1696 Medical Medicaliness

Saucy Scale: 9

Life has been moving at a rapid pace.  I just haven’t had the time to write much of it down.

Since the lad was born, Mattson has had plugged tear ducts.  His eye boogers have had nowhere to go & caked around his eyes and in the eyelashes…All The Time.  It has been such a drag for both him and me.  I’ve done tear duct massage.  We’ve had just about every eye drop prescribed at one point or another over the last year.  Every single day I’ve had to use a wet washcloth to de-crust his eye(s).

Eventually the right eye seemed to unplug itself.  The left eye was more stubborn.  

Because the remedy for the problem involves a general anesthetic, we had to wait until his first birthday to have the tear duct surgery performed. 

This past Friday was The Big Day! 

We reported to the O.R. at 6:15 Friday morning.  Surgery started at 7:30.  He was in and out of recovery and we were released to head home by 9:00!!!

I knew that the surgery itself was going to be routine.  I’d be lying if I tried to pretend that I wasn’t freaked by the thought of putting my youngest child under a general anethesia.  Everything was great, though.  Mattson was wheeled back to see us after leaving the Recovery Area.  As he came back around the corner, I popped my head out the door to get a look at him.  He saw me and screeched "Mama!"  Very cool.

My in-laws were at home taking care of Gus so we could focus on Mattson’s eye surgery.  After it was all said and done, TBU went to work and I drove Mattson home. 

Oh and did I mention that Gus was home sick?  Yeah, he’d been up with a croup-like cough for a few nights.

I made an 11:30 appointment to have the pediatrician take a look at him.  The doc had him do a breathing treatment in the office.  They wanted to listen to his lungs before and after the breathing treatment.  Turns out Gus had a 102 degree temp.  Poor baby.  He managed to fall asleep on my shoulder.  He was passed out cold when they came to take his temp.  They had to take it in his armpit.  By the time the nurse brought him some Motrin, I was getting alarmed by how deeply he was passed out.  After using an infant syringe to get the Motrin into him while still sleeping, I had to forcibly wake him to calm my fears.

The doc was concerned that Gus might have pneumonia & sent us for a chest x-ray.

We had to drive to the x-ray joint.  When we walked into the room, Gus stopped dead in his tracks.  He recognized having been there before…to have his broken arm x-rayed last summer.  He started complaining that the x-ray would hurt.  You would not believe the contraption they used to hold him still for the chest x-ray (I tried to find a pic online,  but no luck).  It was like a torture device!

A wooden bench with a bike seat attached – his legs would hang down thru a hole cut in the bench.  Another wooden piece as a backrest.  Oh, it gets better!  Gus had to hold his arms up in the air while a 2 hard clear plastic molded pieces wrapped around his chest – so that the x-ray tech could keep a clear shot of his lungs.

And…since I was not 100% sure whether or not I was pregnant last Friday, I could not stay with him during his lung photo shoot.  Which really didn’t help his disposition.

Anyhoo…after they read the x-ray, it was determined that he did not have pneumonia, but a virul something-or-other.

So let’s recap the exciting Friday:

6:15 to 9:00 Infant undergoes tear duct surgery

11:30 to 2:30 Preschooler lung check

I know my children had crappy days, but I was freaking exhausted with medicalness.

So, Mattson’s tear duct surgery was 100% successful immediately.  He then promptly aquired Gus’s virul whojamawhatsis & has been boogery ever since.  ho hum.

I just wish my children can find some semblance of health before we hop in the car for our road trip to Orlando.

Oh yeah…I have become addicted to pregnancy testing.  Well, in my defense, since having my IUD removed, I have to idea about my own hormonal cycle.  Nothing occurs when I thought it should.  So, I’ve been alternating pregnancy and ovulation tests. 

This morning my body let me know I was off-track.  It’s official, I’ve had visual confirmation that I am not preggers.

That’s ok.  I knew it would take a few months for my cycle to figure itself out.  We weren’t really trying to be pregnant right away (b/c I’m not sure I want to be pregnant while we are trying to move to a new house).  So, now I can start saving my egg money (no pun intended) for next month’s round of preg & ovulation tests!

5 Things That Make Me Happy:

1. Mattson’s lack of eye goo.
2. Gus’s lack of lung goo.  
3. Baby Girl’s lovely summer haircut.
4. My beautiful children and my darling husband
5. I am so ready for a vacation!