Dane had his appointment with the ENT tomorrow. He laughed when I told him we brought Dane to him to keep it all in the family. Before the end of the visit, he told me he needs to see Dane back in two weeks. I go back to see him next week. I almost suggested that we just schedule a weekly appointment and then we'd send whoever needed to see him the most.
Although the topic was very serious, I did get a kick out of him. He asked me what the CT Scan looked like before he looked at it, then asked me to interpret it, which I thought was pretty funny. Then he handed me his stethoscope and asked me to see his next three patients. I jokingly told him that everything I know is because he taught me.
The long and the short of it was summed up quite well by Daelyn: "Well," he said as we walked to the car, "looks like Brother's on the path to surgery." We're not there yet and hoping to not need surgery in the years to come, but Dane's case doesn't look real promising. He's on a liquid steroid, a strong antibiotic, a steroid nasal spray, a sinus rinse, another decongestant nasal spray, and an inhaled steroid for his lungs, which were infected. The doctor didn't even numb his nose and look up it with the scope - just glancing with the naked eye up Dane's nose, he could see it was full of puss. GROSS! But I expected as much.
His sinuses are pretty intensely infected and he's been feeling pretty bad for a very long time. Several times over the last week, he's stopped while walking and complained of his chest hurting and had to rest before continuing.
The doctor said that he fully expects Dane to completely recover from this episode but, based on his condition, he probably has inherited mine and Don's sinus problems and we may be back in this place again in the future. He said I should anticipate that he may need surgery at some point down the road to cure the problem completely. We'll do everything possible to stave off that eventuality and pray hard for total healing.
Part of the issue for us is that Augusta has been officially declared the second worst city in the country for allergies. The children's allergist told us this a couple of years ago and, apparently, there was a recent news story about this exact statistic. It seems it's not just her opinion, but a factual piece of information, one we would prefer to not know, but it does explain a few things. I guess if we continue to live in Augusta, we can expect sinus problems - - unless God chooses to heal us all.
We'll continue to pray and ask and hope for that healing - - while living in Augusta and while believing God has called us here. He must have a plan for our health. We just haven't yet seen it.
P.S. Kelly, is you read this, when are you coming home? We sure can't wait to see you and the boys.
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