Burke's a New Man

I am kind of skipping forward to the present. We found out some exciting news two weeks ago that Burke was able to get tubes put in his ears and at the same time he would get his tongue clipped. Many of you know that when Burke was little he had his tongue clipped, but it wasn't clipped very well and has needed to get clipped again. Everyone told me after he got his tongue clipped he would eat a 100% better because he would be able to suck better, but Burke didn't. I thought, maybe I'll give it some time. So, I did and realized that something was still wrong with his tongue and that I ought to go get it checked out again. My Pediatrician sent to me a great Physical Therapist, Pat, and she worked on Burke and gave me some exercises to help his tongue loosen up. His tongue was also tight in the back of his mouth and hadn't released all the way in the back. So, after a day of doing the tongue exercises on Burke, he decided that he didn't like me sticking my finger in his mouth all the time. So, basically the therapy from there on out didn't work. I still thought he needed it clipped again. But as I talked with other doctors, (my pediatrician, and cardiologists) they all said that no doctor would want to do the surgery to get his tongue clipped because of his heart. By now Burke would have to be put under general anesthesia because it is too traumatic to do it otherwise, and the Ped. ENT (Dr. Beck) wouldn't do it unless he was under because he has teeth. After months of talking to other doctors, I finally made an appointment with the doctor who could really tell me if this was possible or not, the Ped. ENT (Dr. Beck who has done ear tubes and tongue clippings for a lot of the Johnson family) to see what she thought about his tongue. It takes months to get in for an appointment with Dr. Beck, so we had to just wait it out.

Along with his tongue being tight, he has had so many ear infections since he was born. Probably 10 or more. He, along with a lot of the Johnson kids, was a prime candidate for ear tubes to help his ears drain better so the infection won't build up behind his ear. Again, all the other doctors kept on telling us that no doctor would want to put tubes in his ears because of his heart. So, we basically would have to wait until after his heart was fixed, and that is still unknown also. So, I finally said, you know what I am going to ask Dr. Beck what can be done with his ears at the appointment regarding his tongue. This is a long explanation, I'm sorry, but this is a great way for me to document my life and Burke's life with a tied tongue and chronic ear infections.

So, two weeks ago we get into Dr. Beck's office and she checks out his tongue and sure enough she didn't clip it all the way the first time. She said that was really rare and that she was sorry they didn't get this figured out the first time. Oh, that would be too easy! So, she said she could just put him under and get it clipped, it would be easy and fast and he would be good to go. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I was so excited. So, then I had her check his ears and sure enough he had a double ear infection, again, (that explains why he hadn't been eating very well lately). She said they could definitely do the surgery and that they could clip his tongue and put tubes in his ears at the same time. I was so thrilled for Burke. He would have a new life, one where he could suck well and finally eat better and he wouldn't get another ear infection!! What a great life huh! The only hang up was that we had to get approval from the cardiologist.

So, finally, after much persuasion and teaching from one doctor to another, our cardiologist gave the okay for Burke to go through with the surgery. We were so excited. While on the other hand, I had mixed emotions because I wished that we had this figured out the first time he got it clipped and that we could've had ear tubes put in sooner. But I guess now, it is all going to work out.

Today, was the big day. We went into the hospital at 6:30am (okay, it was a little later than that, I was running a little late) to check in for surgery. Everything went really well and it took no more than 15 minutes to do everything that needed to be done. It turns out that underneath the tongue (his frenulum sp?, it's called) was so tight and so thick she had to put 4 stitches and said it would be pretty sore for him. Poor little guy. But he did great and was chowing on a popsicle when I came to the post-op area. The moment he saw me he started screaming and crying hysterically. I asked the nurses if he had been like this the whole time, and they said no, "he was great for us, this just started when you walked in." Thanks Burke. I think he just realized that "oh, my mom isn't here, thanks for leaving me mom and now, would you please hold me, because I have no idea who in the world is holding me." He cracks me up.

When we were discharged from the hospital, Burke was really sore and he was so crankie and tired and I just knew if he fell asleep all would be well, including the mama. He finally fell asleep on the way home and has basically slept all day today. This afternoon we both had to get out and get some fresh air so we went over to grandma J's and he was so happy and acted like nothing had happened to him. He and Emma both by evening time were so tired that Burke was put to bed about 7pm and Emma fell asleep to me singing her songs at 7:20pm. She stayed at grandma's all day today and she got worn out. Thank you so much for your help today Jan, I really appreciate it, because I got some sleep while Burke was napping and that makes life a whole lot better when mama is well rested. That was a really long story and I am sorry I don't even have a picture of Burke in the hospital, I totally forgot my camera. So, maybe if I check the pictures and I see a good one, I will post it. We are thrilled Burke will be able to gain some weight by eating better for his next heart surgery which has been postponed until October 14th. That is another long story that I might get into later, until then, testing will be October 14, and tentative surgery on the 16th. Did you notice two postings in one day? I'm very proud.