Piper’s Summer “Fun”

Since Addy has stolen the show this summer, I need to go back and fill in all of Piper’s fun from the summer.

At Piper’s 3 year checkup, I asked her doctor if there was a reason to wait until next summer to do a sleep study, or if we could do it now and get it out of the way (kids with Ds are supposed to get a sleep study by their fourth birthday; Piper’s never shown any concerns in that area, so we’ve never had one done.)  Piper has really large tonsils, and I’ve been a little concerned that maybe they were causing some issues.  She sleeps fine, and doesn’t snore at all, but if there was no reason to wait to do the study, why not?

I didn’t call immediately to get an appointment- the wait to get a study, especially a routine study when nothing is overtly “wrong,” can be long- but called after the first of June.  I was really just hoping to get it done this summer, before school started.  I talked with the scheduler and she asked if we’d like to be put on a waitlist.  Get in sooner?  Sure.

She puts me on hold, comes back, and says they HAVE a cancellation, and that we could get in in a week and a half.

Well, that’ll do.  Cripes.  I had NO intention on getting in that fast.  Not that I complained, mind you, but holy moly!

Unfortunately for Luke, since Addy doesn’t do well at night with anyone but me, Luke got volun-told to do the study with Piper.  Lucky guy.

Look happy?  Not so much.  But they both survived and were no worse for the wear the next day.  We went on with our business until the ENT clinic called because the Sleep clinic requested that we be seen by them.  I knew at this point that something was up, but I was confident that it was her tonsils.  And it couldn’t be too bad because she’s never had trouble with sleep.

So, back at the first of July (yeah, right in the middle of all of Addy’s drama,) we had an appointment with the same ENT that did her major surgery back almost two years ago.  I liked him a lot better this time, and he really seemed to remember a lot about Piper and her case.  Always reassuring.  He said that she showed very minimal signs of sleep apnea (she had 2.5 episodes per hour; they start getting a little concerned at 5, but it’s not terribly uncommon, especially in the Ds population, to have numbers in the double-digits.)  He then looked in her mouth, saw the tonsils, and recommended just getting them outta there.  She’s going to end up with them out, anyway, and it may help keep her healthier this winter.  He was a little concerned that the obstruction could being caused by the airway issues of two years ago.  He said it was highly unlikely, but that he’d like to do some scopes, just to be sure.  That was exactly what I wanted to hear.  Always nice when you don’t have to ask! 

We left ENT clinic and took Piper to get her C-Spine xrays.  They used to be standard for all three-year-olds with Ds, but the new care regulations state that they’re needed only if symptoms are present.  It hasn’t really set well with me, so I was glad when her pediatrician recommended getting them done, just because she’s SO active.  She said that she’d probably end up in athletics of one kind or another, and this way it’s already done.  My BFF is a Child Life Specialist at Children’s, and she helped get the films.  While it wasn’t a particularly fun experience (they have to get films of her lying flat, lying with her head tilted as far back as possible, and as far forward as possible- not an easy task for a toddler…), Piper did really well.  Those came back CLEAR, so we don’t have to worry- whoopee!

After a few more days, the ENT scheduler called to set a date for the tonsil and adenoidectomy.  August 15.  Exactly 8 days before school starts.  This could be interesting… 

It also means that next weekend is her last REAL weekend of summer vacation.  We have some fun things planned between here and then, but I feel like our time is ticking.  All of Addy’s junk has kept me pretty distracted, which I guess is a good thing, but now I’m starting to get a little nervous.  She does get to stay the night at the hospital, which is a big relief to me, and I’m hoping that school will act as a nice distraction, but I’m starting to very much not look forward to this.  <<Sigh>>  I can’t complain- I’m the one that asked for it, right???