Wide Eyed Wonder

What a long day...but everything went really well with Ella's ear tube surgery! She went to bed happy and hopefully hearing a lot better.


All smiles playing with Abbie before going in for surgery.

We arrived at St. Peter's hospital bright and early at 6am. The surgery is typically done at an outpatient center, but our doctors (ENT and Endocrinologist) agreed that Ella should be treated at the hospital. She had to have a hydrocortisone shot prior to the surgery. The shot helps her body fight the stress of surgery. It's a precaution we must take due to her hypopititarism. Once the shot was done, she was off to the OR and Jason and I were off to the waiting room. Thankfully the surgery was quick and within 30 minutes we were back with Pnut! The doctor said everything went really well. She was able to drain quite a bit of fluid from both ears. Ella's hearing should improve significantly, she shouldn't have problems with ear infections, and her balance will likely improve.


Sound a sleep on the way home from the hospital.



After a nice morning nap (she was fast asleep before we got in the car), Ella woke up to a whole new world. She was very happy in her crib and well rested when I came in to get her. Throughout the day, she would snap her head around when she heard a new sound. We were sitting outside and a helicopter flew over us....her face was priceless. She looked at me with her big blue eyes as wide and wondrous as I have ever seen.

Those big eyes make my heart melt every day, but today was even better knowing that she was finally feeling better. She is hearing things better already! I was filled with so many emotions all day...anxious over the surgery, happy that everything went well, compassionate throughout the morning for my little patient, and overjoyed by the afternoon at her "new" awareness. We took Tucker for a long walk, decorated our walkway with sidewalk chalk, and of course shared an ice cream. It was capped off by her time with Jason when he got home from work. They read The Poky Little Puppy everyday and Jason couldn't wait to read their book this time. She could always hear us, but it was like being underwater. There were smiles all around and it was truly like she was hearing the words for the first time (no lie, they read this book EVERY day!) It's such a simple thing, but watching them sit together and read the book is one of those moments you want to bottle up and save forever. I am convinced she will be reciting all the words in no time.


Jason and Ella reading The Poky Little Puppy



Kuckerrrrr!



Poor Tucker...he is always so tolerant of Ella!

 For 2 days now all Ella keeps saying is "KUCKERRRR"....it took a bit to figure it out, but now we are pretty sure she is calling the dog (who's name is Tucker!) She shouts KUCKERRRR (drawing out the RRRR) and then butt scoots her way over to him. She loves her dog. She is always trying to kiss him and pet him. She tries to lay on top of him and just a few days ago I caught her sitting on his belly bouncing up and down. Tucker is such a good sport and takes this abuse in stride even though inside Jason and I are pretty sure he hates life!

Ella's new pet name for the pup is pretty cute. I am sure it could be worse given the many different letter she could replace the "T" in Tucker with. It's also pretty significant that Ella is calling for him. This is probably the first time she is using words to get your attention. She says "momma" and "dadda" and will greet you with "hi!" when she sees you, but her speech has been delayed and the words she does say sometimes come out sounding not exactly how they should. Sure this is pretty typical of a toddler to not always repeat things perfectly, but our speech therapist wanted to have Ella's hearing checked out anyway. It's pretty standard to have a hearing test when a child is receiving speech therapy services. I am so glad we took Michelle's advice.

Ella's hearing test came back a little below normal. We met with an ENT to try and find out why. She has only had one ear infection in her 2 years and we know she can hear us (most of the time). It turns out Ella has fluid in her ears that won't drain. The doctor suspects what Ella hears sounds like what we would hear if we were underwater. It's usually more common with kids who have chronic ear infections, but not always. The best news is that it is treatable. Ella is scheduled to have tubes put in her ears on Thursday. It's a relatively routine procedure. The doctor says it should take about 10-15 minutes and the results are pretty instant. She told us that in most cases kids are already hearing better before they even leave the hospital.


Can you hear me now? Ella loves
to pretend to talk on the phone.

Of course there is always a level of anxiety when your child has to have surgery or undergo a medical procedure. Jason and I have been through a few stressful tests and events at this point, and it doesn't ever get easier. However we are so optimistic and excited for Ella to be able to hear us clearly. We can only imagine (and maybe a little nervous) about what will come out of her mouth. Maybe Tucker will actually sound like Tucker...but even if it doesn't, we can live with KUCKERRRR!