One week post bug bite...

Well, I think Jack has nearly recovered. The swelling is gone. On Friday, we went to California Ear Institute at Palo Alto for a check up and to have the wick removed. His right ear, which was the one that was so swollen, was completely clear. His left ear, which was not swollen but was the more recent surgery, is still a bit infected. So, we are still using Floxin drops two times a day and will return to Palo Alto Friday for one more check up.

Here are some pics from tonight.

The swelling is down

Update on the bug bite...

Chris took Jack to see Dr Roberson on Tuesday. They put a wick in each ear canal as the left (not the one that was extremely swollen) was infected and the other was risking infection. The wick allows the drops to get into the canal and to the ear drum. He will have these removed on Friday. Dr. Roberson suspects an allergic reaction to the bite.

Here are some pictures from today:
















As you can see, the swelling has gone down significantly and things are looking better.

Jack is needing to wear his BAHA to hear. We are thankful to have it.

All for now...

Not enough bug spray...

Well, this weekend we went camping. Our first camping trip since before Jack's last surgery. We stayed pretty close to home, but far enough to be out of cell phone range. Not having cell phone coverage is relaxing and I needed it.

We had a great time roasting marshmallows, playing in the river and for the kids - playing in the dirt. This happens to be Jack's favorite pastime. Give the kid a shovel, bucket and a dump truck and really nothing else matters. The saying, "take only pictures and leave only footprints" doesn't apply to Jack. Or for the rest of my kids. We bring home dirt. Lots of it. In the car, in their hair, on their bodies, on the gear. They played either in the dirt or in the river most of the time. A kid's paradise!

















On Saturday, Jack and Jaden insisted they were not tired enough for a nap. What do you think????
















Unfortunately, we also got eaten alive by mosquitos. We sprayed and sprayed and still got bit. I am pretty unscathed. But the dirt diggers got it pretty bad. So, last night, I noticed Jack's right ear (first surgery) looked a little swollen. It looked like it might have been bitten by a mosquito. This morning, we were shocked to see his ear looking like this:















So, the blessing of no cell phone coverage made me a bit stressed at that point. We packed up everything in a big hustle with much appreciated help from our fellow campers. We hightailed it back in to cell phone range and immediately called Dr. Reinisch. He said he has seen this before and would call in an antibiotic as a precaution. He said he thought it would be better within about a day. We traded emails with Dr. Roberson and Dr. Reinisch and sent pictures. We have now given Jack 4 doses and are praying for some improvement by morning. If not, we will be headed to Palo Alto early this week. His ear canal is swollen completely shut and he really isn't hearing well at all.

So, keep Jack in your prayers....

Surgery 2 - two months

Well, Jack is doing great. He is VERY happy to be able to swim. In a stroke of amazing luck, one of the interns at work has lifeguard experience and we hired her to give the kids some swimming lessons. I will have to get a video clip of the new family fish! Jack is a head down, legs kickin', doggy paddling machine. And, quite proud of himself too, I might add. I think the major difference is that he can hear us while he is swimming.

We have noticed that he is very loud and loves to hum and jabber nonsense as he plays now. He has also started a retro kick of raspberry blowing and tongue clicking. These are things the other kids did as babies and I never heard Jack doing this. I think there is something about exploring those sounds that is just fascinating him! So, all that is fun.

Here are some pics from today of Jack's ears. I have noticed that his right ear (first surgery) is getting sunscreen stuck in the little nooks. Kind of nice to finally have that problem. I think it is still slowly gaining some definition.














His left ear is softening up a lot and is slowly looking better.
















His scalp hair is slowly filling in.















We have a happy boy!