The Running of the Ears

We've never had runny ears around here before. Runny noses? Sure! Runny ears? What?!?

Wednesday, I looked at Nathan and had to look again. "Ewww! What's in your ear? It looks like snot! John! I think we better call the doctor's office!" I had never seen such a thing before.

(I completely understand if you just gagged a little. I'll avoid any further descriptions. There are very good reasons this post has no pictures in it!)

Thursday morning, Micah brings Isaac and Eli over. Micah tells me that Eli has a busted eardrum and is on two medications. I look at Eli's ear and EWWWW! It's the same stuff as Nathan's ear snot! Now I've seen the grossness twice in as many days. Are ear infections contagious?!? I've never heard of such a thing.

John took Nathan to the doctor Thursday afternoon. She thinks the ear drum is perforated. It wasn't possible to see the ear drum with all the gunk in the way. She wrote a prescription for amoxicillin to fight the infection and told us the eardrum would heal on its own. Okay.

So - Holly comes to pick up the boys later and tells me that Eli's ear can't get wet. If water were to get past the eardrum, permanent damage could result. I call John downstairs to ask him what the doctor told him regarding instructions or warnings. Nothing. The doctor did not warn us about possible permanent damage!!! Grrrrrrr. Now I'm upset with the doctor.

After getting the prescription filled for Nathan, we attempt to give him a spoonful of it. At least half of it is spit back out. I have to use my Haiti mission field clinic experience to get him to swallow the medicine. Why didn't the pharmacy flavor this medicine for a child? They don't do that? Now I'm upset with the pharmacy.

Alright, we'll deal it. More spoonfuls were spit out. Medicine mixed in juice was not drunk. Half the chocolate milk with medicine was consumed before it was abandoned and I had to force another 1/2 teaspoon of medicine into Nathan's mouth after which half of that was spit out. A medicated chocolate milkshake was eventually drunk. Success. Sort of.

Meanwhile, Noah started feeling poorly. I knew this when he woke up in the night Friday night... several times. He doesn't usually wake up at night. There was very little sleeping. Saturday, he had a fever and wax was running out of his ear. Aww. Poor little guy.

I stayed home with Noah Sunday morning. We both got some needed rest. After naptime he seemed to feel even worse. We were hoping to get him to the doctor Monday but I didn't want him to have to wait another 24 hours before getting some real relief. We found a 24 hour pharmacy in the phone book so decided it would be worth taking him to the Emergency Room. The doctor there couldn't see Noah's eardrum because of the drainage but he too wrote a prescription for amoxicillin and ibuprofen. This pharmacy flavored the medicine. Hurray! For three dollars more, John took Nathan's prescription over there and had it flavored too. Double Hurray!!

We dosed Noah. I rocked him for just a couple minutes and he went to sleep in his crib with no complaints. He was so very tired.

A couple hours later, I administered the newly flavored prescription to Nathan. He had already fallen asleep so I worked on turning him over and putting the syringe of cherry flavored medicine in his mouth. I squeezed it all in there and I estimate that he probably only spit out 1/4 of it this time. Best of all, he went right back to sleep. Triple Hurray!!!

By the way, Nathan apparently has no idea that he's not feeling well. The boy has not slowed down at all and is in no pain. Thank God for that.

The running of the ears must stop. I'm calling off the races. No more entries please!