Thursday, August 11, 2011

Eardrum update, August 11

Wynn had her follow-up appointment Tuesday, and essentially we know now what we believed a week ago. Wynn will need reconstructive surgery on her left eardrum; they'll use a thin snip of muscle tissue to rebuild her eardrum & serve as a medium for regeneration. The procedure will take 3+ hours but she'll get to go home after surgery.
They tested her hearing again, and the audiologist found that on her right side, where the tube insertion was successful, the excess fluid has drained nicely and Wynn's hearing is on par or a little better than other kids her age. (Huge sigh of relief.)
On her left side, it seems the fluid has drained too, and she is actually picking up some sound; this is good news for the surgery as it means the little bones of the middle ear are still hooked up to the eardrum, and that part of the eardrum is at least trying to do its job.
The surgery is scheduled for September 21, which gives Wynn a chance at settling into her new Kindergarten routine and Ann a chance to settle into routine at her new school position, too.
Meanwhile -- Wynn's been taking swimming lessons, and tonight was the final lesson in her first course. The kids in the course got to ride in a foam canoe, apparently! And our Wynn more than passed her test - she floated on her back without needing a foam support; while on her back she was able to swim and change direction; and then she flipped over and swam for about 15 feet to the other side of the pool! Her teachers are very impressed at what she's learned in just the past 4 weeks.

While she is definitely ready to move on to the next level, the schedule for next month's course runs right into the ear surgery, so she'll have to pick it up in October. However, Ann and I take her to the YMCA on Friday night and Sunday morning for family swim time, so she'll still get to practice her skills.

No comments: