Last Friday

A week ago Micah had an appointment with Dr. Choe to check his ears and clean out the debris of summer from Micah's ear canal to get him ready for school.  He is an old pro at this, I just sit in the chair and watch the bits of stuff accumulate on the 4" x 4" gauze while Micah chats with Dr. Choe.  It's pretty much like going to the dentist - other than we do this about three times per year.  Micah's ear canals are looking good, everything is where it should be.

  The office staff recognize Micah the minute he comes out of the elevator and are always charmed by him.  All in all, totally worth getting up at the near crack of dawn to make it up to Englewood for an 8:10 am appointment.  We're so lucky to be this close to Dr. Choe's office, I can't image living far away from our atresia surgeon.

Ears. . . . .

Micah and I were in the family room, on the 4th of July, I think because I was sewing and he was finishing dinner, which is more of a process than a meal since he's a dining dawdler.

And while he was contemplating his dinner, he looked up and me and asked, "Mommy, will my ears always be this way?"

Oh, holy hell, really?  Today this comes up?  And what I want from him in the way of details as to why this is on his mind aren't forthcoming.

We've talked about this with him before, around the time he was having the atresia surgeries.  Micah was told that the atresia surgeries were not negotiable because we wanted him to have the best hearing possible.  But the microtia repair surgeries are up to him, and at that time he said, "No more surgeries, I don't want big ears."  He was four at the time.

(And then his father decided that it was finally time to have him circumcised, which will definitely give him something to talk to his future therapist about.  But that's a different story about parents who break promises.)

The issue of microtia has pretty much been way, way off the conversational radar since September 2010, which was when Micah had his last atresia surgery.

So I slapped on my parental verbal tap shoes and offered him a quick recap of the past, and told him that going to the doctor to talk about surgery to create bigger ears is entirely his choice. (I try to avoid the words "normal ears", we talk about big ears and little ears.)

He then asked if the surgery to have ears made that look like Thea's ears could be done in Dr. Choe's office instead of the hospital.  And when he was told that it would be at a hospital and it would also not be Dr. Choe performing the surgery, he would need to see a special doctor called a plastic surgeon.

Micah then said that if it couldn't be done by Dr. Choe in his office, he does not want big ears.

Issue closed, for now.

Spring Cleaning

. . . for Micah's ears.  Yesterday we made another trip up the Turnpike to Englewood to see Dr. Choe.  I must have had a complete mental lapse when I called for the appointment because I took an 8:00 am slot, which is just murder from the get-go:  to get Micah up, fed and dressed on a school day in time to catch the school bus at 8:25 am is a minor feat.  To have him in the same state 90 minutes earlier would require prayer, a lot of talking in a loud voice, some gratuitous tickling and patience in quantities greater than I have at that hour of the morning.

Thankfully the Turnpike cooperated.  The GPS set our arrival at 7:58 am, and we were putting in the parking lot right at that time, and there was parking spots on the open, sunny first level so we didn't need to park in the dark, creepy bowels of the building level.  The appointment was 15 minutes: five minutes of chit-chat, five minutes per ear of Dr. Choe picking out the waxy debris that accumulates in the canals and we were back out at the reception area where Micah could schmooze with the staff.  He is especially proud that he can now see over the reception desk on his own.

Then we made the trip back home, with a small reward trip to Target thrown in, and he signed in at school, got a late pass and trotted off to Mrs. Miller's room by 10:00 am.

Later that day I had to go back to Wicoff to be the helping mom at the Brownie meeting, which was mostly taking pictures and bringing Capri Sun juice pouches since a troop of Juniors came to share their wisdom regarding camping, building fires and how to dress for a camping trip.  The Juniors brought the snack, which was various pretzels and snack cereal so that the Brownies could build a miniature camp fire on their plates and then eat it.  The mother-daughter camping trip is coming up the first weekend in June.  By the mercy of whatever higher power, it will be at the main house of the campground, so we'll have beds and indoor plumbing.  Thea is nervous about the camping trip for whatever reason.  At the meeting yesterday the girls had to put down who they would like to bunk with, putting down three names and with the guarantee that they will room with at least one; I was shocked to see how many put Thea's name down (which is sweet, but they have no idea that she sometimes snores like a water buffalo and talks in her sleep.)

