http://www.pleonast.com/user/valorie recent pleonast.com entries by user valorie en-us http://www.pleonast.com/user/valorie?l=5&entryID=608836 I just got home from taking Braedon to the ENT doctor. He does, in fact, have a LARGE hole in his eardrum. The doctor said that there wasn't even a need to do a hearing test because he KNOWS that he cannot hear out of that ear just by looking at it. The doctor said that about 90% of punctured eardrums heal on their own within one or two months. It has already been 3 weeks for Braedon, and the hole is still large. He will look at Braedon's ear again in one month (Jan 14th) to see if it has healed or if he will need to go in and surgically build Braedon an eardrum. He also said that when eardrums are able to heal on their own, the hearing loss is almost always temporary and is restored when it has healed. I'm not sure about when it has to be surgically repaired. I didn't want to ask that today. On a good note, there was no sign of infection. Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers! 2008-12-12 http://www.pleonast.com/user/valorie?l=5&entryID=607452 I took Braedon for his follow-up appointment with his pediatrician about his ear Friday and left disappointed and confused. She said that it still does not look like it should and did not seem too sure of the test she performed on his ear. She wants to see him again in a couple of weeks to see how it looks then. He continues to say that he cannot her "good" out of it and is very sad about it. I called a local ENT today and scheduled an appointment for this Friday. They will also check his hearing then. We will feel much better after having him seen by a specialist. We also called our insurance and found out that we don't have to have a referral. If I had realized that sooner, I would have taken him to an ENT in the beginning. Thanks to all who have asked about him! 2008-12-09 http://www.pleonast.com/user/valorie?l=5&entryID=606409 Monday- Braedon's 6th birthday. Tuesday- My parents (Granna and PaPaw) and grandmother (Mother Betty) arrived shortly after Braedon got home from school. We had dinner and let Braedon open his birthday gifts from them. Wednesday- The children made turkey cupcakes for Braedon's birthday celebration on Thanksgiving evening. Thursday- Thanksgiving Day!!! We hosted Thanksgiving in our home. Brian's side of the family and my parents and grandmother spent the whole day with us. We ate lunch and enjoyed left overs later that evening. There were 23 of us. Heather joined us that evening. We celebrated Braedon's birthday that night since everyone would be together. Friday- Brian and I got up at 4:00 to go Christmas shopping. We are almost finished. Saturday- We put up our Christmas tree. This year we got a smaller tree to put upstairs in the Bonus Room. The kids hung every ornament on their own, and we're not going to move them! :) They were proud of their work and hap... 2008-12-05 http://www.pleonast.com/user/valorie?l=5&entryID=602907 I took Braedon to the doctor this morning. There was too much blood in his ear for her to get a good look at it and for her to do a special air test to determine if there is a hole in the ear drum and how large it is. She put him on an antibiotic/anti-inflammatory ear drop to prevent infection and to help with the swelling and pain. It does appear that he has punctured the ear drum, but she couldn't confirm it by that air test since she couldn't get in there. She said that we will hope that it heals on its own, and we are to go back next Friday for her to look at it, do the air test, and make sure it is healing. She said that she could tell that he had some hearing loss, but I think that often correct itself as the ear heals. (That's what I've read; I hope it is true.) We finished at the doctor's office in time to get his prescription filled, give it to him, feed him lunch, and get back to school for the last half of the day. I took his birthday cupcakes and juice boxes in wh... 2008-11-25 http://www.pleonast.com/user/valorie?l=5&entryID=602323 The Honey Bs got to sleep in our bedroom Friday night. They were so excited. This is a BIG deal to them!!! (I must admit that I like having them in there, too!) Brian came home from work and got into bed around 4:00. Braedon woke up screaming and crying in pain at 6:45. To get to the point......He said that his Daddy was snoring too loud, so he put Q-tips in both ears and went back to sleep. He later rolled over and jammed one into his ear. I searched his sleeping spot for both of them to make sure one didn't break off in his ear. I found them both. There was no blood in his ear at that time, but there was dried blood in there at 8:30. More appeared in larger quantity at 2:30. I called the doctor's emergency number, and she said that there was nothing the ER could do and for me to bring him in Monday. If it seems that he has punctured his eardrum, they will refer him to an ENT doctor. She said to keep the dried blood cleaned out and to keep a cotton ball in it to absor... 2008-11-23 http://www.pleonast.com/user/valorie?l=5&entryID=601718 I love you! 2008-11-21 http://www.pleonast.com/user/valorie?l=5&entryID=598594 We had a nice time in Chicago Saturday. A friend from church (her mother) got a charter bus and gathered 55 people to go for the day. Some shopped, one couple went to a play, and Brian and I shopped and went to the Sears Tower. We forgot our camera at home and had to buy a disposable one to take some pictures. I'll post some of them when I get a chance to have them developed. (Sorry for this large picture. I don't know how to make it smaller, and I don't have the time to figure it out right now.) 2008-11-12 http://www.pleonast.com/user/valorie?l=5&entryID=595053 Braedon led the girls and me in a prayer yesterday and said "...Please let John McCain be our next president." 2008-11-04 http://www.pleonast.com/user/valorie?l=5&entryID=594571 2008-11-03 http://www.pleonast.com/user/valorie?l=5&entryID=592704 2008-10-29