update - Layla's ears

We headed to Iowa City yesterday. We were scheduled for a follow-up appointment next month, but two weeks ago the blood coming from her ear pushed us up.

For those who care and ask (thank you), this is the scoop:

Left ear: her tube was just sitting in the canal in a bunch of gunk. They took it out with a little scissors thing. She has fluid in and behind the eardrum. While the tube was great for a year (which is how long they normally last), she is already building up fluid again.

Right ear: was a mess. This is gross, but there were big chunks of blood (blood clots) they fished out so they could even see in. The tube is in the drum still, but basically scabbed over and held in that way. It won't function that way and is probably on its way out. That eardrum was also filled with a lot of fluid.

While the tubes functioned wonderfully for a year (yay!), we are back at square one, so to speak.

Hearing: She for sure is having hearing trouble. With the fluid in the ear, sound is bounced around and blurred. This explains her interesting language (that I love, but know isn't going to be cute much longer). She doesn't have a speech delay, but can't hear clearly, so doesn't talk clearly either. We will go back in three months for another hearing test, and continue with audiology making sure she regains the function of her ears.

Plan: We are to get a speech evaluation ASAP. If she does need speech therapy, we will head back to Iowa City for another ear surgery so that the therapy is beneficial to her. What good is speech therapy if you can't hear or understand what you are to be learning? If she does not need speech therapy, we will wait for three months, giving her the chance to grow out of this. Her ears could clear up in that time. We will do a hearing test and go from there. May need to do nothing if speech and hearing is not impaired, because Layla is having no pain in her ears (this is incredible! the doctor could not believe she does not complain).

Surgery: The next step in surgery would be t-tubes. They are in the shape of a T (did you guess that?). It's a little more invasive, but they stay in for 3-5 years. The downside is they leave a scar and may have to be surgically removed. The good side is that after 4 sets of tubes, it would hopefully be the last set!

So...I am so pleased that for an entire year we have had nearly almost no trouble! Getting the adenoids out helped incredibly! I am also thankful for how wonderful Layla did. They were digging in her ears with a sharp scrappy scissors looking thing, and there wasn't one complain or tear from her. She didn't want to lay there with her head strapped down, but she did it! We love our doctor and completely trust her judgment.

I hate the fact that our child can't hear properly. You want your children to be "perfect". To know she isn't experiencing the highest quality of life is disheartening. To know she may have to sit in the front row at school, have speech therapy, tests every couple months, etc. stinks. But thankfully it doesn't seem to phase Layla at all! Last year when they did the hearing test and I watched through the window as she didn't respond to commands, I felt like I was literally going to throw up. It was a horrible, helpless feeling. I feel like I've been given the year to mature and accept things, and now I am more than ready to get things figured out! I don't feel nearly as sad as I did a year ago. I am now ready to tackle the problem.

Lastly, when in Iowa City it takes about 5 minutes to realize how incredibly fortunate you are to only be dealing with ears. Seeing cancer patients the same age as my healthy and thriving children bring me to my knees in gratitude. If ears are the biggest challenge we have faced medically, and this is our biggest challenge of not normal, we are so incredibly blessed.

Thank you all for caring!