Never a Dull Moment

Well, just as we moved past the boot and get settled back with our old sitter, we find ourselves face to face with life's next little hurdle

Friday night, Brandt came to me, saying "ear hurt." Upon examining his ear, I saw it was filled with blood. I checked his hands, and noticed his pointer finger was covered in blood. Seeing his nails were long, I assumed that he'd cut his ear with his sharp nails. Immediately, I wiped away the surface blood with an alcohol wipe and cut his nails. As far as the inside of his ears, there was not much I could do; with tubes, he cannot have q-tips or fluids in his ears. I figured the rest would drain over time, so I continued with our nighttime routines and put him to bed.

The next morning, I laid Brandt on the changing station so that I could carefully examine his ear. Instantly, I knew we had a problem. Brandt's whole outer ear was covered in dark-red, dried blood. Again, I wiped away what I could, but I knew he was going to need more than just a wipe-down.

I contacted a friend, whose mother works at a local ENT, to see what she thought. I wasn't sure if he needed to go to the ER, or if a walk-in clinic could treat him, or if I was better off waiting until the next day to get him in with the ENT. Of course, Brandt's ENT is at Miami Children's Hospital so that was a dreaded response.

After getting a response from my friend's mother and talking it over with Darrin, we decided it was best if we went to Miami Children's Nicholas Outpatient Center. This satellite office is only two counties away, and it offers weekend hours. It also has his complete medical/ surgical history from the Main Hospital in Miami.

It was difficult for the doctor to see much in Brandt's ear. It was fluid-filled with wax and blood.  The doctor could not see Brandt's tube in the affected ear, but he indicated that it could have been covered with wax/blood build-up, or it could have become dislodged. The source of the bleeding could not easily be identified, either, because of all of the drainage. It could have been a side-effect for a severe ear infection, or it could have been caused from trauma to the ear (such as a scratch or from a fall). Either way, the doctor prescribed antibiotic drops. This would kill away any infection and help to drain any excess fluid out of the ear.

Oh, and upon the doctor's initial exam, he asked if I knew Brandt had a heart-murmur. In my head, I said "ah f*** yes," but I gave a polite reply with his history of the heart murmur. I told him we had a cardiologist clear him with an echocardiogram and an EKG. The cardiologist had indicated that his heart murmur was likely a side-effect of his iron-deficiency anemia. The only thing is, last time his iron-levels and heart were checked, his levels were gone and the murmur was not present. So, I am assuming the doctor's notation of a heart murmur is probably a good indication of his anemia being a problem again.

Crazy thing is, I was just telling Darrin a few days before that Brandt probably needed to have another complete blood count done. While out on a morning stroll, I thought his skin had a yellow-green tint to it--a common symptom of anemia.

So, put two and two together and make your own inferences... Think it is time to refill the ferrous sulfate and start treating the anemia again....swear, there is never a dull moment in the life of Brandt!