ENT

We're probably years overdue but we finally got an appointment with an ENT for Hudson. Even though we were years delayed once the process started it was very quick. Two nights after Hudson's birthday on December 5th around three in the morning we were woken up by Hudson. He was having one of his can't breathe episodes. This happens every single year, sometimes several times a year. In the past we have rushed him to an ER but by the time we get there his airways have opened up and nothing can really be done at the hospital at that point. We have also taken him outside for cooler air and we have sat with him on the bathroom floor with the door closed so the water from the shower can create a humid room. Usually we have been choosing the shower in the bathroom route and then if that doesn't seem to help we'd take him to the hospital which by the time we get there it's like all the other times where he can get his airway opened and is improved once we park. This time as Danny was sitting with Hudson in the bathroom I had this thought that maybe his large tonsils could be part of the problem. He's gotten strep a couple of times just since we've moved here and every time we hear comments from nurses/medical on how large his tonsils are. I had made that comment to Donna recently and she told me that she and a couple of people in the family (like Jill and Georgia) also have/had large tonsils. Well we had never thought to look into his mouth when he's healthy so we weren't sure how they looked on a normal day because the only time we'd check was when he'd be sick. So after he recovered from the last positive strep we made sure to look at his tonsils on a good day and wow they were huge. Basically any time he'd get even a cold they would swell and touch each other. So at this point we knew he had big tonsils and while he was trying to breathe in the bathroom I think it finally clicked for me that maybe his tonsils swelling up could make it harder to breathe. Once we felt good about him going to back to bed I got online and scheduled an appointment with his doctor for later that morning at 9:30am. We love our new doctor here. She listened to our concerns, checked him out thoroughly and agreed that his tonsils were massive. Turns out Hudson has croup and was given a steroid to help him recover. She told us he should definitely see an ENT specialist to determine what to do about his tonsils and sent in a referral for us. The referral went through and by the end of the day he already had an appointment with a specialist for the next morning at 9:40am. Just to spice up our life, we also got a call from the school nurse telling us that Grant had a fever and would need to be picked up and return to school once he's been 24 hours cleared of any fevers. So the next morning after dropping off Rylee and Quinn to preschool we headed to the clinic with Hudson and Grant for the ENT appointment. The appointment literally lasted for five minutes. Dr. Hart walked into the room, looked in Hudson's mouth and said "yep those need to come out". It was the quickest appointment of my life. He didn't really need to explain anything to Hudson because at this point Hudson was feeling excited at the idea of being put to sleep and wanted to hear that his tonsils would come out. I wonder if Dr. Hart was preparing himself for a different reaction but this kid was excited. We'll see how he feels the morning of or the week after. Dr. Hart did explain that the recovery would be rough and that it could be up to two weeks of pain. What Hudson heard was that he could have all the ice cream and popsicles he'd want for two weeks. I did learn that Hudson would be getting his adenoids out as well as his tonsils. To be honest I don't really even know what adenoids are even after I googled it. Some people only get their tonsils out and keep their adenoids and some others get their adenoids but keep their tonsils. Hudson will have both removed. After we left the appointment we had some time to kill because Rylee and Quinn were still in preschool so we walked around Fargo for a bit before visiting Danny at work until we had to get the girls from school. This was yesterday. Hudson is scheduled for surgery on December 30th. It was either that or the 23rd but I don't want him feeling miserable on Christmas so we chose the 30th. Hudson called Jill and Georgia and they told him that they also got theirs taken out because they had similar issues that he did. Right now he's still feeling pretty good about it. I'm a little nervous. But I reached out to my friend who got hers taken out a couple years ago as an adult and she assured me that it would be best to do it now, and that it could get worse as he grows older. The recovery is also a lot harsher on adults than kids. I would also feel a bit guilty if at this point we decide not to do it with knowing what we know now. I'd hate for him to continue to have these middle of the night panic attacks because he can't breathe. I just hope it goes well and that this will be the best thing for him. 

Also really hoping that everyone starts feeling healthy soon because my parents fly in tonight and Hudson's baptism is tomorrow.