit again in the coming month or so. What I have noticed since our initial attempt is that he has the ability to be trained during the day and that he is starting to show some interest again (this morning in fact, he woke up and immediately came to get me so that I could help him use the potty). He also has his eye on a package of Thomas underwear that he knows we are going back to get once he is using the potty ... we'll keep you updated!
8) TALKING about everything, and in full and complete sentences. I know that over the past year I have made mention of Luke's increasing ability to converse, but now I feel that it has really hit a peak. I hear him say new things all the time - things that he didn't learn from me (which is a little strange, but I should get used to it). I love listening and talking with him - it's really amazing how much is in that brain of his!
9) Staying HEALTHY. Knock on wood, Luke has been pretty healthy for a long stretch now. He did get an ear infection back in September, but thanks to the tubes, did not suffer any from it. We had a 6-month re-check on his ears this month with the ENT specialist and he said both looked really good. Both eardrums healed nicely after the surgery. One tube (in the left ear that had the infection a few months ago) will not be in much longer, as it is very anterior, but the other is still in place. We just have to hope now that his anatomy has changed enough so that if his left ear is infected again this year, the fluid will be able to drain on its own.
10) SINGING songs. Luke can now sing, hum, and "la-la-la" a bunch of songs. It amazes us that he not only knows the melodies, but also nearly all of the words. Some of his favorite songs right now include: the ABCs, the Itsy Bitsy Spider, Let's Go Fly a Kite, I See the Moon, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Old Macdonald had a Farm (which he also sings when we go to McDonalds!). He also has informed me that he likes the song Bubbly by Colbie Caillat, and can identify it after just the first few notes ... "Ooh, Mommy, I like this song!"
1) PUZZLES are one of his most favorite things right now. He LOVES his 24-piece Thomas floor puzzle, and can put it together entirely on his own within a few minutes. He also has a fire truck floor puzzle which he can very nearly complete on his own.
2) Learning the ALPHABET. He has been singing his ABCs for a few months now, but just in recent weeks we have noticed that he is able to match a letter name to its shape. He loves using the alphabet game on his computer, and calling out the sponge letters in the bathtub as he puts them on the wall. He is also able to identify his name now and verbally spell it out. Pretty amazing how much he is learning every minute of every day!
Letter naming in the tub
3) Sleeping in his BIG BOY BED. He took to his new bed with no problems at all. In fact, I think that he is actually sleeping better, and seems just thrilled with it.
Sleeping well with our "other" little boy - Linus, who apparently thinks he deserves a big boy bed as well!
4) Saying goodbye to the PACIFIER. Yep, it's gone! We had been talking about how big boys don't need "binks" for a while now (and I was nervous about the possibility of some sleepless nights), but finally last week I took them away and told him that they had gone to the babies who need them. He whined a little bit on the first day, and we had one incident about 3 days in when he woke up from nap crying for it, but that's about it. I do notice that sometimes it seems to take him a little extra time to settle down into sleep, but I'm sure that as the days go on, he will learn to soothe himself to sleep quickly without it. Yay!
First night with no pacifier
5) Sitting in a BOOSTER! I ordered Luke a booster seat that came just this week. He was getting too big for his highchair and his legs and feet would often get stuck when getting in and out. Despite all of Luke's eating issues, he really, truly loved sitting in his highchair. However, he surprised me again when he very happily and easily transitioned to the booster. We made a big deal of it and even went to the store together to pick out some special place mats (his choices: a monkey face and a frog). He seems happy with his new spot at the family dinner table - and we love having him there. For the time being, the highchair went up into storage at my parents' - that way it is not an option to go back to for Luke, and it makes room in our house for the baby swing which will be back very shortly!
6) READING to us! Luke has several of his books memorized and now enjoys reading some of them to us. The one that he knows best and is his favorite right now is "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" by Eric Carle. Luke loved this book several months ago, but was reintroduced to it at school and now we read it nearly every day.
7) Using the POTTY. Okay, despite an effort over the weekend that Michael was out of town a few weeks back, Luke is not officially potty trained. I was hoping that we could get it done that weekend, but after a few days Luke decided that he was NOT going to cooperate. He ended up screaming, arching his back, and simply refusing to even sit on the potty. So, we are taking a break and will revisit again in the coming month or so. What I have noticed since our initial attempt is that he has the ability to be trained during the day and that he is starting to show some interest again (this morning in fact, he woke up and immediately came to get me so that I could help him use the potty). He also has his eye on a package of Thomas underwear that he knows we are going back to get once he is using the potty ... we'll keep you updated!
