Today Jordan saw the Ear, Nose and Throat specialist, Dr. Afman by a referral from Dr. Burdo-Hartman (pediatric neurodevelopmental specialist). He was looking for any anatomical differences that could be causing her swallowing difficulties. He did a scope that was about the size of spaghetti and went through her nose and down into her throat to see what was going on. He said that from the front her tonsils looked slightly large but nothing to cause him to be concerned. However, when he did the scope, he said that her tonsils are very large in the back and almost touch each other. This could definitely make it more difficult for her to swallow things, but has no impact on the fact that she has a history of aspiration. He recommended that we have her tonsils and adenoids removed. He also wanted to do a scope to see if she had a cleft in her vocal chords which could also have an impact on her swallowing and maybe even cause some aspiration - this type of scope has to be done under anesthesia.
It is amazing how yesterday I was concerned about how I felt helpless and that there was nothing I could do to help her learn to swallow and today the doctor told me that if she was actively involved in feeding therapy, he would not recommend the surgery because of the difficult recovery and the negative impact it could have on her swallowing. I guess God has this whole thing figured out much more than I do and I need to stop feeling like I need to do something and just let Him take care of it all!!
Jordan is scheduled to have surgery on February 22. She will have the scope done and her tonsils and adenoids removed. She will need to stay at DeVos Children's Hospital in intensive care for 24 hours after surgery to monitor her and watch to see that she is not aspirating. The recovery will take about 2 weeks and they said that she will be pretty miserable for most of that time.
Please be praying for us as we prepare for Jordan's surgery as well as the recovery time. Also pray that I am able to let God be in control of Jordan's progress instead of feeling like it is my responsibility. I will continue to do everything I can to help my baby girl, but I need to remember that God is in control and He is caring for her more than I ever can!!
2 comments:
Karrie, Isn't it amazing when you look back on a chain of events and realize that God was in control the whole time! It's so easy for us to forget sometimes, so I think he sends us little reminders every once and a while to show us he knows what he's doing! Isn't it reassuring to know he is in control?!
Amen to everything you shared Karrie. It is always amazing when we can go back to review the process that we are daily being led through. So thankful for each part! Hope your Christmas is very wonderful!
Love you,
Val
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