Dizzy Days

Another week down and the dizziness is still going...

 We visited the ENT last Monday.

After an hour and a half in the waiting room with his head spinning,

Preston failed his hearing test in his left ear.  

He's lost over half his hearing in that one ear.

We met with the doctor, who was so great, and he just kept saying things like...

"This isn't good". (oh really?)

"You didn't hear a pop?". 

"It must be miserable."

Then he pretty much told us that this happened to him once (because he dove too deep in water),

but that his ear popped and he lost his hearing.  The doctor misdiagnosed him and the hearing has never come back.  That's why he became an ENT, thinking there must be something more that could be done.

We felt comfortable and felt like we were in good hands.

He told Preston that he has middle ear trauma- something has either given him a hole in his middle ear or he has grown a small benign tumor (more like a mole) on his middle ear.  

We are thinking the trauma is a cold virus combined with flying (he said altitude change can do it).

He put him on Prednisone for 2 weeks and then will see him again to recheck his hearing and evaluate.

30% gain their hearing back on a steroid, 30% stay the same and 30% get worse.

We are hoping we are in that first 30%!

The doctor said he should notice a difference in a week.

It's been one week and he's finally doing a bit better.

His dizziness has been 10/10 until Thursday when he reported it 6/10.  He actually started walking a bit more coordinated and his eyes didn't looked so glazed over.

In the meantime, he's been home "playing" with Stella,

better known as falling asleep in the middle of her room while she plays around him.

He could be just another baby, right?...

The medicine and the challenge of focusing has made him very tired.

He can be found sleeping in past 9am and napping intermittently on the couch (or floor or on the chair).

Today he reported that the dizziness is still about a 6/10 but now his eyeballs feel exhausted.

He said they feel like "sore muscles".

He went to sacrament and then I brought him home to rest those "sore muscles".

Despite the circumstances, it has been so nice having him home.

The kids love having him around to talk to, play with and climb on.

Yesterday James said dad had "lay-on-the-couch-itus".

That he does!  Poor Daddy!

He's been a trooper and never complained once.

They said the steroids would  make him grumpy and mean,

but he's been our same old happy-go-lucky guy.

The jokes keep rolling and the positive attitude keeps coming.

His next ENT appointment is a week from Wednesday,

and we are hoping he is on his way to making a full recovery and heading back to work!

If not, they will do an MRI to rule out other things and possible surgery of the middle ear.

I will try to do my best to be patient, not worry, be helpful and enjoy his time home in the meantime.