Everyone loves a fruitcake, right???

So now that all my stress is gone (and I do mean ALL) I feel like I can relay some of the additional drama that’s surrounded the last couple of weeks.  I didn’t feel like “talking” about it because it scared me SO MUCH, and decided to shut up about it until we got some more information, which explains my rather laissez-faire attitude toward blogging lately.  I just haven’t been in the mood…

The day after Piper’s surgery, her ENT came up and saw us.  Thankfully Luke was there, too, so we both heard the same thing.  The doc said that now that that part was fixed, we needed to start thinking about the next step.  Luke and I assumed he was talking about the other two stenoses- until he started talking about doing a tracheal reconstruction (this is a good description).  It’s a HUGE deal.  Like really, really big and awful deal. 

So I’ve been a mess.  A real fruitcake, I’ll admit.  It has NOT been a pleasant month.  We never saw him again after that night (we saw his team the next night and then we were discharged), so we never got a chance to ask more questions.

The part that had me completely ruffled was that he wanted to do it before winter hit- as in the first or second week of November at the latest.  And we’re at, like, what?  The second week of October already??? 

So I’ve spent the last several weeks doing research, speaking with our pediatrician (who’s also been talking around trying to figure it out) and trying to round-up another ENT in the area to get a second opinion from.  Problem I had was that HE is supposed to be one of the, if not THE, best in all of Colorado.  So then I started second-guessing my gut instincts, and have felt completely floating in the wind.

Today was our follow-up with him.  I had my argument laid out.  I had questions that I would get good answers to.  I had a plan that I wanted to follow, which I knew would be different from his considering his November timeframe.  I made Luke take the afternoon off of work to go with us.  I haven’t slept in weeks (confrontation is not my strong suit).  I did not want to go.

We got there 10 minutes before out appointment; by the time we took the 200 foot walk from the check-in counter to their hallway, the nurse was already waiting for us.  They checked us in (which, unfortunately, included waking up Piper who had finally fallen asleep) and put us in a room.  Where we waited.  And waited.  And waited.  You know how waiting is so exponentially worse when you’re nervous?  It was awful.  Piper, of course, was none the wiser, and had a jolly time playing in the exam room.  There’s a shock.

The doctor finally came in (I am exaggerating a little- we were probably only a half hour late in our appointment, but we WERE there early, too…), took a look at her, listened to her for a second, and declared that the surgery was a success, and that we didn’t need to come back to see him.  Ever.  He didn’t even want to scope her to look and make sure because she sounded so good. 

Are you kidding me?  He asked if we had any other questions (after his 5 minute look-over).  Luke and I looked at each other, dumbfounded, and then I got the nerve to ask about the reconstruction.  He said “Oh, we were only thinking about that if she needed it”.  Really?  REALLY???  You couldn’t have told us that BEFORE now???  And I know he didn’t because Luke and I heard the exact. same. thing. 

So, in the end, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to kick the daylights out of him or hug him.  We chose the get-the-hell-outta-dodge-before-he-changes-his-mind approach. 

The journey that we thought was only hardly started is OVER.  OVER!!!  Can you believe it?  I sure can’t.  I REALLY can’t.  I’m still in shock.

And SO looking forward to a good night’s sleep. 

…I wonder if Piper will participate in my endeavor…