After the Brownies award ceremony (i.e. more patches to sew on), we went to pick up Micah from EDP and then went right back to Wicoff for the End-of-the-Year Celebration.  Multiple bouncy houses and slides, a balloon person, DJ, pizza and ice cream truck.  (Thankfully no evil pony ride lady from the Fall celebration.)  Thea was allowed to run around with her friends, Micah hung out with his friends Charlie and Jeff, running, jumping and balloon sword fighting (after we stood in line for 45 minutes for the balloon lady).

We left as it was getting dark and much cooler and went to KFC for dinner.  Micah fell asleep in the car but revived once he remembered that he had a new Bey Blade waiting for him from the morning trip to Target, and I had picked one out for Thea, so they spent awhile having battles and then watching Phineas & Ferb and Penguins of Madagascar before crashing for the night.

Back to the Winter Routine. . . .

Thea is off at skating lessons - she is in Alpha 2 and is happy as a clam that her friend Jeffrey will also be in the class.  Jeffrey was one class ahead of Thea but he didn't pass Alpha 2.  Micah went along to the rink (he's no fool, he wants the hot cocoa and the french fries without having to do the ice time to earn them).

The decorations and lights came off the Christmas tree, so this afternoon we'll see if the tree bag helps contain the mess or whether needles will be vacuumed up for the next six months or so.  It was a great tree, so the job of tree selection is Thea's.

Yesterday Thea's Brownie troop had an awards ceremony to give the girls the Try-Its and patches they'd earned over the past four months.  Thea had nine, so rather than hand-stitch them, I broke out the sewing machine and sewed them on. (Yes, I do know the badges are allegedly iron-on, but it doesn't last, and why buy 'Patch Attach' adhesive when I have a sewing machine.)  I have one thing to say to those who design the patches to commemorate the events: squares, triangles, and rectangles.  Sewing my way around a little reindeer was a complete pain in the butt.

Micah and I made the trip up the Turnpike to Englewood to see Dr. Choe.  Micah sat patiently while the debris was plucked from his ear canals, went off with Courtney the audiologist to the booth and back in to see Dr. Choe.  The audiogram is about the best result that a person who has had bilateral atresia repair can get: mild conductive hearing loss, meaning Micah is within 10dB of someone with normal hearing.  For his 'pain and suffering', we made a trip to Target.  (There is neither pain nor suffering, I no longer even help hold his head still; he giggles and says it tickles.)

Back to the Same Old Routine . . .

. . .Sundays in the hallway at the Fine Arts building at Rider University.  Both kids' classrooms are on the third floor, so I can just plant myself in the corridor connecting the two halls and set up my laptop, iPad, etc.  Micah was a little nervous about going in, which is unusual for him and he's struggling to throw off his first cold of the year (yes, thank you to the parents of the little beast in Kindergarten Extension who sent their child to school sick).

We finished the second week of school, which means homework is starting and Back-to-School nights have been held.  Because the gym at Wicoff was getting its floor refinished, Kindergarten and 1st grade held their B-to-S night Wednesday, and the following night was for 2nd and 3rd.  Both teachers seem nice and are radiating enthusiasm.  Thea's teacher is just two years out of school, and this is her first class.

Soccer has started, and like Ying Hua, both kids' fields are on opposite side of the complex.  Micah's team only plays for an hour, so it's a drop Thea off, got over to Micah's practice and game then go back to watch the end of Thea's game.  Yesterday I had to work, and we were the snack family for Thea's team, so Thea made sure I was up early and we cut up oranges and put together a cooler with Capri Suns and water, and individual bags of chips, hand wipes and paper towels, loaded it with the soccer gear into Steve's car.  I had already put their uniforms out (depending on whether they are home or away, they wear white or green each week.)

Next week Brownies start off, and I am trying to finish autograph pillows using leftover fabric from the quilt I made for Mrs. Church at the end of last year.  The patchwork pattern Thea and I came up with (which someone has likely created years ago is cute and each pillow has something in common with the others and something unique.

Meanwhile the audiologist at Dr. Choe's office was supposed to send in whatever is needed for Micah to get a BP-100 BAHA from Cochlear.  I got a call from the principal because he wanted to check on it so that the school could order Micah's FM system.   She supposedly has sent the prescription in, but as Micah wears his BAHA on a softband, he's not in Cochlear's registry so when I called Cochlear I spent 30 minutes on hold while someone checked on it, nothing was found and I am still waiting for a call four days later.  It's hard to believe one of Micah's current BAHAs is four years old.

