Ben's Week

Monday morning, while getting ready for work/school, Nathan was changing Ben and noticed that he was wheezing. I don't mess with possible breathing issues, but didn't hear anything odd myself, so figured we'd go to school and see what happened. Ben's teachers kept an ear on him, and they also noticed wheezing when he was getting worked up in some way - hungry/crying, etc. So, off to the pediatrician we went, with Mommy figuring on bronchitis or a cold or some other seasonal ailment.

Oh no. The pediatrician took a good long listen and decided that the wheeze was not an interthoracic wheeze, but higher. Could be a malformation of the nasal and throat area or vascular banding (as in a birth defect), could be reflux (irritating the membranes) or it could be a rather common issue with the larynx and esophagus. We left with an Rx for Prevacid, a referral to an ENT, and orders to have an esophagram and upper GI series done.

Wednesday afternoon we saw the ENT who did Abby and Daniel's ear tubes (because I like him) and he took a listen to Mojo and was certain it was the larynx/esophagus thing - laryngomalacia and that he would outgrow it. Nathan commented that he hadn't even been hearing the wheezing since Monday, Dr. Rhodes said that was because of the Prevacid. Apparently the stomach acid in reflux irritates the membranes and makes it all worse. We asked if he thought the Upper GI was still needed, and he said the more info the better, so we kept the appointment.

This morning Ben was at Children's Minneapolis (the best hospital anywhere - says this mommy!) and was the most perfect little angel for his Upper GI. He got to drink nearly 4 ounces of Barium (yum yum), which he actually chugged, while the radiologist took video and pictures of how everything looks inside. He took a little break and then we got to check for reflux as well. The radiologist said everything looks perfect, so I'm expecting that we'll keep him on Prevacid for a while and hopefully he will grow out of this laryngomalacia soon.

I'm just relieved there was no invasive scoping and no need for surgery!