Surgery updates

Life. It can really stink sometimes. I can't stand when things are up in the air; honestly, I hate it.

For those of you that have been keeping up with Nate's story, you know that he had an appointment with his ENT in Boston on Wednesday. Things didn't necessarily go the way we would've liked, but since then, we have a plan of action. Like his pediatrician, his ENT was uncomfortable with allowing the dental surgery to happen with full sedation. The size of his tonsils are extremely large and it was decided that he needs to have a tonsillotomy, which is the shaving down of the tonsils instead of completely removing them. It has an easier recovery and less risk for bleeding post-surgery, both things that I'm happy about. If his adenoids have grown back, she'll remove those as well. The surgery is now scheduled for April 20 in Boston.

When we returned from Boston, the dentist had already called to check on the situation. I love doctors/dentists that follow through! Nathan is surrounded by such a great team ensuring that his health is their top priority. We cancelled the surgery and re-scheduled the date for May 17. This date makes me and his dentist uncomfortable with everything that is going on with his teeth. So, we decided that we would attempt to fix 2 teeth at a time using gas in the office. This clearly isn't our first choice due to the amount of work that needs to be done, the pain, recovery, and his tolerance for going to the doctor. But, it's our best attempt to not cause any further damage to his baby teeth, his adult teeth, and his current overall health.  If this is successful, he'll have to go three more times and the full sedation surgery won't have to happen.

For those of you that are wondering how his teeth got so bad, here's the lowdown....his diet is quite restrictive. He is currently eating: the whites of hard boiled eggs (sometimes up to 12 a day), blueberries (sometimes up to 36 ounces a day), strawberries, Ritz crackers, peanut butter sandwiches (sparingly), cereal, waffles, grapes, apples, and for treats: mini Oreos, mini chocolate chip cookies, chocolate ice cream and chocolate frosted doughnuts. He only drinks water. Yes, he brushes his teeth twice a day; he starts, I finish them. He also flosses twice a day too! The amount of fruit that he eats has caused the decay in his teeth. Eight of his teeth are affected. They are hoping to be able to save all eight teeth, but that remains to be seen.

So, there it is! The amount of love and support we've gotten for Nate this week is unbelievable. It truly gets us through these tough times. Please continue to think positive thoughts, especially next Thursday!