Still waiting for next surgical date...

Max is feeling a bit better today.  No fever yet.  He started on antibiotics yesterday after seeing our pediatrician.  I really feel that this is likely just a new viral thing, but he has had a lingering cough (although mild) and congestion for the past several weeks so we chose to treat just to be sure.  It is going to be nearly impossible to keep a 3 year old healthy for the next month.  They seem to pick up every germ that flies by!  He will be out of school that whole time for sure though.  Stomach flu has hit the house this week though and I really hope it leaves quickly! Max has not gotten it but had a huge vomiting episode last night after a coughing fit:-(  I just need to get this surgery on the schedule soon so I can begin planning (again!!).  I will let you know when we know.  We are supposed to call tomorrow and hopefully we will find out!

Fever 103.3 and still smiling:-)

Sickey bug

Well, it's going to be a no-go...

Tonight Max's temperature is 103.3. There is no way they will take him to surgery on Wednesday... Meeting with Dr. Ain in the morning to come up with plan and hopefully schedule for next time. His nurse called me tonight and said that sometimes anesthesia requires that you wait 1 month.Ugh:-(. For some reason, this surgery wasn't meant to happen this week. We'll see what they say in am. We are going to fly home tomorrow afternoon.
Meanwhile, Max just took a bath, got his hair washed and is snug as a bug in a rug watching The Lorax, which is his favorite movie. We have it at home but I just paid $13.99 + tax to rent it in the hotel!!! Ugh! He's happy so I'm happy. He just rolled over to give me a hug and he is SO HOT :-(.
I'll update tomorrow with the new plan.

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Michelle M. Platz M.D.

Trying to upload a video...

Max and the World's Tallest Man

So...surgery or no surgery...that is the question...

Max finally woke up about 10:45 and still felt warm. He was happy and smiley though, but he most always is. We got ready and grabbed some food from downstairs and headed out for a bit to pass the time. He was delightful, but still felt warm and looked a bit under the weather too.
So, we met with anesthesia this afternoon. They took his vitals and , sure enough, he was 100.7. Definitely a fever... His pulse ox was 99% and he still felt warm. We met with an anesthesia physicians assistant who noted the fever and cough and became very obvious that this was not good. He was almost apologetic, saying a fever and cough in a child for an elective surgery is not a good idea I explained that I am a physician and I understand the situation. He did a very thorough exam and went to talk to the attending physician. While he was gone, I texted Eric that the surgery was likely off and to call Dr. Ain's office (our surgeon), to see when the next available surgical date is. We are a bit crunched for time to get this done with all the things going on in the next 6 months. He texted back and said that they talked to Dr Ain and he wants to see Max at 8am tomorrow. By the time the PA came back in, he already knew Eric had called Ain's office (that's pretty quick communication!!). The attending surgeon had wanted Dr. Ain to see Max before any official decision is made. I want to do what is best for Max. If we need to reschedule, we should. So, Eric is either flying in tonight or first thing tomorrow to be here to meet with Dr. Ain. I am going to go buy a thermometer so I can keep track of his temperatures tonight. Hopefully he won't have any more fevers. I will defer to whatever decision anesthesia makes.
Stay tuned. We will know more tomorrow, although if he coughs all night and continues with fevers, it will be an obvious no to surgery.

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Michelle M. Platz M.D.

Why all the posts and details?

So, I have obviously been writing in much detail about our trip so far. I told all our friends and family that I would keep them up to date regarding our trip, surgery and Max's recovery through my blog. It is much easier than texting everyone all the details or repeating the story over and over.
Thanks for reading and thanks for all your well wishes and prayers:-)

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Michelle M. Platz M.D.

Rough night...and we haven't even had surgery!

