If you've been following all of my tweets and FB blurbs and posts, it's possible you picked up a thing or two about our tonsil issues. Last Wednesday, the 8-year old began showing the classic signs of infection. For us, those signs are not-so-classic... he never complains of pain, rarely has a fever. He'll suffer instead from Obstructive Sleep Apnea and a quick peek will reveal enlarged tonsils. Extremely enlarged. It's been like this for the last three years, like clockwork.The appointment with our new pediatrician didn't go very well. He was sure it was simply "allergies" despite my insistence otherwise. We were thankfully given a referal to an ENT and had an appointment scheduled two weeks out.
Two weeks.
Do you know what happens when an 8-year old doesn't get enough sleep for even two days? The child enters a weepy, zombie-like state. After receiving a call from the school nurse and hearing her concerns (as well as his teacher's) over his daytime breathing issues, I decided to make another call and had our ENT appointment moved up to today. The ENT took one look and said, "They didn't put him on antibiotics?"
Umm, no.
The ENT said the strep test is a waste of time because it recognizes only one of dozens of possible bacterial culprits. He told us that the size of the tonsils and the GREEN STUFF DRIPPING DOWN HIS THROAT was a clear indication of infection. In fact, he said the size of the tonsils alone should have made that clear.
Grrrrr. So now he's on prednisone to help him breathe until the antibiotic kicks in. The poor little guy. What burns me most is that this exact thing happened last year with another doctor and when I told our new pediatrican about it, he totally blew me off. Of course, it would have helped IMMENSELY had they had his medical records.
Another glitch.
Unfortunately, it's been the worst night yet as far as sleep goes. I finally moved him to our recliner and am now trying to prepare for tomorrow's crop in the dark. (This should be interesting.)
He just woke up again. (Yes, this should be interesting.)
1 comment:
Oh Tina! I'm so glad you bumped up his appt earlier!!! How frustrating that the medical care has been unacceptable. I'm so sorry tonight its even worse. I will pray that the meds take effect NOW and that he gets better soon. Please don't worry about tomorrow...you may just have to let things go. If you get there at 9am, or later, we can deal! Take care tonight. Praying for restful sleep for all.
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