Last night while we were eating pizza and watching episodes of The Penguins of Madagascar, Micah asked why his ears weren't like Thea's, while pointing to his ear canals.  I told him that his ear canals were just like Thea's (I had to move her hair out of the way to show him), it's just that her 'holes' are in front of the cartilage and his are behind.  Which seems to satisfy him, for the moment. 

End of Summer

Just what one wants to do on a Saturday morning is drive to northern NJ for a doctor's appointment (basically any activity other than 'sleeping in' would be the wrong answer), but Micah's appointment to have his ears checked had been moved from the 26th to the 24th and then from the 24th to the 20th.  His ENT was willing to let him go for six months after his April appointment, but I wanted the debris cleaned out of his canals before school started. And I also wanted to talk with the doctor about getting a new BAHA 3.  The unit sits a little closer to his head and supposedly has improved sound quality.

Micah also announced last weekend that he wants a new name, and he decided that this new name will be 'Alex'.  Fortunately he's still answering to Micah most of the time.

Last weekend we went to Maryland to see Oma.  We went to the Amish/Mennonite market, the cemetery to put flowers on my father's grave (his birthday was August 15) and to Watkins Regional Park.  Unfortunately the rain kept the little train from running (a favorite of Micah's), but the carousel was still operating and they played miniature golf.

Sunday we went to the German Gourmet in Falls Church for salami, dilled cucumber salad, brotchen, etc. and then went to visit Christine, Jeff, Elise and Emma.  Micah already has asked to go back to visit Oma so we can go back to visit the cousins again.

This week was the last week of Friends Camp, but the songs are living on, and on, and on - so now we have a repertoire of  two years worth of PFC songs to draw from, and Taio Cruz's Rokstar has found its way into the car's CD player and the Dynamite song has replaced Taylor Swift as the current favorite.

Check, Check

School supplies purchased, bagged, waiting on the floor of the dining room for September 6. Check.

Appointment with Dr. Wexler, the kids' ophthalmologist.  Check.  (Both kids are 20/20, for now no glasses.  Major thankfulness for a colleague who gave me directions to an address the GPS did not acknowledge as existing.)

Appointment with Dr. Vare.  Check.  (Thea is in the 95th percentile for height and weight, Micah is the perfect middle of the road, at 50% in both.  No shots, at least until the influenza vaccine is received and is released for use.)

Appointment with Dr. Choe for the quarterly flossing out of Micah's ear canals rescheduled yet again.  The appointment has been moved from the 26th to the 24th to the 20th.  Just what I want to do, drive to northern New Jersey on a Saturday morning, but having a summer's worth of debris cleared out prior to the start of school is a necessity.

Thea's disappointed that there is only a few more weeks of summer vacation. . . .I'm looking forward to the old routine.  Soccer starts on September 10th, YingHua Language School starts the following day (and Thea is nowhere closer to finishing the green workbook than she was when YHLS ended in early June.)

Rumblings. . . . .

Micah likes to put his head on my stomach ever since he was a toddler.  Today, without his BAHA on, I was laying in bed with my Kindle, trying to read while Micah was working in his summer workbooks.  He leaned over and put his ear against my stomach and said, "I hear the bubbles. . ." and then bounced off the bed and got two of his maracas and asked if it sounded more like the wooden one or the plastic one.  Since I can't put my ear to my own stomach, I had to grab him for a listen and tell him that he sounded more like the plastic maraca.

Pretty amazing, once I thought about it a little.

Kindergarten Countdown

Micah will still have an IEP next year.  What I feared most was that the school district would say he did not meet the eligibility criteria to receive services.  He will attend mainstream, half-day kindergarten (yes, our district is one of those throw-backs to the 1960s) and receive 30 minutes of speech therapy per week aimed at improving speech and articulation.

Meanwhile the class size will increase from around 13 or so in both of his pre-kindergarten classes (which was up from six to nine in his Summit Speech School classes), so there will be more noise and voices to filter out to be able to hear the teacher.

They will also provide an FM system compatible with his BAHA.  Supposedly the principal had already contacted our case manager at Dutch Neck specifically about Micah and the FM system.

Micah will return to the ENT in August to have his ear canals freshly flossed out prior to the start of school and we'll be talking about getting a newer model BAHA for him.  I would like him to have one that sits a little more flush to his head.

