Hello - if you haven't checked out Ammon's Care Page, please do so if you want to get email updates regarding his health and surgery. Here's the link: http://www.carepages.com/carepages/ammon
Ammon had his Cardiology visit this morning and, much to our relief, his heart is doing fine!!! His awesome cardiologist (we LOVE him) reviewed the heart monitor recordings thus far and said he didn't see any problems. He said that some people are more sensitive and aware of the sensations of the heart beating. I'm thinking that perhaps the first incident where he felt his heart beating fast and hard drew his attention to his heart and made him worried and more sensitive to little fluctuations. Ammon has a few more days to wear the monitor, so when the cardiologist receives the final report he will call us with the results. But, he said according to his echo, his heart is doing AMAZINGLY well for his condition. When he listens to his heart, he can still hear the tiny leak from his VSD (Ventricular Septal Defect) patch, but he said it's not a concern since it isn't even visible on the echo. What I find amazing with these cardiologists is that they can HEAR these things when just listening to the heart with a stethoscope! What a skill!!
So, this good news means Ammon is clear for surgery to get his tonsils and adenoids removed August 5th. Quite a bit has happened since I posted the last update. A day afterwards, the ENT's office called to postpone the surgery two weeks, to Aug 19th. I told her that since our visit with the ENT, Ammon has his 3rd case of strep throat that month, and his sleep apnea is horrific. The thought of waiting until Aug 5th was hard to deal with, but to have to wait another 2 weeks on top of that would be really hard. I had just left a message earlier in the week for them asking if there would be any way to move up the surgery, if we could get the cardiology appointment moved up. They had left me a message saying they didn't have anything sooner available. Anyway, the nurse coordinator said, "After hearing how bad he's doing, I'll try to keep him on the schedule for Aug 5th, but if the doctor isn't able to be here that day I will have to call you back and reschedule." She also put him on the cancellation list, where they will call us if they have a surgery cancelled before his surgery date. I was so relieved they weren't going to postpone it. Listening to him struggle to breath at night is really hard.
Because I didn't want to wait around for a 4th case of strep, and the white spots on his tonsils never disappeared with the antibiotics, I scheduled an appointment for Ammon to get a recheck the day after he finished his antibiotics. Sure enough, he still tested positive for strep. But because he didn't have any symptoms, they suspected he was a carrier and also wondered if he might have mono. So, they did blood work to check (I've lost count of how many times this poor kid has had to have blood drawn in the past 6 months). It showed he did NOT have an active case of strep (meaning he's carrying the infection without symptoms). So, they put him on Clindamycin - which is supposed to WHIP OUT strep like this......along with all the good bacteria you need in your system. That's nasty stuff - on many levels. In order for them to get the insurance to cover it, they had to change the Rx from the liquid to the capsules and take it 3 times a day. He obviously can't swallow these big capsules (especially with tonsils that touch), so we have to open the capsules and put it in yogurt or apple sauce. IT IS HORRIBLE TASTING. Jared tasted a speck of it and said it is really awful, strong (kind of hot like spicy) and the taste lingers a long time. This is Jared - who likes spicy foods and Kimchee (sp?). So, we have to torture Ammon with this stuff 3 times a day. I will say that by trial and error we have developed a system that works and makes it less painful for him. It's a matter of mixing the capsule in a tiny bit of water in a medicine cup, then drawing it up into a syringe. We then very quickly, give him that, he drinks water immediately, then we quickly spoon about 8-10 spoonfuls of yogurt to help cool the burn and wash it down. He still hates it and resists taking it every time, but he takes it. And we just have 2 days left of this. THANKFULLY!!! I'll have to take him back for a recheck after he's finished. I pray the strep is finally gone!!!!
Ammon has been on antibiotic (5 different types) since June 3rd, with only 5 days in these 7 weeks where he hasn't been on antibiotic. THIS IS SO HARD ON THE BODY!! Antibiotics are important lifesavers, but they unfortunately kill off the good and essential bacteria along with the bad. Fortunately, I know the importance of probiotics and we have some really potent, good quality probiotics we've been getting through our chiropractor for MANY years and take them regularly. I've been giving Ammon double and sometimes triple the amount he normally takes on a daily basis, to keep him from getting some REALLY NASTY gastrointestinal problems and infections. Anyone ever hear of C-diff?? Awful. Fortunately, because of the probiotics he's getting, we've been able to keep the intestinal problems at bay. He threw up one morning last week, so I upped his probiotics and he's been ok since. I know we will have to continue the high doses of probiotics for quite a while after he finishes the antibiotic to help restore his intestinal flora. I'm so glad Jared has a job now, because we are going through this stuff like crazy and it's expensive!!! But I thank God for it! I shudder to think of just how much sicker he would be without it.
We are happy Ammon's heart is fine and he's cleared for surgery. Despite Ammon's fear of surgery, he is SO SICK OF BEING SICK and taking antibiotics that he can't wait to finally get his tonsils out. Wow....that says a lot about how miserable is tonsils are making him!! It's hard for him to go to sleep because he can't breath, he gets winded faster when he's playing because of how hard it is to breath, and he constantly has to take these nasty antibiotics. He loves taking amoxicillian, but these other ones are not good at all.
We'd love to be able to have the surgery sooner, but also know that it's not very likely. So, we will pray for it and leave it in the Lord's hands. What's most important is that whenever it takes place, the surgery will be successful, safe and his recovery will be speedy.
We are ever grateful to all our family and friends who have expressed their love, support and have been praying on our behalf. THANK YOU!!!!
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