8) TALKING about everything, and in full and complete sentences. I know that over the past year I have made mention of Luke's increasing ability to converse, but now I feel that it has really hit a peak. I hear him say new things all the time - things that he didn't learn from me (which is a little strange, but I should get used to it). I love listening and talking with him - it's really amazing how much is in that brain of his!
9) Staying HEALTHY. Knock on wood, Luke has been pretty healthy for a long stretch now. He did get an ear infection back in September, but thanks to the tubes, did not suffer any from it. We had a 6-month re-check on his ears this month with the ENT specialist and he said both looked really good. Both eardrums healed nicely after the surgery. One tube (in the left ear that had the infection a few months ago) will not be in much longer, as it is very anterior, but the other is still in place. We just have to hope now that his anatomy has changed enough so that if his left ear is infected again this year, the fluid will be able to drain on its own.
10) SINGING songs. Luke can now sing, hum, and "la-la-la" a bunch of songs. It amazes us that he not only knows the melodies, but also nearly all of the words. Some of his favorite songs right now include: the ABCs, the Itsy Bitsy Spider, Let's Go Fly a Kite, I See the Moon, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Old Macdonald had a Farm (which he also sings when we go to McDonalds!). He also has informed me that he likes the song Bubbly by Colbie Caillat, and can identify it after just the first few notes ... "Ooh, Mommy, I like this song!"
Thursday, April 16, 2009
A final (?) ear update
Here's hoping that this will be the last post about Luke's ears.
Today's surgery went really well. We were in by 7:30, out by 10:15! Luke did so well. He was a bit upset initially when we went back to the area where they weighed him and put on his arm (uh, well, LEG band - since he REFUSED to have it put around his wrist). They gave him some medicine to relax him, and then he happily hung out and watched Elmo while we waited.
By the time that they were ready for him, Luke was so relaxed that he (sort of) let the nurse carry him back to the OR, and only cried a little bit. The procedure itself was only about 20 minutes, and the Dr. came out to let us know that all went well. He removed the fluid from behind Luke's eardrums, and put the tubes in. His hearing should immediately improve!
Luke woke up from the anesthesia after another 25 minutes, or so. He was cranky at first, but settled right down after he had some apple juice and graham crackers (not eating right away in the morning may have been the hardest part for him!). He was discharged about 45 minutes after waking up.
As much as Mommy is happy to have her little boy healthy and well, she is a little disappointed that we are not having a chill out day filled with naps and cuddling. Nope, Luke is just about back to normal. He ate 2 meals since we got home, ran around, climbed, and squealed for a while, and is now napping.
Thanks to everyone for your prayers and well wishes!
Today's surgery went really well. We were in by 7:30, out by 10:15! Luke did so well. He was a bit upset initially when we went back to the area where they weighed him and put on his arm (uh, well, LEG band - since he REFUSED to have it put around his wrist). They gave him some medicine to relax him, and then he happily hung out and watched Elmo while we waited.
By the time that they were ready for him, Luke was so relaxed that he (sort of) let the nurse carry him back to the OR, and only cried a little bit. The procedure itself was only about 20 minutes, and the Dr. came out to let us know that all went well. He removed the fluid from behind Luke's eardrums, and put the tubes in. His hearing should immediately improve!
Luke woke up from the anesthesia after another 25 minutes, or so. He was cranky at first, but settled right down after he had some apple juice and graham crackers (not eating right away in the morning may have been the hardest part for him!). He was discharged about 45 minutes after waking up.
As much as Mommy is happy to have her little boy healthy and well, she is a little disappointed that we are not having a chill out day filled with naps and cuddling. Nope, Luke is just about back to normal. He ate 2 meals since we got home, ran around, climbed, and squealed for a while, and is now napping.
Thanks to everyone for your prayers and well wishes!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Ear update
We had Luke's first appointment with the ENT specialist yesterday. I was glad to finally get him in and have someone look more carefully at his ears and his hearing.
The hearing test was probably the most important part of the appointment. They did two different testing procedure on Luke. The first was to put him in a soundproof booth. The audiologist had speakers on either side of the room as well as little lights and characters for Luke to look at. He responded pretty well to her speaking to him through a microphone, but there was an obvious favoring of his left ear (not a big surprise since his pediatrician had noted more fluid in the right ear). When tones were played, however, Luke did not appear to notice them until she made them quite a lot louder. Overall, he scored just below average.
