Sunday, April 15, 2012

Savannah


This is from the here and now. I know I risk putting this out of order but this serves as our family journal and I don't want to forget this experience.
Savannah has always been a very careful special child. She picks up on things and understands things way beyond her years. On St. Patty's day I painted foot prints on the toilet and tried to pass it off as leprechaun footprints. Keaton fell for it completely. Savannah looked at me, saw a TINY dot of paint on my leg said nothing but pointed at it and shook her head at me. I tell this story just to remember how she looks at details and sees things other kids miss.
This month Savannah has been suffering with her ears again. We were told to do the "drops" and they didn't do anything. After that we tried antibiotics and they also did nothing. The Pediatrician said that there was a HUGE build up of blood on the ear and that she did not have the skill or tools to take it off but that was probably causing the pain. She suggested that I take Annie to the ENT. We made an appointment and waited in pain for the day to come. She woke up every night in pain up to the appt. day. The night before she was up 3 hours. It gave me plenty of time to panic about the appt. The pediatrician said that any other drops would be painful so they would probably have to do some sort of "procedure" to remove the dried blood and Savannah would probably freak. I was worried how I would comfort Savannah and get her through it and take care of Tessa. I thought about who I could call to come take Tessa. I prayed that it would all be fine. I thought of a bunch of ladies and my thoughts kept coming back to Jewel a gal I visit teach. I kept dismissing it thinking she has a new baby too and a lot on her plate so she couldn't help me. The thought came again, "Jewel will be there and it will be fine". We drove up to her appt. the next morning. I was nervous. You can imagine my surprise when Jewel was walking into the building at the same time as me. She had an appt for her son at the same time. We visited in the waiting room and I told her about the thoughts from the night before. You have to know Jewel to know that she is really laid back easy going gal. She put me at ease.
We went into the appointment and the Doctor said we don't have a ton of choices. The blood is causing the pain and we have to get it off. He said we could put hydrogen peroxide in her ears 2x a day for 4 days but the pain is unbelievable and after the first time she would freak when I got near. He said though the only other option would be for him to remove it with his tools. He said it was also very painful and he didn't have many patients that could tolerate it awake. She would have to hold still and that would be near impossible. I asked for a minute to talk to her. I was very calm and peaceful because I knew Jewel was there if I needed her. I put Tess in her stroller and pulled Annie on my lap. I told her I would lay on the procedure table and that she could lay on me. I told her the Doctor had gone to school for a long time to know how to help peoples ears. I told her that she would have to hold perfectly still so the Doctor could help her pain. She looked at me and agreed. I lay down and held her close. The Doctor had 2 nurses come in to hold her down. I told him that would not be necessary but would freak her out. I said she would be fine. I sang to her in her ear and patted her hair. It was unreal she flinched her leg on time. I reminded her to hold still. She didn't move after that, she didn't cry out, she didn't do anything. He removed the first big chunk of blood. He checked his work and he told me he didn't get it all. He was worried she would freak. He had to go back in 3 more times and took an amazing amount of blood out. Each time she held still. The Doctor and the nurse were AMAZED. They had never seen someone so young with such self control (they had never been around my Annie). They had never seen such bravery from someone.
Heavenly Father answers prayers. He knew Annie needed me calm. He was right Jewel was there if I needed her (and what I needed was to keep me calm for Ann). He knows my sweet little girls heart and her bravery. I am thankful that I get to be Annies Mom and I am excited to see who she grows into!

8 comments:

Linda said...

What a sweet heart! You are a great mom!

Deja said...

I love that Annie. She is a remarkable soul.

Deja said...

As are you.

Team Jensen said...

Oh what an amazing girl you have...just like her Mom! Did the procedure help her ears? How did the blood get there...and will it be coming back?

The Firths said...

Very cool story. Way to go Annie!!!

Kim said...

Wow, that's amazing. This story should be in the Friend, Kira. I have the same questions as Team Jensen - how did the blood get there in the first place and will it come back? I'd never heard of this happening before. So glad Jewel was there for you. The Spirit is literally a 'lifesaver'!

belann said...

Makes me cry. So glad you recorded it. Tells so much about you and Savannah.

Kira said...

You know she had a build up of blood both times her ears have been operated on. I think just the wounds don't heal like they should. I think it helped...so far so good :)