It's been three months since Natalie's last ENT visit, and the doctor wanted to check her ear tubes, since they've been in for more than 15 months now. Unfortunately, today's visit didn't go as smoothly as the last one.
Of course, Natalie has a lot of specialists, and sometimes I forget which medical building they're in. I thought the ENT was in building X, but when I called to make sure, the receptionist said they're in building Y, fifth floor. So we arrived on the fifth floor of building Y, but no ENT. When I called them again on my cell phone, you guessed it, this time the receptionist said they're in building X...obviously, I don't think it was my error, but I guess it could have been.
It took me 25 minutes to put the kids back in the car, exit the current parking structure and drive 1/4 mile to the other medical building, find parking, get to the fifth floor of building X. I think it would have been faster to walk, but then we would have had to walk back, too, and pay for the parking instead of having it validated for the building we were in. As it was, it was exhausting and frustrating because there seemed to be a ton of people leaving at the same time as us!
Anyway, after we arrived 25 minutes late for her appointment, I was briefly fearful that Natalie wouldn't be seen, but she was. The news is that the left ear tube is "in the ear canal", which means it is completely out of place. The right ear tube is still in place but in the process of working it's way out. This is normal: as the child grows, the ear tubes fall out and have to be reinserted, or left out if there is no longer a need. I told the doctor that Natalie's opthalmologist wants to examine her eyes under anesthesia in two months, and he was fine with waiting until that time to reinsert the tubes. In the meantime, Natalie will have another tympanogram and hearing test to see if there is currently fluid in her ear, with the ear tube out.
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