We won't find out which of the four kindergarten teachers at Wicoff will have the privilege of teaching Micah.  Same for finding out about whose class Thea will be in.

And just when we thought all hopes for PIACS starting in the 2011-2012 school year an email came in saying that there is still a possibility that the school will open in September.

Auricle Gazing, Musings from Micah

Micah (looking at the TV a close-up, side profile headshots of two guys on 'Royal Pains'):  Mommy, are all people's ears the same size?

Me: No, a lot of people have ears that look about the same, and most people have big ears, but all ears are a little bit different if you look at them closely.  And your ears are just perfect the way they are, but remember how we talked about if one day when you are older, if you wanted big ears, Mommy and Daddy would help find a doctor to do it?

Micah:  No, I don't want big ears.  I don't like going to the hospital.  I like all the people who work at the hospital and help people, but I don't like going to the hospital.

Me:  OK.  Go to sleep, little creep, little creep. Good night.

Micah's Hearing, in his own words

I've been a little bit slack on writing about Micah and his hearing, mostly because not much has been going on.  His next appointment with his ENT surgeon is April 15, and he'll also be seeing the audiologist as well.  He's wearing one BAHA to school, and a lot of the time when he's home he isn't using it.

Yesterday at the Lunar New Year party, our friend Amy went with Micah downstairs to the basement playroom.  Amy is Lucas's mom, the one other boy in the flock of girls.  I was still making trips out to the car to bring  things in, and I'm hobbling thanks to smashing my right fourth toe into the rolling duffel bag while unloading the car Wednesday night at my mother's.

Amy told me that one of the girls asked what was the thing on his headband (his BAHA).  He answered her that when he was born, his ears "weren't wide enough" so he went to the hospital and had surgeries so that he could hear better, but "sometimes I still say 'What?' a lot so I wear this to help me hear."

I am so proud of him, I could not have explained it that well if I were four years old.

Ringing Out/Wringing Out 2010

 Last day of the year, one that I think was a good one for all of us, despite the quantity of whining found here.

(My) Mom finished her chemotherapy on March 15, 2010, and has grown back her hair which has turned more silver and curly.  Now if she's just take the wig and wig stand off of her dresser;  it looks like an aging Peruvian guinea pig.  She is back to being feisty enough to resent the follow up appointments with her oncologist, and one day she may realize that wrestling with unruly hair is better than wrestling with the after effects of chemo (though I give her major props for making chemo look easy.)

We moved to our new house on July 9, 2010, and most of the worst traces of the former owners' horrible decorating choices were eliminated by last week.  (Good-bye ugly brown powder room; old, dated borders around the top of most of the rooms upstairs; the dark,depressing royal blue bedroom with the blood red closet; the ugly green focus wall in the master bathroom, none of you will be missed.)  Thank you to Mike who offered good advice on colors, but also did not question some of my more quirky, Crayola choices.  I should have taken pictures of all the ugliness to regale you with the before and after of the transitions.

The kids had a good summer at their various camps; Micah is still talking about Princeton Friends Camp six months later and is anticipating going back.  Steve learned about the caring for the above-ground swimming pool at the new house, and the cost of the pool chemicals responsible for getting the pool to go from slimy green to blue did not bankrupt us.

We had a good week at Bethany Beach with Oma - our third trip back to a house that Thea and I first stayed at with Oma and Aunt Shannon in 2005 and we re-visited in 2007 just after returning from China with Micah.  This year we were joined by cousins for a night, which was wonderful.  Even if no one remembers the name of the hooker who rented a room from my great aunt (a room she called 'My Blue Heaven' according to my mother.)  The kids discovered boogie boarding and we learned that schlepping all the beach gear is so much easier with the little red wagon the children got from their aunt and uncle for Christmas last year.

Thea is involved with Girl Scouts, recreational soccer and ice skating, and for all that I might complain about missing her Mandarin-immersion school and the fury of the 2010 opening of the Mandarin charter school being thwarted, going to public school has made her more at ease in new social situations.

Micah had his second atresia surgery to construct his left ear canal on March 23, 2010, and a revision of his first surgery on September 28, 2010. We're probably the only parents to schedule surgeries around swimming lessons and pool/beach season, so that keeping him out of water didn't spoil his summer.  Micah's speech and language is on par with his normal hearing peers.  He loves his friends at his two preschools and is the social butterfly of the family.

