Caroline

This is probably one of the toughest posts to write, but we have SO much love from family and friends and I know so many people love and care about Caroline so much that they would want to know to pray for her.  I don't like to be someone that always seems to have a problem and always seems to be negative, so for some people it may seemed as if I have dropped off of the face of the Earth this summer.  I apologize for that and hope you understand it has just been in an effort to focus on Caroline and take one day at a time!  We are SO blessed and many many families deal with much tougher things with their children and each day I try to be conscious of that fact and thankful for it!

The last month and a half one has been a tough one for our sweet big girl!  Through it all she has kept her sweet sense of humor and her strong personality!  She is such a blessing each and every day!  Even when she makes me crazy, she makes me laugh!  Caroline had her tonsils out on June 24th.  We had originally planned to do the surgery toward the end of July, but she had an ear that we could not get uninfected and could not stay off of antibiotics for strep for longer than two weeks.  The surgery went well.  The recovery was rough only because the pain meds she was given made her a lunatic!  She was VERY angry and NEVER slept!  In the beginning it was a little funny because we had never seen her rage like that, but after awhile it became exhausting!  She finally got past the worst of the pain and went on to recover very well!  She hasn't had any ear infections or strep since the surgery!  Thank you God!  Hopefully this is the end of dealing with all of this sickness for her!

About three weeks after her surgery, Caroline came down with a bladder infection.  The pedi sent cultures off and called us a few days later with the results.  Luckily, by the time we got the call from the pedi, the antibiotics had done their job and Caroline was feeling MUCH better!  The doctor was concerned because the bacteria they found in the culture was not the normal one they see in bladder infections in kids.  This finding in addition to the fact that she has been on antibiotics SO much lately from all of the strep and ear issues led her to worry that we could have been missing bladder infections for several months now because the antibiotics she was on would have been treating them as well.  She recommended we do two different tests on her kidneys - an ultrasound and a VCUG which she would have to be put to sleep for.  Considering Caroline's less than joyful wake-ups from anesthesia, I really questioned the doctor about the necessity of the testing, but eventually agreed that it was the right thing to do.  The tests were scheduled for late the next week.

While we were waiting to have the kidney testing, it was time for Caroline's follow up with the ENT after her surgery.  I expected a 15 minute appointment to peek in her mouth and ears and we would be done.  I was wrong.  The first part of the appointment was a hearing test.  I was actually excited about this because we had never been able to do one with uninfected ears, so I was convinced that her ears were clear and we would pass with flying colors!  I was wrong again.  It was very obvious not long into the testing that Caroline was NOT passing this test.  We finished the testing and met with the doctor.  He was very happy with Caroline's participation in the testing and happy that she gave very reliable information, but he did not have good news regarding her hearing.  She has mild hearing loss in her right ear and moderate hearing loss in her left ear.  He believes this is not a result of all of her ear infections and is nerve damage that has always been there and is permanent.  We will recheck her hearing in three months (October) to determine if this is where her hearing will stay or if it is degenerating.  If it is degenerating, that is very bad news.  It means we will have to do a lot more testing like MRIs and genetic testing to find out what is causing the hearing loss.  Of course I have googled all of the things that can cause this and none of them are good or fun to read about.  The good news is that the doctor thinks this is unlikely and we are now seeing what we are dealing with as far as her hearing goes.  I will be constantly power praying he is right until we get the new results in October!  If her hearing stays the same, we will begin fitting her for hearing aides in October.  I have done some reading and apparently it is quite a transition into hearing aides for young children, but I feel so blessed that this technology exists to help Caroline!  I hate for Caroline to have to deal with this, but I know SO many other families have to deal with much more severe medical issues, so I have vowed to approach this with positivity and humor!

After digesting this bit of news, I was more anxious about the kidney testing than ever.  During my google search on hearing loss, several of the genetic syndromes also mentioned kidney issues with the hearing loss, so I was SO nervous to get the results of these tests.  The day went fairly well!  Caroline and I practiced with Lilah's breathing treatment mask so that she wouldn't be scared of the anesthesia mask and it actually seemed to work!  We were able to get through the anesthesia without any extra "relaxation" medicine (I did offer to take it for her since she didn't need it, but they said no!) !  I knew I should have gone for my dream job as a Child Life Specialist instead of Kindergarten teacher!  Ha!  The ladies performing the test were wonderful with Caroline and let us know to expect a call from our doctor with all normal results!  YAY!  Caroline's wake up was eventful as usual!  She screamed and raged until they let her out of the recovery room and into the playroom to play games.  Then she screamed and raged until they let her into another playroom to play with the toy kitchen.  Her screaming was so loud they people were opening doors to treatment rooms to see what was going on in the hall!  Yep!  That's my kid!  They quickly decided it was time for Caroline to head home!  I bet they were happy to see us go!  Thankfully my parents were able to be off that day, so we headed to there house so I would have some help with the babies and Crazycakes!  After about two hours and some lunch she calmed down and was the Caroline we know and love again!  We got the official word from the doctor that her kidneys were normal that day around lunch time!  Sweet relief!!! 

The next morning I was ready for some normalcy!  HA!  Caroline woke up very early that morning and was pretty grumpy.  Pretty soon after she got up she started crying that her stomach hurt.  After several yucky (sorry TMI) trips to the potty, she was doubled over in pain crying.  I called the doctor at 10:00 that morning when it became obvious she was getting much worse, not better.  We got an 11:30 appointment.  Soon after that we began finding blood in the potty (sorry TMI again) and got very worried.  I called the doctor's office back - they answer the phone "Hi Mrs. Cochran" when I call now, they know me that well! - and they said to bring her in right away.  We spent several (3) hours in the doctor's office that morning getting samples (not a fun or pretty story - I'll skip the details), blood drawn, etc.  The doctor kept saying "if we let her go home . . ." and was pretty much on the verge of hospitalizing her the entire time.  Finally, they decided that she probably didn't have an infection - due to the fact that she has been on antibiotics for the last six months - but had a bacteria issue due to being on all the antibiotics.  Seriously.  Shockingly they treat this with ANOTHER antibiotic.  We are so thankful that with the new antibiotic, about 24 hours later she was pretty much on the mend!  It has been five days now since then and she is her usual self!  We are so blessed!!!

Thank you for reading if you have gotten this far!  It has been an eventful summer, but we are so aware that while we feel stressed and overextended at times, there are many many families that would trade their much larger and more serious problems for ours in a heartbeat.  We are surrounded by blessing every minute of every day and we are focusing on them!  Caroline will have some challenges in the future, but I know her dry humor, sweet faith, and determined personality will carry her (and us) through it all!  Thank you for all of the love and support and prayers our friends and family shower on us constantly whether aware of all this that has been going on or not!  I look forward to more blogs about the zany, silly moments that fill our days with laughter!!