To the hospital again…

No, not Joshua again….it’s Sammy’s turn. And hopefully stops there.

Sammy had an appointment yesterday with a pediatric ENT specialist. The background is this: Sammy, just before his 2nd birthday, had something like a 12-word vocabulary…not great, but not bad for a boy. Around his 2nd birthday, it dropped off, almost suddenly, and he began having difficulty communicating, and would get very frustrated, and a few times so frustrated he would get angry and try to hurt us. Anyone who knows Sammy would know how out-of-character this is for him–he’s a calm, sensitive, loving little boy.

So after lots of doctor visits, he is diagnosed with speech apraxia. He’s been through allergy testings, ongoing speech therapy, a special preschool, and has made significant progress, even beyond the scope of the treatment plans. He’s caught up or surpassed all goals.

But yesterday’s appointment concluded that he has fluid buildup behind his eardrum and some hearing loss–most likely because of that buildup. (Some fairly comprehensive info here.) He hasn’t had issues with ear infections, but there is very good reason to believe that this may be a major contributor to his speech issues.

As it turns out, the ENT had a cancellation, and Sammy is now occupying that time on Monday morning for surgery. He’ll be going under general anesthesia and having surgery to have tubes put in his ears. Is a fairly routine procedure, but because it is general anesthesia, and because JoAnn has Joshua to contend with (and may require nursing, etc) and Mika (who may be sensitive to this), I’ll be there so that one of us can be with him throughout.

We’ve begun prepping him for what’s going to happen, and the very real possibility he may hear much better and be able to talk better…but also that things may be much louder at first. He’s a brave little boy and is actually pretty excited about it.

No, not Joshua again….it’s Sammy’s turn. And hopefully stops there. Sammy had an appointment yesterday with a pediatric ENT specialist. The background is this: Sammy, just before his 2nd birthday, had something like a 12-word vocabulary…not great, but not bad for a boy. Around his 2nd birthday, it dropped off, almost suddenly, and he began…