We have a bottle of Sparkling White Grape Juice chilling in the refrigerator, Chinese take-out, chips and salsa and popcorn waiting.  Thea wants to stay up for the New Year.  Last year she fell asleep at 11:45 pm, this year she just might be awake for the arrival of 2011.

Happy (and healthy) New Year to all.  Thanks to all who have stopped by, and double thanks to those who have left comments along the way.

Micah's Atresia Surgery Follow-Up

Note to self:  No more 9:00am appointments in Englewood, the NJ Turnpike traffic just sucks at around Exit 13/Exit 14.  I have become a lazy suburban slug, and do not cope will with ill-mannered, opportunistic weasels who do not believe in the use of the turn signals.  I hope they all get coal in their stockings.

The first part of the appointment was with the audiologist, Courtney.  Micah likes her, and she gives stickers, so his cooperation was no problem.  Then we had to park in the inside waiting area for his appointment with Dr. Choe.  Since I had two Matchbox cars in the back of the car waiting for the next trip to Englewood, Micah made bridges and garages out of brochures while another patient's spouse grilled me about Micah's ears.  This fairly observant guy noticed Micah's ear canals are behind his ear cartilage instead of in front of them.  Even without benefit of caffeine, I played the part of spokesperson for microtia/atresia because at the end of the story I could say that Micah is a normal four-year old in terms of speech and language and then resume playing Matchbox cars with him.

When Dr. Choe called Micah's name, he shot out of the waiting area and gave the doctor a running knee-level hug.  The report from the audiologist is that Micah still has a mild conductive hearing loss.  Dr. Choe took out the debris from the ear canals.  The right tympanic membrane has healed well and right where it should be.  The hearing loss is likely due to fluid behind the tympanic membrane, and since we're giving him Sudafed, Claritin and Nasonex there isn't much else to be done other than teaching him how to blow his nose.

The twice per week Ciprodex ear drops are finished, other than after going swimming.  Only swimming in chlorinated pools, no ocean or fresh water.  So good thing the pool at the hotel were staying at while in Maryland over the holiday is very, very well chlorinated if our past stays are any indication.

After the visit, Micah picked out a plastic camel from the toy basket (despite other more appealing choices), and we went out to the desk to make the follow up appointment in FOUR months.  We've never gone that long between appointments since just prior to the first surgery in August 2009.  Very good news since it will be April before we need to make the trip again.  Which almost counts as a Christmas present for me.

Went to Target for Micah's reward, standard operating procedure.  Picked up two more birthday party gifts for Micah's friends, Cameron and Max, had pizza with him and then dropped him off at Dutch Neck and made it to work by 1:15 pm.

Full-Day Kindergarten and other updates

Micah was accepted into the Kindergarten at PIACS, the Mandarin-immersion charter school, for the 2011-12 school year.  Full-day, none of this half day, figure out where he will be for before or after.  Now all PIACS needs to do is find where the school will be located to be able to open in the fall.

Soccer ends this week.  I'm supposed to be the one buying donuts and hot chocolate, but I also made up little gift boxes with a raven finger puppet in a little box decorated with a raven/star/soccer theme.  I hope the fact that to use the raven as a puppet one must stick the finger up the raven's rear end will escape the girls' notice, at least until they get home.

Ice skating started last Sunday.  Micah spent most of his time on the ice - as in on his back, on his knees, on his side.  Thea had a lot of down time, too, but by the end she seemed to be getting the hang of it.  One more lesson before the Brownies skating outing on the 22nd.

This Sunday Thea has a test in Chinese school - her class is supposed to be able to recognize and read 118 characters to her teacher.  How the teacher is going to have individual time with all six students individually and still maintain order among the remaining five is going to be interesting.

Micah has his first classmate birthday party on Sunday at BounceU.  Thea's a little bit miffed that she doesn't get t go, surprisingly.

It is parent-teacher conference season.  Last week we had Micah's Beth Chaim conference, tomorrow is Thea's and then next week is the Dutch Neck preschool conference for Micah.

One month until Micah's next appointment with Dr. Choe.  His hearing seems to be doing very well, and his speech is just taking off and no more funky scalp now that we can shampoo his hair.

Homecoming

Today was Micah's first trip to Philly to go to an event at Penn.  This morning Thea had her soccer game.  Another victory for the Ravens, even with three players out.  Next week they play the Blue Jays, against Thea's GoalFest teammate, Lauren - the winning streak may come to an end, because that little girl is a scoring machine.

