I have waited to give an update on Grady's ear/tube situation. The actual procedure went smoothly but the first few days at home were not convincing me that tubes were our cure-all miracle solution to Grady's issues.
We woke up before the sun on Monday morning. Grady was a trooper and never made a peep in the backseat. We got to the surgery center and waited several minutes to be called back to prep. Grady was calm. We were just excited to get this show on the road.
I'm not sure how parents kept hungry/thirsty toddlers happy and contained before technology. Grady only started asking for milk about ten minutes before he went with the doctor, but those were ten long minutes as we tried to distract him and keep him calm.
He headed back to surgery in the nurse's arms and was only away from me for 14 minutes. He woke up MAD but we were able to leave very quickly after he woke. He calmed down and fell asleep in the car. We got home and he chugged a cup of milk and took a long nap.
When he woke up from his nap, I was hoping for some immediate sign that the tubes did the job. I couldn't wait to see him walk or hear him babble or just see him smile more than recent weeks. He woke up happy (should've been my first sign that it was a success, as he hasn't woken up happy in at least a month), and he held up his arms and said "up". The whole word. Not just his usual "uh!" I wasn't convinced but was tentatively happy with the sign that we were headed in the right direction.
I had to remind myself (and be reminded by many loving and helpful family members and friends!) that he was still wobbly from the anesthesia and that he might be overwhelmed by all the new sounds he hadnt heard in months.
So I have to admit that after hearing countless miracle stories about tubes turning kids into "whole new kids", I had high expectations. And I will admit that I was still worried and concerned and disappointed that the tubes might not have been our only battle.
But with each passing hour, Grady's personality came out more and more. It was obvious that this little boy was no longer the sad, whiny, "lazy" little boy who preferred sitting in my lap over playing with a new toy. This little boy was waking up happy again. And that was enough to give me hope that the tubes were our ticket to the old Grady.
The tubes were placed on Monday morning. It is now Friday night and I can officially report that Grady is a tubes success story. He is no longer as wobbly as he was a week ago. He babbles and squeals and yells again. He is trying new sounds and even gave me a few new words.
He said "up" as clear as day (but won't say it anymore!) when he woke up from that first post-tube nap. He said "nana" for banana, which is way better than the usual "baaaah". And while he isn't spitting out new words every day, he is babbling and talking and engaging with people instead of quietly and shyly withdrawing from social situations and immersing himself in a movie.
Two nights ago, he busted out his new "word" while I read him a Christmas book at bedtime. Grady, what does Santa say?
Never mind the fact that we do not focus on Santa at Christmas. The Meatball knows "ho Ho ho!"
The improved eye contact and the fact that we can call his name and get a response? Huge. Forget the fact that this toddler willingly reaches for our hand in a store when we say "hold my hand. Lets go this way." Amazing. And when i yelled across an open park, "Grady! Wanna go on the swings?!" The dude stopped walking away from us, turned around, looked at me, shook his head yes, and the started walking straight to me. Things Grady wouldn't do a week ago because he couldnt hear us and/or was too timid to try to walk around a store on his own because he couldn't hear, or he was too wobbly or nauseas or in pain to want to swing or play or run!
The best part? The dude is HAPPY again. He is back. Our happy, hug-giving, high fiver, who smiles at everyone, waves to strangers, and loooooves wrestling and laughing with his sister is BACK!
And at 15.5 months, he may not have a ton of real words that strangers would understand, but he speaks enough to let us know what he needs or wants, and he is sitting to listen to books a lot longer and pointing at pictures when we ask him to point to the dog/banana/nose/etc.
I'm excited to see and hear all the new sounds and words he will start to make as he hears more and more words everyday. I'm proud of myself for sticking to my guns when I KNEW something wasn't right. I'm happy to be done with ear infections and antibiotics, or at least have better resources and solutions if he does happen to get an infection. I'm grateful for a proactive audiologist and ENT. I can't wait to see how his hearing has improved at his next hearing test at the end of the month. And I'm really looking forward to having a nice chat with his pediatrician who suggested we "just have a grumpy child." 😑
I have NONE of the original concerns that lead me to make an appointment with his pediatrician last week. All thanks to an ENT who took a mama seriously and could tell that this little boy was wobbly for a reason and didn't need to suffer from vertigo, headaches, nausea, and pain anymore. Relief for our happy dude. So blessed!
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