Wallace and Gromit.

One of Maya's favourite shows is Wallace and Gromit.  It's about a guy (Wallace) and his dog (Gromit) and they get up to all kinds of adventures together.

So when the decision was made for Maya to have grommets, we realised that this was a word she was already familiar with, as the name of the dog Gromit.  What made the whole explanation even more complicated (amusing) was that her doctor's name is Wallis.

Can you imagine the images those words would conjure up in Maya's mind?

Saying "Maya Doctor Wallis is going to put grommets in your ears".

Might be heard as "Maya Wallace is going to put Gromit in your ears".

She'd probably be excited about seeing Wallace and Gromit but unsure about a dog in her ears.

We decided to call the surgeon by his first name and tell her that she was having tubes put in her ears.

Grommets.

Last week Maya had grommets (ear tubes) inserted into her ears, which was performed under general anaesthetic in hospital.  As I said in my previous post, I was worried about the procedure because there are always risks and I knew Maya wouldn't completely understand what was going on.  However, I did try and explain as much as I could because I do believe it helps children prepare.  (I always remember the story of my mother aged six years old being taken to have her 'picture taken'.  She was put in front of a camera then a nurse from behind quickly shoved a gag with ether over her face, which put her to sleep, only to wake later coughing up blood, after her tonsils had been removed.  What a horrible experience that must have been!)

In the end I was surprised how smoothly the whole thing went.  We arrived at hospital at 7am, unable to give Maya breakfast, but she didn't seem to mind.  She knew that her doctor was going to 'fix her ears'.  We waited in a waiting room and read books together.  Then changed into gowns for the procedure.  She was so happy and relaxed.

I was able to go into the operating theatre with her.  At which point they placed a mask over her face, with general anaesthetic so that she would go to sleep.

At that point I looked down at my vulnerable, little girl, with sudden wide, scared eyes, and I realised how trusting she was of me and I felt awful that I was putting her through it.  But I am so glad I was there with her for this part of the procedure.  I was able to rub her belly and whisper how much I loved her and that she was safe.

As soon as she was asleep I was ushered out of the theatre.  It was hard to leave my little girl.  I now had to put my trust in the operating team.

I headed back to the waiting room and the surgeon appeared ten minutes later to tell us how well the procedure had gone and that he had removed a lot of gunk (snot) from her ears.  He went to check on Maya's recovery and ran back to grab Greg and I, where Maya was quite upset.  The nurse was happy for Maya to hop into my arms and after a few moments Maya vomited and then settled.

We were then ushered to recovery two, where Maya was offered breakfast to eat and afterwards we were able to head home.

Maya hasn't shown any signs of distress except for the moments after surgery when she felt nauseous.  It's as though nothing actually happened.  For which I am grateful.  But I do hope we never have to do this or any other procedure again.

Glue ear again.

Throughout last year Maya had numerous colds and repeated ear infections (which I wrote about here, here and here).  Our visit with her ear specialist last year showed that her ears were clear and she had normal hearing, but he wanted her to have regular hearing tests throughout this year.  Then Maya began the year with several colds and another ear infection.  After which I noticed that I was having to repeat a lot of things I said for Maya, but was that just normal toddler behaviour or a sign of a hearing problem?

I had her hearing tested last month and it revealed that she once again had glue ear and a 30% reduction in hearing in both ears.  And grommets were recommended.

Last year I decided to wait and see what happened before trying grommets and during that time I used nasal sprays to help clear her nasal passages.  But with the repeat of glue ear and a worry about her disadvantage in hearing I decided to go ahead with them.

It was an extremely tough decision for me to make, which I've found people generally haven't been sympathetic to.  Immediately they tell me that it is a simple, easy, quick, common procedure.

Yes and it's because it's a simple, easy, quick, common procedure that I am deciding to go ahead with it.  If it was an arduous procedure with high risk of complications for minimal gain, well I wouldn't even be contemplating it and I think people would understand that.

But this is my little girl, whom I love so dearly.  She will have the grommets inserted under general anaesthetic, amongst a host of strangers, in a strange environment, with little or no understanding of what is going on.  While the risks are minimal there are still risks.  And I don't want to put Maya through all that.

Yes I have weighed the pros and cons and decided to go ahead with it, but I am still anxious about it and worry if I have made the right decision for my little girl.