Thea and I ran home after the game to pick up Micah and unload the muddy soccer gear and then we hit the road.  On the way we practiced saying "Philadelphia" with Micah, so when he saw the skyline he said, "Is THAT Phil-A-del-PHIA?"  He was very excited.

Homecoming events were already underway, so we went to the registration desk.  Many, many thanks go to the woman at the alumni registration who gave us an extra badge and scarf; I had originally thought that I'd just bring Micah, but Thea loved Homecoming last year so she wasn't going to let herself be left behind.

We made our semi-annual pilgrimage to the bookstore, which Micah, a lover of all things retail, really got into before we went to the Food Tent.   The best vegetarian chili, hamburgers, pasta.  Thea was into chili and pasta, Micah was into collecting pom-poms and practicing with the megaphones that were the table decor.

Then, The Button.  It's been a part of every trip to campus since Thea could walk, so now it was time to introduce Micah.  He loved it, promptly jumping to the ground from the highest point.  Twenty minutes later, they were still climbing, sliding, jumping and weaving in and out of the buttonholes.  Thirty minutes later, same.  Finally we made our way through College Green and up to the statue of Ben Franklin sitting on a bench, but no photo for our holiday card came out of it.  Thea wanted nothing to do with Ben, he's right up there with the Terra Cotta Warriors that were around the lower entrance of the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou in her book.  So we moved on to the trolley car at the entrance of the eastbound side of the 37th Street station where they entertained themselves for another 15 minutes.

Throughout this trip we had no spatting, no crabbing, no whining - if the Food Tent had had better chocolate desserts, it would have been a perfect afternoon.

When we got home, Thea wanted to watch a Pokemon DVD and Micah asked her if he could watch, too and 'snuggle with you and be cozy.'  It was just too cute, especially since Thea didn't balk and Micah wanted to stay glued to her.  They both disappeared upstairs with the DVD player and I didn't hear from them for over an hour. 

After dinner Micah and I were upstairs and an NJ Transit train went through with a very low rumble and Micah heard it because he asked, 'Is that a train going by?'  First time he ever acknowledged (to me, at least) hearing a train while he was inside the house.

Good day, all around.

Micah Update

Last week Micah had his four-week post-op follow-up with Dr. Choe.  His right ear is healing well and doing great. He was cleared for immersing his head again, the Ciprodex drops are down to twice per week, and better yet, we don't need to make another pilgrimage up the NJ Turnpike until December 15th.   At that visit, Micah will go into the booth again so the audiologist can check his hearing, both with and without the single BAHA he's still wearing.

Micah is hearing noises like the house creaking in the wind, the sound of water running in the shower upstairs and the softest whispering I can manage.

Meanwhile and far away, Micah seems to be doing well at his schools.  He seems to show a preference for Beth Chaim; just today he asked if he could 'take a break from Dutch Neck', the public school pre-Kindergarten program. 

Surgery Day

Today started at 3 am, an hour before the alarm was due to go off.  Thea had allowed Micah to sleep in her room, on a pallet on the floor because his room is being painted, both must have woken during at the night and (shades of Jet Lag 2007), we all were in the same bed.

The night before the kids went over to Thea's friend's house so both Steve and I could attend the 2nd and 3rd grade back-to-school night at Wicoff.  Kalani's parents must have held an exorcism as part of their evening plans because reports were that both Thea and Micah were very well-behaved.  B-to-S night was a complete disappointment after which the full impact of what we once had in the Mandarin-immersion program hit like a meteor.  (It didn't help that PBS showed "Speaking in Tongues" on language immersion programs and seeing a high school student who had been in Mandarin-immersion for about nine years giving a speech in Chinese and a child from the housing projects in San Francisco who was reading to his mother from his Mandarin textbook after being in an immersion program from kindergarten through 2nd grade.)  Not the best night before surgery.

Micah got scooped out of bed at 5 am, plunked into pajamas and a button up shirt and put in his car seat.  Surprisingly in the dark and without the GPS, it was an easy trip other than Micah treating me to "I don't wAAAAnt to have surgery" every five to ten minutes or so.  When we got the Ambulatory Surgery Center's check-in desk he was almost immediately asking the ladies there, "Where's my bracelet?"   And just as she's done twice previously, Shirley put Micah's ID band on and gave Bunny Bear a band, too.

