An Ear Update

I have lots to update, but let me start with the biggest thing going on right now. Hollister's EARS!!!

It's always about Hollister's ears!

I can't recall what updates I have shared.

The MRI he had in December showed that the cholesteatoma's had returned in both ears.
Our doctor asked us to seek a second opinion. We did and we didn't care for the second doctor we met.

We tried a third. This time in San Antonio. We are much more comfortable with this doctor.

Hollister was scheduled for surgery during Spring Break, but when we went in, he had a fever and low oxygen, so the surgery was cancelled.

The surgery was then rescheduled for March 25th.

This was the boys before we headed out Monday afternoon. I picked them both up early from school. They are eating their lunch and watching TV while we pack the car.

We went Monday night and stayed through Wednesday. We have found a pretty nice hotel that is close to the doctor's office and the surgery center. The boys really love staying in hotels.

The boys Pappa Benny was able to come from New Mexico for this surgery. I think it made the boys feel like we were on vacation.

We reported at 11am. This is when it is really nice to have those electronic devices. It helps the time pass along faster.

Surgery was scheduled for 1pm. The doctor's first surgery ran late, so ours was late too.

 Pre Op

 The doctor marked a happy face on his right ear to make sure they operated on the correct ear. 

 Hanging out waiting for the doctor and the anesthesiologist to show up. 

 Todd was able to go back with him, but only with the cap on. 

 The surgery started about 2:20ish or so. This was Hamilton's first time to attend a surgery. For the most part, he did well. He slept on the floor for a while, he played and he ran around like a crazy 4 year old. Thankfully, we were the only ones in the waiting room for the majority of the time. He had total reign of the facility and he knew it.

It was the longest surgery to date. It lasted close to five hours, maybe longer. We didn't even see the doctor until after 7pm.

His report was good. The cholesteatoma was on the mastoid like expected and the facial nerve. It had not made its way to the inner ear, which was a major concern.

The doctor removed the prosthetic he had from a previous surgery and did replace it with a new one. Originally, he did not think he would put a new one, but decided it was needed. He also did what is called a canal wall down. This pretty much cleans the ear of everything. (that is the non medical description).
A canal wall down needed to be done on this ear because it is his only hearing ear and this procedure is less likely to effect the inner ear. He has already had a canal wall down on the left ear, which is not a hearing ear anyway. Typically, a canal wall down procedure means that a cholesteatoma is less likely to return, but as we already know, this is not always the case.

This is a pretty aggressive surgery. We are at that point though. This was Hollister's sixth surgery; third on this right ear.

In recovery

Hamilton was more than thrilled to help out after the surgery. At four, he is actually pretty good at driving a wheel chair. 

In the hotel room afterward. At first, getting him to eat or drink was tough. But, eventually he woke up, drank and ate everything in sight. He had a good first night and like most times, very little pain. 

The next morning
I know he doesn't look happy or comfortable, but he was actually in pretty good spirits. 

This bandage is much bigger than his previous surgeries. This came off after 24 hours. 

Currently, the outlook is that Hollister is hearing. He will continue to use his external Baha. If he hears with it, then we know he has hearing. If he doesn't, then we know the hearing is diminishing.
The doctor told us, that he will not need another surgery on this ear. (no guarantees of course) He told us every six months he will have to have his ear cleaned and every year he will have  to be monitored to see if the cholesteatoma has returned. He will have to do this for the rest of his life.

Removing the bandages is always traumatic. You would think they would invent tape that came off without ripping skin.
Inside Hollister's ear are "plugs". They will remain in there until at least Monday when we see the doctor. These are helping with the enlargement of his ear canal. We put ear drops over them three times a day.

 It is then covered with this ear cover called a glasscock. He will wear this for a week. He keeps it on at all times. It will help with swelling and keeping everything safe from germs.

We will take him Monday for a post op check. They will do a hearing test at that time as well.

We will also begin planning the next steps for treatment on his left ear. We know he has an infection in that ear and the cholesteatoma has returned. This is a non hearing ear though, so the urgency is a little different. The infection is of concern, but we are monitoring that pretty closely as well.

This is Hollister today. He had class pictures at school  and didn't want to miss them. The kids were really thrilled to see him. He is quite the trooper.

That's what we know so far! I will keep you posted!

February Round Up

It's March 1st and I didn't blog once in February. BAD BLOGGER! 

Sorry... so here's how our February went down! 

First, we celebrated Trevor! His birthday started our month out just right. 

with the little guys

always being silly

with all the boys

The Super Bowl fell on Trevor's birthday this year, which was a nice treat. The game was not that exciting, but we had fun. We were happy with the Seahawks winning. I think our favorite part was Hamilton's reaction to the National Anthem. Yes,  the National Anthem. It's his favorite song. He calls it the football song. We apparently watch a lot of football and attend a lot of games where he hears it. He is so funny. I am sure when baseball season starts, he will be in heaven! 

I had to trim the videos. The song lasted 2 minutes and 37 seconds. He watched the entire thing. He listened to that Opera singer and LOVED it! He is such a funny kid. I am showing you the first and last part.

February also marked the beginning of Spring sports. The boys are playing both soccer and baseball/T-ball.
This is Hamilton's first attempt at soccer.

This was the boys before their first game last weekend. They are both #5 this year. Their games are at the same time. So, I do Hamilton's and Trevor watches Hollister's. The fields are close, so we can kind of see each of them, but we have to split up.

This was Hamilton after his game. 

Hamilton had his second game last night. It was during baseball practice, so Hamilton and I were on our own. This sums up how he did!   ENJOY!

During the middle of February, Trevor and I took a vacation! We were able to go to Vegas for 4 days. It was really awesome. We don't normally go this time of year, but since some of his family was there, it worked out well. We were able to visit his Dad, step mom, sister and brother in law. He was able to golf for two days, which he of course loved. I did some shopping and just relaxing. We saw two great shows and ate really, really well! It was a great trip and extremely relaxing. The weather was absolutely perfect and the company pretty good too!

Look at the size of that tub! 

Can you say RE-LAX-ING!

Seriously, perfect weather!

Again, perfect days to walk the strip. 

So, it's March. It is definitely roaring in! We have one more week of school and then off for Spring Break.
Our March will be full of sports, sports and of course, more sports.

But first, we will travel to San Antonio for Spring Break for Hollister to have another ear surgery. For those who do not know, we are seeing a third doctor to continue to tackle these pesky cholesteotoma's in Hollister's ears. They are back, and we have to get them out! We have learned that this is something Hollister is going to deal with for his entire life. He will surgery on his right ear, which is his only hearing ear now. The doctor is trying to make sure this disease does not travel into his inner ear. he is being quite the trooper as always. He will miss a few weeks of sports, but he understands. Of course, I will keep you posted.