What a weird week, I haven’t been online very much and since ditching Entrecard I haven’t felt obligated to even turn my computer on except to check my e-mail. I received my last e-mail from EC yesterday and have now canceled that subscription because I really don’t care what they are up to anymore, I like not feeling pressured. I am looking forward to catching up with everyone’s blog once things get back to normal around here.
Monday we took Obie for his surgery and they found that he also had an umbilical hernia. They went ahead and corrected that and didn’t even charge us which we certainly appreciated since his bill was already over 300 dollars. I have been watching over him to make sure both sets of stitches stay in place and so far so good. It was very painful for the little guy the first couple days so I’m glad we had pain pills for him and he is taking an antibiotic for 2 weeks.
We didn’t even know he had a hernia and apparently the vet that took care of him before we got him at 4 months didn’t either, nor did the vet that checked him out after we got him, thankfully the vet that did his surgery found it. All three vets work at the same place so maybe they figured they owed us the repair since the other 2 had missed it, at any rate we appreciated the freebie repair.
While I’m updating I might as well throw Bill in here also. Bill’s laser eye surgery from a few months back worked great on his eye pressure, it’s the lowest it’s been in years. 20 in one eye and 14 in the other, his doctor was very excited about the results and so were we. Also his blood work for diabetes came back normal so now he doesn’t have to worry anymore about that. We took him to the ENT for a throat problem he has and has been very worried about.
He was very nervous about having the scope put down his throat so the specialist could see what was going on so I went with him to hold his hand. If he had known it was going down his nose instead of his throat I’m quite sure he would have canceled that appointment. I sat there and watched her jab a 6 inch or maybe longer cotton swab down each nostril with a numbing anti-gag solution on to decide which was the best side for viewing then she inserted the Flexible Fiberoptic Laryngoscope.
It looked so painful that I decided right then and there that nobody is going to ever stick anything up or down any part of my body so long as I’m able to prevent it. Of course if I’m ever in a coma then there’s nothing I can do to prevent those types of weird procedures. Later Bill said it didn’t actually hurt, it just felt weird, but I’m not convinced because I was watching and it actually hurt me, I really hate being an empathizer.
She decided he had LPR reflux or Laryngopharyngeal Reflux which can cause the following symptoms:
- Hoarseness
- Thick or too much mucous
- Chronic throat irritation
- Chronic throat clearing
- Heartburn
- Chronic cough
- Cough that wakes you from your sleep
Before the appointment he had to fill out a very long questionnaire of course that helps them to actually pinpoint what your problem might be. He has a problem when he swallows liquid. Sometimes he starts choking and I even called 911 once, but he was able to get it under control. Of course he thinks he’s dying when this happens, I did tell him it would probably open if he passed out, but he doesn’t believe things unless a doctor tells him so. So I made sure I asked her when we were there and she thought for a minute and said it probably would.
I was surprised that she hadn’t mentioned how large his uvula was, you know, that thing that hangs down in the back of your throat, so I mentioned it myself. He sometimes has an allergic reaction to some foods and it gets even bigger. Once when this happened he asked me to check his throat and I swear it looked like a little baby penis. I have never seen such a huge thing hanging in the back of any ones throat, no wonder he chokes sometimes in his sleep and has even tried to swallow it.
She said she had noticed it and that it even had a small growth which he had already known about. I had mentioned before about having the thing, uvula cut out so they had a small discussion about that and a sleep study, which I think is an excellent idea because he snores like crazy, but they can also check some of his other problems, but that’s further down the line. At any rate she sent him home with a prescription strength antacid and a feeling of relief in his heart knowing he was not dying that day from some dreaded disease. 