Since this is our third time there, just about everyone looks familiar, and the nurse who took Micah's vitals remembered him (she may have been the PACU nurse's relief when she went to lunch on the first trip to the recovery area).  The anesthesiologist was new, but she was nice enough to get Micah's previous info from medical record (hard copies, no EMRs there) since the anesthesiologist in March was worried about hyperthermia (no, you wrapped a child who sleeps near naked year round in warm blankets and cooked him).  But Micah was scheduled for 7:45 and Medical Records opens at 8 am.  Helpful. 

After Micah got knocked out and settled on the table, I went back out to the pediatric waiting area which is just a small area carved out from the regular waiting area and fasting patients' waiting area.  Several adult patients and the persons accompanying them attempted to sit there, but Shirley waved them off ("THAT'S the PEEEDIATRIC waiting area, you can't sit there) which as the one person sitting there made me feel like the lone leper.

Two hours spent between Facebook, the EMR from work and the Kindle passed quickly.  There was one call from the ER - and after Shirley called me to the desk for the call she proceeded to attempt to untangle her rather fercociously twisted phone cord which made me want to wrap it a few times around her neck.  Just a call from the surgeon saying the right ear was done and he wanted permission to clean out debris from the left canal while Micah was still under anesthesia.  I'd signed Micah's and my life away in terms of consent already, so the call was unnecessary.

Dr. Choe came out a little bit later and said that he'd revised some scarring behind Micah's ear, drilled the bone to make a wider canal, but the reason for Micah's loss of hearing on the right was that scar tissue that formed pulled the tympanic membrane away from the ossicles and not regrowth of bone.  All of which is good news.

About fifteen minutes later I got to go back to the PACU to see my little guy.  He was cranky.  Each time he has had surgery, a different child has come out of the anesthesia.  First surgery:  irritable, crying Micah.  Second time:  peaceful Popsicle eating boy.  This time: sour, cranky boy with nausea.  He had some ice chips and then two little containers of apple juice, and then complained his belly hurt.  So Bunny Bear and I gave belly rubs, we survived a couple of dry heaves and spits and were on our way getting out of there.  We had total parking karma today, and I brought the umbrella stroller so once all the paperwork was signed, I could just pack him in and wheel him out.

Thus ends another atresia surgery.

On the way home we made the obligatory stop at Target where Micah chose just about the most obnoxious, noisy truck on the shelf.  The nice cashier saw Micah's gauze head wrap and just busted out with "WHAT'S WRONG WITH HIS HEAD?" and since it was a cross-cultural thing, I didn't answer with "NOTHING, WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOUR MANNERS?"  On three hours sleep I was not up for being Little Mrs. Atresia Ambassador.

Then we dropped off our purchases at home and brought in the mail, went to Wicoff  School to see Tesh and Thea, then to Steve's office to say hello, then the farm stand in Lawrenceville for the wonderful corn, back to Princeton to the bank, then to pick up Thea at the after school Chinese program and a last stop at the pharmacy in Plainsboro before going home.  Then while I was shucking the corn, Thea and Micah watered the plants in the front yard, fighting for control of the hose the whole time. 

While Thea was doing her homework in the kitchen, Micah finally fell asleep while snuggling on the sofa with me.  Thea, Steve and I ate the corn while Micah was asleep and I got him up to eat his traditional post-surgery dinner of half-dozen steamed dumplings.

Since Micah's room is in a state of upheaval due to having it painted (bye-bye ugly, nicked up royal blue, bye-bye ugly lighthouse border.), color still undecided though leaning to something in the warm light gold spectrum, so he's with us tonight - and he needs to sleep propped up a little bit by pillows.

Follow up appointment is next Wednesday.

Six Days and Counting Down

Pre-op appointment with Dr. Choe today.  Micah got his ears cleaned out, which I always find fascinating seeing what comes out: right ear practically nothing, left year, a bit of waxy material and a bit of the beach.  Micah giggled through most of the cleaning, and did a fairly good job of remaining still all by himself. 

All systems are go for next Tuesday's surgery.  Pre-op audiogram occurred before the ears got flossed out, so I think that the slight suboptimal performance of the left ear was related to the coating of debris that was in there.

Meanwhile on the drive up to Englewood, Micah is making his case that his hearing is just fine, thank you and he doesn't really need surgery.  Until I told him that no surgery, no trip to Target for his handsome reward.  Brief moment to consider options, and he's fine with the surgery.

