NoJoMo, Samhain, tubes and more

 Well… where to start.

Today is Day 1 of NoJoMo. There is a challenge today but I have other things to write about so I don’t think I will get to the challenge but hey… I’m starting this off right and already getting in my entry for day 1! YAY!

I’m hoping to do at least some of the challenges, I’m sure some days I will have to do the challenge only because November is going to be a busy month.

Samhain was yesterday. I didn’t do a real ritual like I wish that I could but Nicholai was being cranky yesterday, he still isn’t actiing like his normal self. I just did some meditation and said an invocation and that’s about it. Hopefully next year I can do ritual outside and have some supplies. But then again I say that almost every year now don’t I? *sigh* Oh well… I did what I could and that’s what matters.

I got a bunch of notes on my last entry asking about tubes….. so I figured I would just answer in this entry instead of trying to explain it all in notes. Getting tubes is a procedure that doctors will sometimes do when a child has chronic ear infections. Some children get ear infections a lot or have trouble getting rid of ear infections once they get them so a tube is inserted into the ear drum to help the fluid drain better and to equalize the pressure. A small incision is made into the ear drum and the plastic tube is inserted and they usually stay in for 6 months to several years. Chris had tubes 3 different times when he was little but the tubes caused him problems too and he ended up with scarring to his ear drum and some hearing loss. If Nicholai does get tubes it won’t be until after Chris comes home and he, I and Nicholai’s ped weigh all the options. I don’t want him to keep getting ear infections but I’m also nervous about him having an operation because they would have to put him under and that makes me nervous. And there are risks and complications.

• Failure to resolve the ear infections.
• Thickening of the eardrum over time, which affects hearing in a small percentage of patients.
• Persistent perforation after the tube falls out of the eardrum.
• Chronic ear drainage.
• Need for further and more aggressive surgery such as tonsil, adenoid, sinus, or ear surgery.
• Infection
• Hearing loss
• Scarring of the eardrum
• Possible need to keep the ear dry and to use ear plugs
• Foreign body reaction to the tube itself – for example, an allergic reaction to the tube material (rare)

So as you can see…. there are many things that could go wrong or could happen as a result of the tubes. I don’t know what will end up happening but we have to wait and see what happens with this ear infection. Maybe this will be the last and he will get over this one by the time he goes back to his ped. I can hope right?

I only have 3 weeks left until the trip to Jersey. My family is already super excited about us coming up but that is mostly because of Nicholai haha. They all miss him. I’m hoping that he gets his normal personality back before we get there because lately he has been so cranky and clingy and sad. I’m trying to wait ti out, I figure he has been through a lot with the stomach virus and then the fevers and ear infection so I’m hoping thats why his mood is so down. It just worries me to see him so mellow and cranky. But today he has been a little more like himself so I’m hoping it continues to get better. He wants to go outside, he keeps pointing out the window so after he gets up we are going to go outside.

It’s getting cold here. I don’t think it will be higher then 65 all week but I’ve been building his winter wardrobe… he needs more long sleeve onesies and some bodysuits but he is actually doing pretty well with pants right now.

I can’t believe that it’s November already…. couple weeks and we will be 4 months into this deployment!