You obviously don't know Ryan

Yesterday morning we left the house at about 9:00 am to make the 20-30 minutes trip up to Ohio to visit the ear, nose and throat specialist, Dr. Charles Myer. Once we got to Children's, Ryan had a feeling something bad was going to happen. Don't you hate that?? These kids just see a hospital or doctor's office and know something is up and they know they don't like it. We walked over to the C building and got on the elevator and went to the 2nd floor. Cardiology is on the 4th floor so it was a nice break to hit the "2" button on the elevator wall. Ryan was being very friendly to everyone on the elevator, as usual. She said Hi to everyone and then talked about the doctor that was going to "get my ears." HAHA. She hears what she wants to hear, because I told her the doctor was just going to look in them....not get them. :)

Once we got to Otalaryngology, the wait wasn't that bad but Ryan got nervous when her name was called. The nurse said she would give Ryan a sticker if she walked back like a big girl....so Ryan started running really fast to get to them. Once in the back, the nurse asked me several questions about Ryan....you know, the normal routine things. Dr. Myer came in and said he needed to LOOK in Ryan's ears. He also asked me a few questions, and then came the time to hold her down. She FLIPS OUT anytime anybody tries to look in her ears so I knew it was coming. I sat in the chair with Ryan in my lap facing away from me. I had to literally wrap my legs around hers, and then bear hug her from behind to hold her arms down. Dr. Myer held her head to look in her ears, and with all of that, Ryan still wiggled free!!! She's SO STRONG!!! It really amazes me how physically strong she is. Once we were done with wrestling the beast, the doctor told me what the deal is with Ry.

showing her HUGE muscles!!

Dr. Myer filled me in that Ryan's ears are both severly infected. His exact words to me were "after 35 days of 4 different medications, I cannot believe how bad her ears look." GREAT.....so what can we do about it?!?!?! When she had her last infection like this back in May, he said all of the fluid probably didn't clear up completely. Meaning, she has most likely had a minor infection in both ears for almost a year. He said he's surprised she can hear anything that anybody tells her. OH NO!!! At this point, I was highly concerned about the future of her hearing. Dr. Myer assured me that he feels very strongly that she will have no long term damage to her hearing. We will not know for sure until she gets another hearing test, which will not be until after her tubes are placed, and then fall out, which can be around 6-12 months. Ryan's peds office typically refer's patients that need tubes to the Head and Neck Associates in Ky, but with Ryan's heart issues, I always feel more comfortable if she is seen at the hospital because they have her records and know everything going on with her. Dr. Myer told me I made the best decision with that, because the Head and Neck Associates wouldn't have touched her due to her "cardiac status." POINT FOR MOMMY!!! haha. I know that when she is at the hospital, she is in good hands. I really do trust all of their staff. They are all amazing people.

Surgery info is as follows. Ryan is scheduled for the surgery this Friday at 4:30 pm. We have to arrive at CCHMC at 3:00 pm. I'm sure most of you know the food/drink regulations that go with anesthesia. NOTHING to eat or drink AT ALL for 4 hours prior to surgery, and for the 4 hours before that, ONLY clear liquids. She can have jell-o, applesauce and popsicles. Those are the only semi-solid foods. I didn't really have a choice as far as surgery date and time. It was either take the appointment this Friday at 4:30 or wait a month....which the doctor STRONGLY advised NOT to do. The nurses and Dr. Myer both assured me that Ryan would be fine, just let her eat as much of those things as she wants so she gets nice and full since she will have to go 4 hours without anything. Really?? You think she'll be fine?? YOU OBVIOUSLY DON'T KNOW RYAN!!! :) Ryan is the queen of eating. SERIOUSLY. She really doesn't eat near as much as she used to, but for her to not eat or drink for 4 hours is going to be TERRIBLE. I'm hoping I can get her to take a nice long nap so at least we will have some time where she won't care about her throat being dry or tummy being empty. UGH!!! The procedure itself, only takes about 15-20 minutes. Before they make the incisions in her ear drums, they are going to vacuum out the infected fluid that has been taking up residence in Ryan's ears for so long. Once that is done, surgery will begin. After she wakes up, we will remain at the hospital for about another hour or so. When Ryan was given the "gas" for her cardiac cath, she had a hard time waking up from the anesthesia and they said it will probably be the same this time around. She is not given the "gas" for her echo's, that is something different. Her discharge time from the hospital really depends on how well she wakes up. We will be there until at least 6 pm. It's going to be a L-O-N-G day!!

UPDATE: I just received 2 calls within 20 minutes of eachother from the hospital. Both to tell me that there have been cancellations on the surgery schedule. Ryan's surgery has now been pushed up to 11:45 am!!!! This is amazing news. Now, she will not have to wait as long to eat or drink which is great for all of us. Maybe they will call me tomorrow to make it even earlier!! HA.

Such a beautiful princess!!! (don't mind the messy hair :)

I have an idea that I would like everyone to do. We always are telling the stories of our kids being at the hospital, so I'm curious to know what your child's hospital looks like. I was not able to find an actual photo of the entire hospital online that we have here, but I found sort of a blue print photo. I will try to remember to take a picture Friday. The picture below is an overview of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) or as us "locals" say....."Children's Hospital."

Our hospital is divided into concourses. Sort of like an airport. The main concourses where the different divisions are, are labeled as A, B, C, and D. Ryan's consultation yesterday was on C2 (concourse C, 2nd floor.) Her surgery will be on B3. Cardiology clinic is on C4 but her cardiac cath was done on A4. It can be a bit confusing, but once your there all the time like us, you get it down pretty quick. On your next update, include a picture of your hospital. I'm interested in seeing how different they look since we all live in such different areas. Next time, I will also try to include some pics of our town. Do the same, that way we can see the area where eachother lives.

Please say prayers for Ryan's surgery on Friday. Although it's nothing major, it is always a concern when she is sedated, especially with gas. Also, continue to pray for Logan Jacks and Derrick Carter. Thanks for all the support!!!

Logan's page: www.whenlifehandsyouabrokenheart.blogspot.com

Derrick's page: www.carolinacarters.blogspot.com