Will has had an exciting couple of weeks and there are still a few more things to come before it's all over with! Let me start by saying that he, pretty much since birth, has had very bad eczema. I know that a lot of kids have skin allergies and I haven't really wanted to be a drama queen about it, so I've just religiously put Aquaphor all over him after every bath and intermittently throughout the day, hoping that someday, it would just get better. Sometimes he bleeds from the creases behind his knees and arms. He is constantly, I mean CONSTANTLY, scratching somewhere on his body. He scratches so uncontrollably in his sleep that he wakes up with new scratches where his digging has broken the skin!
In January I took both of the boys to the doctor for annual check-ups, and the doctor commented on Will's skin condition. She also noticed that he has gigantic tonsils and adenoids. She asked me if he ever snores to which mama and I both started laughing because he snores like a grown man! After prescribing eczema cream, Allegra, and Nasonex, she decided Will would be better off going to see an ENT.
So, fast-forward to the end of February after taking the above medications for over a month, and off we went to the ENT. After a few minutes, the doctor informed me that his recommendation would be to have Will's tonsils and adenoids removed as well as place tubes in his ears. He also wanted to run a complete allergy screen to see what was causing the skin allergies to be so severe. That meant another trip town to go the the hospital to have lab work run. Will was an angel for the lab techs who drew the blood. He never made a peep and they drew A LOT of blood.
Fast-forward again a week later and I got a call from the ENT to say that Will was allergic to: milk, wheat, nuts, soy, corn, and eggs. My first thought, "Great! Now I'll have to have my own bubble child for the rest of my life!" But, it really isn't that bad. He is most allergic to nuts and that allergy will most likely never go away, but get worse over time. (Hence, the epi-pen that now is my constant companion.) As for the rest, he will probably outgrow most of them by the time he starts school and none of them are so severe that I have to worry about him going into anaphylactic shock because of exposure. I just have to pay pretty close attention to what goes in his mouth to hopefully prevent his eczema from getting worse. We're hopeful that as soon as he gets most of these things out of his system completely, his skin will improve.
The tonsil/adenoidectomy/tubes surgery is scheduled for March 28th in New Bern. He'll have to stay one night in the hospital, but nothing too serious. He's been a little trooper thus far for all of his appointments, so lets hope he does the same for surgery and post-surgery! Luckily I've learned from my families' experiences over the past year or so that a one night stay in the hospital for a routine surgery just isn't a big deal. In fact, as long as we're all alive and kicking, nothing's a big deal, it's all just part of life.
On another note, thanks to all of you who have been thinking about me over the past several weeks. My cold is going away and I am beginning to see light at the end of the first-trimester tunnel! This, too, shall pass! Love, Aly
8 comments:
Bless his little heart! Aly, that picture of Will is just about the cutest thing I've ever seen! I wanna take him as my own, and like Paula said about David Archuleta, hang him from my rear-view mirror! Sending big hugs and kisses from Rolesville. :)
Hey Aly. I know how he feels! My eczema is bad too and I am on allergy shots twice a week. Hopefully he will outgrow some of it. I take an oatmeal bath sometimes and they help a lot! It looks nasty but helps the itching! You can get the packets at a drug store. I am glad you are feeling better. We missed you at the party. Let's get together soon. Love ya, Al
So sorry about ALL the major discoveries as of late. I am just glad you have answers to nearly all of them.
When My Matt was younger he sounded like Darth Vader when he slept. I mean I could hear him breathing at night from my bedroom which was down the hallway. He had trouble swallowing I knew he needed his tonsils out.
I made an appointment with an ENT in our ward, but soon delivered the girls so Rich filled in for me. When the doctor asked Rich the big questions- does he have a hard time sleeping?- no, eating?- no, etc, the doctor just recommended that we have a sleep study done. I said no way!
I waited until I took all the kids home to Utah (the girls were 2 months then) and took him to an ENT in my homeward. After a 2 second peek into his mouth he said the words I needed to hear- yup he had gigantic tonsils and needed his adnoids out too. Poor guy, but it was relief.
The surgery went great, we only stayed in the hosptial for a few hours. If you can believe it he only took pain meds twice and tried to eat Cheetos for dinner the night of the sugery. I was shocked because I thought he'd be out of it for awhile. I hope Will's goes as smoothly.
Sorry about the food allergies. That's a hard one, but at least with your new knowledge can adjust his diet and hopefully that poor fellow can stop itching. That is torture.
Hope you are back to 100% soon after your nasty illness and that your 2nd trimester is a million times better than your first.
One last thing (sorry this is SO long) my parents sat by Kyle's parents at the SF choir concert a few weeks ago. They told me they had a wonderful time catching up. They are such nice people.
Anyway, good luck! We'll be thinking of you on the 28th and will say a little prayer that morning for him. It'll be great!
Will sounds like my little cousin Alec. My aunt Heidi has epi-pens everywhere. Poor little guys!
Hi Aly, I talked to Kyle last night and he told me about Will. It sounds like when it rains it poors. Hopefully Will will feel better soon. I am glad that you are feeling better also. Hearing about Will makes me think of Makylie, the doctor has always has told me that it is just something wrong with the way her skin works. Now I am second guessing him. I should probably have her tested for alergies.
oops ignore the has
Aly, oh man, that stinks about all those allergies! My sister-in-law Kristy (Cody's wife) is allergic to most of those things and has eczema, too, and has her whole life. A couple of her kids have allergies, too, but she has really learned how to cope with it well.
Let me know if you want her email address. I've always been impressed with how she handles the whole thing and the ideas she comes up with for a diet devoid of wheat!
Oh my gosh aly, this is the first
i have heard of this for little Will. Atleast, you have your answers. This makse me a little nervous about Beckham. His skin has gotten so bad this year. He constantly has scabs all over from scratching. Did your doctor say the eczema was a direct effect of the allergies?
Well I hope all is well. I truly missed you at Sunshine. There was way to much drama for me!
Kellie
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