It's 9:23 am and Max is still asleep. It was a rough night. Our room service took forever to her here (they wrote our room number down wrong when I called so we got it on the house) and Max was bouncing off the walls. We didn't eat till 11pm:-(. When we finally got all tucked in, he was all over the place and didn't fall asleep till after midnight.
He has been fighting a cold for several weeks now. It started with a croupy cough at night only and a yucky nose only if he sneezes. I had him checked by the pediatrician last Monday and we saw our ENT on Thursday. Both said his ears looked great and his lungs were clear. Yesterday though, his cough became more persistent (it had been getting more frequent) and he sounded very hoarse and if he sneezed, you needed a box of kleenexes to mop up the mess! After he finally fell asleep, he started coughing non stop...for about an hour. To the point where he started to vomit. So, we had to get up (at 2am) and get him cleaned up and settled back down. He was so sweet and lovey despite the coughing and the vomiting:-). Then I noticed he felt pretty warm. I was convinced he had a fever:-(. Finally he fell back asleep and I was obsessively putting my hands in him trying to figure out if he did in fact have a fever. That would probably change our plans of surgery this week...I am not convinced he did. Maybe a low grade. We'll see how he is today. After all that coughing at 2am, he hasn't coughed since. He had several episodes where he was very restless and kicking and rolling all around but he fell back asleep. Max is a great sleeper. He may sleep till 11! Needless to say, I hardly slept at all. And like a cruel joke, at 5:58am, when I was actually sleeping, the hotel alarm clock went off...that was super!!
So, I will have to see what anesthesia says today. This is an elective surgery so they may chose not to do it because he gas this viral respiratory infection, especially if he is truly getting fevers (I usually pack thermometers and Tylenol for the kids but I packed really light for our plane trip because Eric can bring the rest when he drives up tomorrow). I can't even think about having to make all the arrangements we have has to make to get here and get this done again...I am not going to think about that... I am staying positive! At the same time though, I don't want them to take him to surgery sick if it is not safe...
Prayers for no more coughing and no fevers would be greatly appreciated:-)
I'll write more later!

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Michelle M. Platz M.D.

Made it to Baltimore!

Well, we made it here. It was an uneventful flight, although a little bumpier than I like at times (I like NO bumps!). Max was a champ. He played games and puzzles on the iPhone and looked out the window. He was happy as a clam the whole flight. This was the first flight he has been on without a car seat. He didn't love the seatbelt, but I think it was because he was being very wiggly! The toughest part was that we got off the plane and had to de-board onto the tarmac and grab our luggage and go back up a flight of stairs back into the airport. Well, I had to carry him and 2 bags down the steps and get a 3rd bag and the stroller and go back up the stairs...this was not going to be easy. I debated my options...take him to the top and leave him and run back down to get the bags (that sounded like a really bad idea!!) or leave him down and carry the bags/stroller up and run back down and get him (equally bad!!). A very nice airline worker must have seen me debating and came over to help me and carried the stroller up for me. It was still a challenge to get the 3 bags and Max up but we made it! (although I was huffing and puffing at the top!).
We finally made it to meet with the car service to take us I the hotel. Another issue. He came bearing the oldest and most unsafe carseat I have ever seen. It would not strap in and moved in all directions after strapped it! Worse than that, the part of the 5 point harness that is supposed to be at the armpit level would not lower and sat directly over his neck. If the driver hit his breaks, it would crush his trachea... I was not putting him in it! The driver even agreed the seat was unacceptable. So, after many calls from the driver and Eric (from home) another driver with a more acceptable (but still not super) carseat came to pick us up. We got in at 8:15p and were not en route to the hotel until 9:40p... Max was a CHAMP!! He sat in his stroller curbside with the iPad and his headphones watching muppets;-).
So, as I write this, it is 10:53 and we are waiting for some room service food. Max is starving and wanted PB&J. If it doesn't get here soon, he will be asleep! We meet with anesthesia tomorrow at 1:30 so we can sleep in (and we will!). That is all we have in the schedule tomorrow.
I'll write more soon! Goodnight!!

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Michelle M. Platz M.D.

HEADED TO BALTIMORE FOR SURGERY.