Holy Tonsils, Batman!

My little J is pretty cute. He does sound like Darth Vader when he's sleeping though. Snores like a mad man. Breathes heavily. I can hear him over the radio in the car most of the time. I always assumed it was because of his permanent runny nose, but right before his 18 month check up his daycare teacher said "you know he has huge tonsils, right?" Um, no, I didn't. I have never really seen them. I know he has teeth because when I tried to check them, he bites me. The pedi agreed- he has huge tonsils, and should see an ENT. I made the appointment for a month later- pretty excited to get in that fast, but then again, it helps to know people! In the month leading up to the appointment I did some research- tonsils tend to be large in small kids, and that's not a bad thing. They also don't like to remove them until they are three, due to the increased risk of bleeding in little ones. I was totally prepared for the docs to take the watch and wait approach. 

Well, I was wrong. Chest & neck x-rays showed that his tonsils and adenoids are so large his airway is almost totally blocked. 

Then they thought he should have his hearing tested, as there was some fluid present during the visual exam. Sure, ok, but wasn't I here for tonsils? J was a champ during the hearing test, which wasn't surprising looking back, because he CAN'T HEAR! His eardrums don't move- due to fluid- and his hearing loss is moderate to severe. Um WHAT? He's only had five ear infections, and hasn't even qualified for TUBES, let alone enough to indicate a hearing test. The good Dr. McGill theorized that sweet baby J has had MANY more infections than we even knew- because ears don't get that crappy with just five infections. Mommy FAIL.

End result? J needs to have a tonsillectomy & adenoidectomy, his eustachian tubes cleaned out, and tubes inserted. Oh wait, he's so young- this will all be inpatient, at Children's Hospital Boston, resulting in 24-48 hours in the ICU and then two weeks of recovery at home. Oy. I have to wonder if the sunscreen I have been slathering on both my kids for years has something to do with all this airway stuff. I mean, really, it's a seven on the EWG Skin Deep database. That's some scary shit. Granted, I drank the Kool Aid and now don't buy any cleaning or skin care product without checking them out here. 

At least there's a Boloco across the street from Children's. I'll eat well, and J can have some rockin' smoothies...