Tubes - Part II

   

Molly in her scrubs getting ready to go into her first surgery



Since this is supposed to be a blog about the whole family I thought I would post a quick update on Molly. It seems little Max has had the majority of the issues the last few months, but little Molly has been struggling with her own issues.  We had tubes put in her ears in August of 2010 and the tubes fell out and were removed after Christmas (kids usually grow out of them in 6-12 months) and she has had 3 ear infections since the beginning of 2011.  Molly and I met with the ENT yesterday and we have her scheduled to have another surgery next Tuesday (2/15) to have new tubes put in her ears and to have her adenoids removed.    Ear tubes are used to break the cycle of ear infections, allowing the ears to completely drain and ventilate. The drainage removes any fluid (and bacteria) in the middle ear, and the  ventilation allows the lining of the middle ear to return to normal. The adenoids are lumpy clusters of spongy tissue, they sit high on each side of the throat behind the nose and the roof of the mouth. It is an organ in your immune system used to catch bacteria that you swallow and breathe in, but it is thought that is mostly used to fight infections such as worms or parasites that aren't as common in today's society.   In Molly's case the adenoids have become more dysfunctional and infected and more of a liability than an asset.  

 

Poor Molly has been struggling with fevers and pain that keeps her up at night with all these ear infections. Who knows what kind of bacteria her ears and adenoids are growing, so hopefully by getting this surgery done we will minimize the amount of germs around the house and hopefully get her through the rest of flu season without any more infections.