Sick Babies

For the entire months of November and December, it felt like we all just moved from one sickness to the other. I was as sick as I've been in several years over Thanksgiving. And just when I'd think we were on the mend, something new would strike. 

Last Monday we started in on week two of Christmas break. I blearily made my way into the living room where Zara was hacking up a lung and Adelaide was just an all-around goopy mess and I made the executive decision to strap on my big girl pants and get these kids to a doctor. We'd been miserable long enough. 

I got a same-day sick doctor appointment for that afternoon and even though I was still feeling pretty miserable myself, we all made it through still alive. Zara had bronchitis and an ear infection (right ear) and was given a 10-day dose of amoxicillin. (Zara had been telling me the day before that she kept hearing a sound in her ear which alerted me to the possibility of an infection.)

Adelaide had a rougher time of it. She had pink eye and was given the appropriate drops but the doctor couldn't see her ear canal well enough to determine if she had an ear infection too so she got to endure an ear wash to clean the wax build-up out of her ears. She was not pleased and let everyone know it. But once her ears were clean, the doctor pronounced that her ears were just fine. 

So with our prescriptions in hand, we set off to Kroger to hit up their pharmacy and stock up on foodstuffs for the week. They even got free balloons from the floral counter. (Big hit.) 

Adelaide loves her balloon.

So after a week and a half, I'm happy to say that we're about 90% back to health. (I have a pesky nose that won't clear up.) Adelaide is goop-free and Zara's cough has finally left and I can only assume that her ear infection has healed as well. Thank goodness for doctors and medicine and a week off from school so that we could all get better.

Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss.

I had the doctor repeat those words to me several times today. That sensorineural part kept tripping me up.

And I'm a little hard of hearing these days.

What started out last Sunday as an unpleasant (though somewhat amusing) case of vertigo and a constant ringing in my left ear has led to a diagnosis of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss. Meaning that I have suffered a severe loss of hearing in my left inner ear which may or may not be permanent.

At my initial visit to my family practice doctor last Monday, they cleaned out my ear, predicted that it was just a combination of wax build-up and/or fluid which would clear up on its own and sent me on my way. I had no reason to believe otherwise: I had not experienced any trauma to my ear, had not attended any loud concerts (sadly, it's been WAY too long since my last concert), and don't make a habit of working on loud construction projects. I had no reason to believe that my ringing was anything serious.

But by Thursday, when the ringing was still present and my hearing had not improved, I called my doctor for a follow-up and they recommended that I make an appointment with an ENT (ear, nose, and throat specialist). I called one of their referred doctors on Friday, and was pleased to get an appointment for today (Monday). Having dealt with military doctors for the last few years, getting an appointment so soon still amazes me. With military doctors, you have to make an appointment a month out, at least.

It was a good thing I got in so soon because SSNHL needs to be treated immediately; at least 14 days from the time of the initial hearing loss and within 30 days maximum. Otherwise, the chances of reversing the hearing loss are almost negligible. As it stands now, I have a 50% chance of having any of my hearing return, but I don't think my doctor is very confident that I'll have much return since my audiology test today showed that I've suffered significant damage. (As in, I can't hear a dang thing out of my left ear except for very low decibel sounds. I can't hear any words. I can, however, hear Suyom purring which is oddly comforting.)

The course of action now is to take a tapered dosage of steroids to hopefully ease the swelling in the nerves of my inner ear in the hope that that will prevent the hearing loss from being permanent. In two weeks, I'll visit the ENT and audiologist again to see if there's been any improvement in my hearing and I may have to continue to take more steroids for another two weeks. After that, we just have to wait and see if anything improves, but after a year, it's considered permanent. (And with this type of nerve damage, a hearing aid would be useless.)

So what was the cause? My doctor suspects that my last cold spread a viral infection to my ear which damaged the cochlea. A cold.

As my doctor said, SSNHL is just bad luck.

Bad luck, certainly. But I have the feeling that this was no accident. Whether or not the damage is permanent--and I certainly hope that it is not because being deaf in one ear is not enjoyable at all--I have felt often this week that this happened for a reason and that I have something to learn from this experience.

I just hope that that lesson can be learned in the next few weeks, and not over the rest of my life.

So friends, if you have any extra prayers or good thoughts to spare, send them toward my left ear. It would very much appreciate it.

When it rains, it pours....

It really is true....sometimes when it rains, it pours. Both in good and in less-than-good ways.

It's been a great three months: we got awesome callings which we love, I have the best job in the world (for me), and our toddler just grows cuter and cuter by the nanosecond. In some ways, the blessings have been poured out abundantly and I'm very grateful for that.

But in the last three months, I've also been sick more times than I've been in the last three years. Seriously. I went my whole pregnancy without a single bout of morning sickness or sneeze, and spent the first year of Zara's life enjoying excellent health and was growing rather used it. And then suddenly BAM! Sicknesses galore! I've had:

Cold
Stomach flu/bug
Cold
Headaches
Vertigo/weird ear thing

I mean, what's with vertigo anyway? It's not even a real illness....just a weird "everything is spinning" kinda fun house. So far, I'm not a fan.

It started yesterday at church. We were just about to teach our Sunday School lesson when my left ear decided to shut down or something and all I could hear was a loud ringing. I managed to teach my portion of the lesson (David and I team teach so we split up the lesson) with a constant buzz in my ear. I figured it would eventually go away, but by Relief Society, I was in a full-on dizzy tailspin.

I called our doctor's office first thing in the morning and got an appointment right away. They cleaned out my ear, which had a little bit of build-up, but it's still closed for business. At least the ringing has gone away, but I'm getting a very real glimpse into the life of deafness. I swear, I can see people talking to me, but I honestly can't hear what they are saying to me. I keep telling David to speak louder, and he just says, "Is this what it's going to be like when we're old and decrepit?" but apparently old is relative term when it comes to my body these days. I really hope this is just a short phase and that my ear will "pop" soon. I'd love to hear again.

The vertigo seems to be improving....or maybe I'm just getting more used to the world constantly tilting on its axis? I can't tell. Today was better, but I have a feeling that the only cure for vertigo is time and a lot of rest.

Apparently, my body does not agree with turning 29. I don't even want to imagine what a joyride it's going to take me on when I turn 30.

Until, I guess I'll just try to enjoy the free rollercoaster.