The second test was one where the vibrations of his ear drums were measured. When the sound waves were sent into his ear, neither ear drum vibrated AT ALL. This means that there is so much fluid behind those ear drums that they are not able to correctly respond to sounds. Luke's hearing is impacted by the fluid, and most of what he hears must sound muffled.
With this information, the ENT quickly suggested that Luke have tubes put in to drain that fluid from his ears and to, hopefully, help prevent future infections. During this time, when his hearing so drastically impacts his language development, this is really the only option.
The good news is that it is a relatively simple procedure, which takes only about 20 minutes total (unfortunately, he does have to go under general anesthesia) ... and we were able to take a spot in the schedule that was open due to a cancellation for tomorrow morning. So, Luke is having his ear tubes put in tomorrow morning. I'll post an update once he is home and recovering.
The hearing test was probably the most important part of the appointment. They did two different testing procedure on Luke. The first was to put him in a soundproof booth. The audiologist had speakers on either side of the room as well as little lights and characters for Luke to look at. He responded pretty well to her speaking to him through a microphone, but there was an obvious favoring of his left ear (not a big surprise since his pediatrician had noted more fluid in the right ear). When tones were played, however, Luke did not appear to notice them until she made them quite a lot louder. Overall, he scored just below average.
The second test was one where the vibrations of his ear drums were measured. When the sound waves were sent into his ear, neither ear drum vibrated AT ALL. This means that there is so much fluid behind those ear drums that they are not able to correctly respond to sounds. Luke's hearing is impacted by the fluid, and most of what he hears must sound muffled.
With this information, the ENT quickly suggested that Luke have tubes put in to drain that fluid from his ears and to, hopefully, help prevent future infections. During this time, when his hearing so drastically impacts his language development, this is really the only option.
The good news is that it is a relatively simple procedure, which takes only about 20 minutes total (unfortunately, he does have to go under general anesthesia) ... and we were able to take a spot in the schedule that was open due to a cancellation for tomorrow morning. So, Luke is having his ear tubes put in tomorrow morning. I'll post an update once he is home and recovering.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Another health update
We visited the pediatrician again yesterday for a re-check on Luke's ears. He finally made it 10 weeks since his last infection without getting another one! I was so excited to take him and get a clean bill of health.
Unfortunately, we weren't so lucky. No, his ears aren't infected (thank goodness!), but there is still a lot of fluid. The fluid in the left ear moves a bit, the fluid in the right has no movement. What this means is that Luke will need to see an ENT specialist to determine whether he needs to have tubes put in so that the fluid will drain. Apparently, 60% of kids with ear infections have some remaining fluid post-infection. 97% of those kids have no remaining fluid 12 weeks post-infection. The likelihood that Luke's fluid will drain on its own in the coming week or two is probably not very good.
They will need to first test his hearing, and then determine whether we should go ahead with tubes. His balance is also off quite often, and I am attributing this to the fluid in his ears, so we'll see what the ENT Dr. says about that.
In other health-related news, Luke's top right 2-year molar has broken through! It's been a long time coming (lots of drool and finger biting over the past month). Now, if the remaining 3 would all just come in at the same time so that we don't drag this out for many more months!
More info to come in the coming weeks ....
Unfortunately, we weren't so lucky. No, his ears aren't infected (thank goodness!), but there is still a lot of fluid. The fluid in the left ear moves a bit, the fluid in the right has no movement. What this means is that Luke will need to see an ENT specialist to determine whether he needs to have tubes put in so that the fluid will drain. Apparently, 60% of kids with ear infections have some remaining fluid post-infection. 97% of those kids have no remaining fluid 12 weeks post-infection. The likelihood that Luke's fluid will drain on its own in the coming week or two is probably not very good.
They will need to first test his hearing, and then determine whether we should go ahead with tubes. His balance is also off quite often, and I am attributing this to the fluid in his ears, so we'll see what the ENT Dr. says about that.
In other health-related news, Luke's top right 2-year molar has broken through! It's been a long time coming (lots of drool and finger biting over the past month). Now, if the remaining 3 would all just come in at the same time so that we don't drag this out for many more months!
More info to come in the coming weeks ....
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