Labor Day Weekend

. . . not much a big deal around here.  Since we're in countdown mode for Micah's right ear (scar tissue revision) surgery, I made an appointment for him at Quest for his CBC.  The Jamesburg location was three miles closer than the one in Somerset, so even though it was uncharted territory, proximity won out.

The advantages of having blood drawn on the Saturday of a holiday weekend:  only one other patient at the lab.  We got checked in, Micah's blood was drawn and we were out of there in about fifteen minutes total.  The two phlebotomists were in, out and had the bandaid on Micah before he could say "I don't want a pinch!" (He asked me if this was like a shot and I told him it would be more like a pinch.)  Most of the whining seemed to be more for effect than actual pain.

Secondary gain from going to the Jamesburg Quest, it's nearby the Crate and Barrel Outlet.  I love that place, even just for looking around.

Following the 'pinch,' we had to make the obligatory pilgrimage to Target.  This was made more necessary due to the fact that Bunny Bear went missing earlier this week.  Really missing, not just misplaced and on a day where we made more than half dozen or more stops.  Problem solved by eBay, where there were vendors willing to sell their Bunny Bears for $30 (greedy mercenaries profiting from the suffering of others) to $99 (greedy b*st*rds with unreal expectations as to what a 12-inch polyester bear in a bunny suit is worth). 

There are variations of Bunny Bear on Amazon, but Micah's version is old school: the bear's bunny suit comes off, the newer versions the manufacturer (TY) cheaped out and made the suit part of the body, thus saving them 50 cents worth of fabric and labor costs.  The tale that we spun for Micah was that Bunny Bear went off to get a new bunny suit and would be coming home after he got his new outfit.  Thanks to package tracking from the USPS, I knew that as of Friday, the new Bunny Bear was in New Jersey, and by Saturday morning it was in Plainsboro.  What I didn't know was if it would actually be delivered.

So a decent bribe was needed to cover my  backside if the Postal Service failed me.  He picked out a stuff animal, a golden Labrador, who he named Lucky Bucky.  On the drive home from Target, Micah actually removed his bandage on his own - usually he whines about that almost as much as getting stuck.

His reward was the arrival of a small white plastic envelope which had his Bunny Bear.  The look of excitement and relief on his face was wonderful.  And no more midnight arrivals in our bed with the piteous announcement of "I miss sleeping with my Bunny Bear."

Thea starts school Tuesday; Micah has a short visit to his classroom on Tuesday, but this week is nothing but chaos as far as scheduling.  Micah's morning program at the Congregation Beth Chaim Preschool doesn't start until next week.  We still don't have a solid after school program for him:  the school district offers no aftercare for preschoolers, the Beth Chaim program does not want to take him back after school.  Underlying all of this is how do working parents with preschooler and kindergarteners manage in this throwback to a bygone era school district?

This past week the kids got their school physicals and immunizations, new shoes were purchase, haircuts gotten and school supplies collected.  Another reason to hate this school district:  both kids' teachers had marble composition notebooks on the supply list.  I have hated those things since 1970 when I was in Mrs. Isenock's 5th/6th combination class.  They are miserable for getting them to lay flat to write in them comfortably and I didn't think that they were even manufactured any more (and good riddance!)  Not only are they still made, but they are actually difficult to track down in the greater Princeton-Plainsboro area.

One day closer to the start of school. . . .

Micah Update

Micah is once again able to be in the water, on the water, under the water.  Good news for Micah's summer.

Until September 21, when he will have surgery on his right ear to revise the scar tissue.  Not so good news, but the hearing tests he had at school and the appearance of the tympanic membrane give us two choices:  revision or hearing aid, and since Micah doesn't have a lot of cartilage to support a hearing aid, it would need to be one that sits in the ear canal.

So make a note, our new house's pool will be closing as of September 21. . . .

The surgical coordinator at the ENT's office was totally on her game: we walked out today with all of our forms, a surgery date appointments for a pre-op and one-week post-op appointment.  Back to Englewood Hospital, one more time on the first day of Fall 2010.

Addendum:  Just got the answer to a follow-up question, no additional donor skin needed for the revision surgery.  Yeah!  Micah's left leg graft site has developed a bit of a keloid, so I'm glad that he doesn't need to make another donation and risk another scar.