Our Baby Patient

We Hornes wouldn’t want things to get dull around here. It is not enough to buy a house, list another for sale, and keep it pristinely neat ALL THE TIME, run between both houses to meet workers of all types and sorts, spend countless hours on projects for the new place (which, have we mentioned, needs LOTS of love?!), prepare for our move at the end of the week, begin Nutcracker rehearsals, and keep up with all the “regular” things around here. No, this week we decided to add in surgery for Baby Josiah. It was this morning.

Josiah has suffered 9 ear infections since December, and after many attempts to curb these infections with every antibiotic known to pediatricians, as well as some alternative methods of treatment, we’ve had no success in putting an end to them. Finally we saw an ENT who prescribed tubes with no hesitation.

Though I’d hated the thought of tubes and the surgery (with general anesthesia) that goes with them, we became quite convinced this was the appropriate thing to do for our poor baby. His naps and nighttime sleep have been disrupted since March as he battles ear pain and increased pressure when he lays down. He’s as cheerful a baby as we’ve had by day, but at night he lets us know things are not going well.

He was so sweet all through the process this morning, and in between charming all the lovely nurses with his dimples and playing happily in his hospital crib, he modeled his little blue surgery gown for the camera. Isn’t he cute?!?!

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He didn’t even cry when his anesthesiologist picked him up to carry him back for the procedure, though I must admit I certainly wanted to shed a few tears! After coming out of the anesthesia he was not happy at all, but some cuddling and feeding from Mommy seemed to comfort him.

We were home by 8:45am, and he was down for a good nap by 10am. I hope and pray his sleep will be more peaceful, and his ears healthier from here on out. How very thankful I am today for such good compassionate medical care for our baby boy.

4 Replies to “Our Baby Patient”

  1. Wow! That sounds rough, especially on top of the water heater exploding. It’s always easier, though, with an easygoing patient =]

    Congrats on the new house!

  2. Glad to hear that Josiah came throught the surgery well. We’ll pray that tubes are the answer for his problems as they were for Nevin. An early (by a day or two, I think) birthday to Josiah. Some form of birthday greetings will be coming your way soon from the STL Hornes.

  3. The absolute worst thing about my old job was watching an infant or toddler going to or coming from surgery; I grew to hate those cribs they wheel around the OR, but it looks like Josiah didn’t mind his too much.

    Congrats on the successful procedure. We hope this gives the whole Horne family improved sleep and overall functionality.

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