I am not looking forward to this day again but it is coming up again Friday. This is a picture of Karson right after he had his last set of tubes put in. I have been debating if I should post about Karson's upcoming surgery and have decided to write about it I think it will even help me with the loads of information Im still trying to process.

Karson will be having his second set of tubes put in and adenoids removed because his last set fell out too early and he has had fluid in his ear canals since at least December. There is a risk of croup/asthma flare up happening during or after surgery due to the anesthesia but we have met with the anesthesiologist and they are prepared for the airway problems that may occur but im still pretty nervous about sending my son in for the surgery but im very pleased with the childrens hospital and the staff too and since he has these risks his ENT moved his surgery to the hospital and not the day surgery center so the area cheif ENT will be doing the surgery. Thats good news right?

When Karson was evluated by the ENT for this set of tubes he wanted to scope his nose and airways (not a pleasant experience for Karson) to determine if he needed his adenoids removed he wanted to check his airways as well because of his chronic airway trouble. He found that Karson was born with extra tissue on his vocal cords called Laryngomalacia (Floppy Vocal Cords). The strangest thing is it usually is common in infants but Karson didn't have any signs of this until he started having chronic croup/asthma flare ups. The way I understand it is that his airway flare ups and Laryngomalacia are not a good mix. His case is mild but he will need to be monitored and eventually may have to have surgery to correct the problem if he keeps having flare ups or wieght loss.

Karson has had some permanent hearing loss with all this and we will know in a few weeks how much and the extent of it. Through all of this he has had speech therapy for the past year. He was diagnosed with speech sound disorder due to his hearing loss and after this surgery we will find out how much his hearing has improved and if he will need some extra help with a device in a few weeks. He will start a language class with a curriculum based around his speech needs and hearing loss with 2-3 speech sessions a week after he recovers from his surgery this month.

In some ways I feel like we are starting over with this battle but when I step back and look he has made tremendous progress over the past year and with this new plan and his hearing improved should see great results.