We've been trying all kinds of meds for allergies and colds, and have not had much success with them. This was and is very dis-heartning to us, and has been a constant source of worry and frustration for David and I.
Her 2nd cast has been greatly delayed do to all of these problems, as I've said so many times before, she's put under for the cast and so NO COLDS are permitted.
Lately I have felt at the end of my rope with her health, it's really felt like "ok, she's just always going to be sick and that's that."
We've tried everything and even kept in her indoors for most of this month, in hopes of staying away from everyone's germs.
Well, this week we have seen several Drs. for Kaitlyn.
1st, we took her to a Pediactric Allergy Specialist, to see what she could be allergic too. She was tested for 7 indoor allergies and they all came back negitive.
The Allergist said that you do not get seasonal allergies in the winter, if you have allergy problems in the winter, it is likely due to indoor allergies (i.e - dust, mold, pets ect.) We were slightly bumbed to hear that she was negitive to all of them, because we were hoping to have an answer to her problem and get it FIXED!
This Dr. said that her runny nose was probably due to cold strains.
I didn't exactly buy that theory, but thanked her anyway.
So, we can now scratch allergies off her list, for now anyway.
2nd, some of you know that Kaitlyn is a very quiet little girl.
expecially when she is near strangers and even family she doesn't see often.
She's just my shy baby and that's just fine.
But we have noticed and some others have noticed that she's a little behind on her speech. Now, she DOES talk....ALOT to David and I and her brother.
She says about 10 words, and babbles ALL the time.
However, a 19 month old should be able to say alot more, point taken.
I am not the type of Mom to be in denial about the fact my baby might be behind in some area's and ignore it and pretend it's not there.
I tackle problems and get them taken care, ASAP.
SO, we took her to a Pediatric Speech Therapist.
She was tested and interacted with for two hours, and I did like the therapist and so did Kaity, they got along great together.
The therapist said that mentally she is on target for her age, she's very smart and very perceptive. A ok there, but her speech (what she is able to say) is
around 14 - 16 months. She said she has a mild delay in speech.
OK, I had to let that really sink into me...honestly I felt like crying...but I know better than to go there....and I know I'm stronger than that..and so is our God.
3rd. no one really knows this, but she failed her hearing test in her left ear, when she was born. They told us that it was not uncommon and to not worry about it.
So we didn't , we have thought all this time that her hearing was just fine.
She follows orders and she DOES say words. So we've never felt the need to get it rechecked. Sooo the speech therapist said it would be a good idea to get that rechecked, just to be sure...her dealy isn't heaing related.
No problem, anything to get to the bottom of all this.
So today, she got her hearing rechecked. The Dr. that did the hearing test said that she seems to be hearing but struggling to know where the sounds are coming from (like to look from side to side to see where the noise is)
So they did a test in her ears to check for pressure and/ or fluid in her ears.
They found a sagnificant amount of fluid and pressure in her ears, and said that because of this, she doesn't hear as well as she should.
People who have fluid and pressure, often have ear pain and hearing loss.
They gave us an example of how she "hears" and it sounds like Charlie Browns teacher in a way (not quite as bad) muffled. I was in shock....I can't believe
she hears like THAT! I had no idea and I wish I would have rechecked her hearing sooner. But, we just did not see a problem.
They said that her mild speech delay is caused by the way she hears,
bc of all that darn fluid and pressure from the fluid.
They said it would be in her best interest to get tubes put in her ears to take the fluid from her ears. And that once we did that her speech would quickly improve and we probably would have a chatter box on our hands.
I can't even express how relieved I felt after hearing this, NOT that I'm happy that the poor girl has fluid and pressure in her ears, but that's why the poor girl doesn't talk as much as a 19month old. She's NOT slow...or anything like that.
She's as smart as a whip!
Kait's Daddy also had to put tubes in his ears as a child, this is a very common procedure. She will have this done on Fedruary 8th.
Whew...so the 3rd Dr. we saw was a Ear, Nose and Throat specialist.
I didnt' think about going there to check out all this nasel drainage.
Bc I was so sure she had allergies. Not the case.
The Dr. checked everything, and said her throat was good and her ears had no current infection (but, they def. would be soon..without the tubes)
and she does not have a cold right now. PRAISE THE LORD!
She checked what you call her adnoids to see if they were enlarged...
if they were they could cause constant nasel drainage.
She said they were slighly enlarged, and said she has rhinitus...something that can make your nose run alot..without having a cold.
It's been exhausting on all of us, seeing so many different Drs. this week,
but it was nessasary for our Kait. I will move Heaven and Earth if I can for my babies and their health. I don't care how many Drs. I have to see.
But, we were blessed by God to see some really good specialists and get to the bottom of some things. I feel that God has lead us to all of them.
1. She does not have allergies or constant colds, she just has rhinitus (and she will take flonaise spray once a day for it.)
2. She has fluid and pressure build up in her ears and that explains the mild speech delay. (she is getting tubes put in and that will help with those things)
3. I feel confident that she will have her cast put on again soon and right now she is healthy, aside from her fluid build up.
Just keep her in your prayers. The 2nd cast won't be fun and neither will tubes in her ears be a fun ride. But God has her in His hands and she's the toughest little girl I have ever known. This baby deserves a gold medal in bravery and strength.
Nothing gets her down!
And this Mama is here to fight for her :)