Tucker's Idea of a Good Time

Not really, but we're trying to make the best of it.

Had to make a trip to the doctor's office yesterday. When Tucker got out of bed Saturday he said "Mom, this is ear is stuffed up. I can't hear out of it." He indicated his right ear and I took a look at it. It wasn't red or hurting, so we decided to just keep an eye on it. He didn't complain much on Sunday. He went to school as usual on Monday.

At 2:00 p.m. on Monday, the school's phone number popped up on my Caller ID. Don't ya just love it when that happens? That knot of dread forms immediately in your gut.

Tucker's ear was starting to hurt. Would I want to bring him some eardrops? I had gotten some drops for pain, just in case, and off to the school I went. He felt like finishing the school day (just another hour) and I came home and called the doc's office. They could work him in at 11 a.m. on Tuesday.

When the doc looked in Tucker's ear yesterday, his first words were "This is horrible" and he called in someone else to look at it. Then they allowed me to look at it with the scope.

I nearly cried.

Doc said he didn't know how he was functioning. It is the worst ear infection he has seen in years. There was pus and blood and the eardrum was so inflamed. He told me to not be surprised if it ruptured and we saw some blood on the pillowcase, but that it would bring him immediate relief and it would heal pretty quickly on its own.

And through it all, Tucker Man was a tough little nut. To this point he had not shed a single tear and had really complained very little.

We headed home, stopping on the way to pick up his four prescriptions. Before we even got to the pharmacy he announced that his other ear was hurting.

I nearly crumbled.

We started with the numbing drops and while they helped the right ear (the really bad one) they didn't touch the pain he was feeling in the left. It continued to worsen until the poor little guy was in agony. I was ready to head to the ER but he begged me to not take him there. I told him we'd wait a short time to see if the pain would subside. All I could do for a while was hold him while he sobbed. Talk about breaking my heart. :( He was even sick to his stomach, plus his asthma is flaring and the doc put him back on neb treatments.

Thanks to much prayer, the pain finally subsided and he was able to rest. Except that he had to take a steroid which wound him too tightly to actually sit still. Add in the albuterol for the breathing treatments and you have a wired 7 year old who doesn't feel well enough to do much but is completely incapable of relaxing. Great.

Today? So far, so good. :) He's adjusting to the meds and hopefully that antibiotic is working its magic. He's also talking my ear off. :)

I need a vacation. Anybody up for a trip to the beach?