Today I took my son to the ENT to evaluate his health. This has been a trip a long time coming. While he's been to the doctor many times for various issues, this is the first time he's had spectrum allergy testing and monitoring of his breathing both before and after a nebulizer treatment. While I'm grateful for the advances in medicine that will allow him to find everyday relief from things he's just learned to live with (like not tasting food, not being able to breathe through his nose, or not being able to go the night without his rescue inhaler), the visit was not easy.
They took blood. He got shaky, dizzy, and almost started hyperventilating.
They made him breathe into a little tube hooked to a computer several times. No, more than that. He almost passed out. He had to do this both before and after the nebulizer.
Because he's a 13 yr old boy, I was able to easily rectify any discomfort or distress he experienced with a quick trip to the store. Soon he was on his way home with a pack of donuts, root beer, and beef jerky. I figured he could use the blood sugar boost and the rare treat increased his happy spirits.
I doubt the appointment for his nasal imaging or the follow up appointment to discuss his issues and treatments will be as traumatic as this one. We walked out of there with 3 new prescriptions for daily maintenance/prevention and a strong antibiotic to clear up any lingering infection from his being so sick a couple weeks ago.
As I sat there watching the doctor analyze and evaluate my son, it occurred to me how much of what she was doing I could benefit from. Though I did finally have my deviated septum fixed, I still have my tonsils and adenoids, have chronic breathing trouble, and still snore at night (apparently quite a lot). I doubt they'll do anything for my tonsils anymore because of the increased risk doing the operation on adults, but sometimes it'd be nice to breathe, or maybe not snore so much. Still, this is something that I've just learned to live with. It's how my body is.
Maybe, just maybe, we can do for my son now so he won't suffer from these problems so much as he gets older.
