Tonsils and Adenoids

At Ainsley's 3 year check up, I asked the doctor again about her swallowing issues.  Ainsley has always had problems swallowing/choking/gagging.  We had a swallow study done on her a few years ago and at that time was said to have mild dysphagia.  The SLP told us then that we may need to see an ENT, but we never did.  We thickened Ainsley's milk and juice for a few months, and she seemed to be doing better.  She's always had a harder time drinking juice, and it can still be rough on her.  It's almost like she chokes on it.  She'll start drinking it and then start coughing to the point of throwing up. 

She also "chokes" on her spit while she's sleeping.  She's always done this, and I've had to clean up vomit from her car seat too many times to count because she would fall asleep, start coughing, and then throw up.  It has seemed to get better as the years go on, but it still happens.  She's also started snoring while sleeping.  The snoring can get so loud that it wakes me up in the night. 

After telling the pediatrician these things again, she thought seeing an ENT would be a good choice, and we set up an appointment with him in early March.  As soon as the ENT looked in Ainsley's mouth, he immediately said:  "Oh, yeah, she's got monsters."  He was talking about her tonsils.

He said with her past medical history, he would highly recommend having them removed.  He also recommended having her adenoids removed.  So, we're scheduled to have her tonsils and adenoids removed this coming Monday.  The surgery will be at St. John's because she has to stay overnight.  To say I'm not looking forward to it is putting it lightly.  Not only am I scared to death that my little girl is having surgery, but I'm also not looking forward to staying overnight in the hospital with her (even though that's best) and fighting with her the morning of surgery because she can't have anything to eat or drink.

Dr. Joos (the ENT) does surgeries that morning at Memorial and then surgeries at St. John's in the afternoon.  Ainsley will be first for surgery at St. John's that day, but the earliest it will start is 12:30, and she can't have anything to eat or drink after midnight the night before.  They did finally say she could have clear liquid up to 6 hours before surgery, but that's not really going to help.  Dr. Joos explained that all kids under the age of 4 have to stay overnight, and since Ainsley just turned 3, she definitely has to stay. 

We're hoping this surgery will help her swallowing, speech, snoring, and sleeping.  Dr. Joos said there could still be an underlying factor that we can't see that's contributing to her swallowing issues, but he thinks we have a good chance of fixing the issue with this surgery. 

Joel had big tonsils and adenoids when he was little also, and had to have them removed, so we were wondering if that was the issue.  I'm just hoping Lily doesn't take after her Dad and big sister!

Ainsley's also been going to physical therapy for a month and a half now.  We go once a week for 45 minutes.  She enjoys going, and usually cries when her session is over.  They have all kinds of cool toys and things to use.  The physical therapist told Joel last week that she is seeing some improvement, which was nice to hear.  Joel has taken Ainsley the last two weeks to physical therapy, and the first time he took her, Ainsley embarrassed her Daddy just a little bit!  I just had to laugh, because it serves him right!  Joel said Ainsley was standing on a rocker thing they use for her while doing a puzzle, when she farted.  He ignored it, because he said she just kept on doing her puzzle.  Then, she turned around with a big smile and said: "Daddy, I farted!"  Of course, the physical therapist heard it too, and ignored it.  I'm so glad he's finally getting paid back for all the times I've had to deal with his horrible gas problem!

We're headed to a podiatrist in a few weeks with the recommendation of the physical therapist about possible orthodic shoes or inserts for Ainsley.  I searched everywhere for "better" tennis shoes for Ainsley that doesn't flex in the mid sole, but they are pretty much non-existent.  I can get them in the pre-school size, but she's still in what are considered toddler size.  I'm anxious to see what they recommend, and even more anxious for this problem to be corrected!