WISH YOU COULD PROTECT THEM EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY… FOREIGN OBJECT IN HER EAR – SAY WHAT?

Child number four.  She’s is the most adorable little 6-year-old gal you could ever meet and she keeps us on our toes.

Why in the world would anyone put an object in their ear or nose? Generally, this is seen more from a child of a younger age, but my youngest daughter has hyperactivity disorder, which essentially affects her ability to manage her impulse control.  There are some times when this condition can be challenging and we recently faced one of those challenges. 

Now that all is said and done that all is well, I reflect to find a few chuckles in the situation. Shauney had been complaining that her ear was bothering her intermittently over two days and confessed that she had put something in it.  Somehow she could not remember when or what, though.

It was Tuesday, Oct. 27, and my husband decided he was going to take Shauney to Med Express.  I received the call from him explaining something bright green was in her right ear. The bad news was they couldn’t get it out.  So, off to the local emergency room.  I hopped in my car to meet up with them.

When I walked in, I couldn’t tell if Shauney was fearful because she knew “the talk” was coming from me about putting things in her ears, and believe me, talks like this have happened numerous times…I am pretty sure she knew I was not very happy.  Or maybe the apprehension of what was coming next in the emergency department may have gotten the better of her.

After attempting to remove this object to no avail, an ENT was contacted.  It was decided that Shauney would keep the object in her ear for the night and we would consult with the specialist in the morning for probable surgical removal. The next day, yep – outpatient surgery.  She was already the second child he had seen that very morning with a foreign object in the ear!

While at the hospital, Shauney had been seen several times, registered here and registered there.  We answered the same questions over and over again, and patience was wearing thin.  She has no problem letting anyone know when she is getting tired and bored with the same thing. After all, she is a girl on the go.  It was apparent that she was becoming a bit frustrated with the people, all the questions, and the lectures that almost everyone decided they had to instill upon her over and over again.

And then the comedy show began.

Outpatient surgery registration.  Her middle name is Rose.  R-o-s-e.  She spelled the name and then finishes by saying, “It’s a silent ‘E’.”

Other questions were posed to my daughter and jokingly the woman asked her if she worked?

The response.  “Yes, I do.  I work at Bordas & Bordas.  I only type for them sometimes though.”  My daughter’s face was stone serious and the woman didn’t quite know how to respond.

Fast forward…she was now donning her hospital gown, wait, wait, and wait some more.

She sang the entire soundtrack from the “Frozen” movie and talked in her not so quiet voice for the next four hours until it was time for her procedure.  She even chuckled at one point as if to challenge the anesthesia because she said there is no way it can just make her sleep.  After all, it was daylight!  Want to bet?

About 35 minutes later, I was called back to the recovery room because my little angel was waking up.  She was bright eyed and bushy tailed, and just wanted out so she could get to McDonald’s. 

Of course the question that plagued us all was what in the world did she put in there to begin with?  So, after being assured my sweet pea was doing just fine, I asked the question. The recovery nurse, with somewhat of a grim look on her face and trying very hard to hold back her own smile, handed me a denture cup and proceeded to tell me to take a look.  They found and removed THREE OBJECTS.  Two teeny beads and a plastic earring back.  It’s a wonder the child could even hear. Praise God there was no damage affecting her hearing.  As Shauney viewed the treasures in the cup, she very nonchalantly says, “Oh yeah, that’s right. I did put those in my ear at Nanny’s (Grandma’s) house.”  She never could tell us why, though.

This brings me to some thoughts about how you can do everything you know possible to teach your children and offer guidance about choices and try to keep them out of harm’s way, but there is no failsafe secret.  When you are a parent raising a child that has additional health and/or mental conditions – there are special needs of so many kinds out there – those choices are not always able to be thought through by your little one. It can be an exhausting and seemingly endless at times because you are constant high alert.

Thankfully, our situation turned out the way it did, but to all the parents out there in similar circumstances, I know it’s tough at times, so hang in there.  The fact that we cannot wrap them in bubble wrap is the reality.  May all your little ones be safe when you are right there and when you are not.

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