Blah

Well, that was a nice buzz kill, and a great way to spend $7.50 in parking. The ENT looked at Ellie's ears, they're still flatlining on the typanogram, so "we have another data point for hearing loss". He wouldn't scope her, because he wants to wait for her follow up with respirology and the sleep study in August. He looked at her tonsils, they're a 1 on a scale of 1-4. They're tiny. There's nothing worth removing.

So, we have to go back to see him for another one of these ever so pleasant visits in a month from now, so we can yet again see that Ellie's eardrums don't move, and so they can decide what they're going to do with her. He said we should gesture with her a lot, and accentuate and enunciate when we speak, until then. They don't want to do any further investigations until they can do so in the OR, and that all depends on what happens in August. Apparently, they need to sedate her (likely intubate her, too) so that they can properly assess the state of her ears. If, while they're in there, they see that the issue is fluid related, then they'll put tubes in. If not, then they'll know that she doesn't need them, and it's a more permanent type of hearing loss.

Ah, the heat is messing with my brain's capacity to spill thoughts clearly.

In August, she is going in for her little holiday, at her home away from home. If the polysomnograph (sleep study) shows that she's still experiencing apnea spells - which she is - they will decide if we can stay the course with just bipap, or if they need to intervene with a tracheostomy. Dr. Dee thought maybe if we could take out tonsils and adenoids, that might resolve some of the issue, but Dr. ENT seems to think that wouldn't help at all, and that she just has a small and weak airway. He would be the doctor that would put in the trach, so we know we will be seeing him in August as part of her planning stay anyway.


Blah.

It doesn't help that DH is so blasé about everything. He witnessed her desat to 70 two nights ago, he sat there watching it happen, and today couldn't remember that it happened, making me feel like I'm losing my marbles. He told me "well, she is getting stronger, she doesn't hardly desat at all anymore". ARGH.