Because in 5 years Ill laugh about it.

Poor Miss Ella about half way through the "ear journey". Neither one of us felt very well here.

I thought I would be over being sensitive about the comments that I was getting regarding Ella and the incident of the ear. The truth? It still bothers me, but I had to document this as our blog is somewhat of a journal for me. The good, bad and the ugly. This entry has a little bit of each. On that note, here is the story for history's sake...and so I can make Ella read it each and every time the thought crosses her mind to put something in her ear.

Ella had a bad fever which caused her eardrum to burst. Ouch. I know. Well it was healing quite nicely, but also probley caused a bit of discomfort as it did. So, she did what any normal 2 1/2 year old would do...Following breakfast one morning, she put a piece of Captain Crunch in her ear. We tried to get it out, but only seemed to push it in her ear further. Our pediatrician said it would more than likely break down and fall out. If it was not causing her any discomfort, then let it come out. DONT try to remove it on your own as it will make it worse.

So we waited. And then one night it WAS bothering her. I thought it was out since I could not see it. Then as I took a flashlight and looked deeper in her ear by holding it out and looking into the canal, there it was. Stuck. Badly. Not going anywhere and causing alot of pain. This was the 23rd of December, so Long story short (well shorter) we went to do something about it. December 23rd is NOT the day to try and find a specialist in your network- our network's customer service was closed and NOTHING is open. The ENT recommended by our Pediatrician was "only in the office for an hour" and told us to go straight to the ER" So we did. Our first ER visit mind you, and Ella was happy walking in. Fast Forward 7, yes 7 hours later. Ella was no longer happy walking out, in fact The Red Flame had to carry her as she whimpered in her sleep. She was absolutely exhausted and the solidified cereal was STILL in her ear. We spent 7 hours of people flushing, poking, proding with 4 adults need to hold our little one down and then finally causing bleeding in her ear in the ER. It was awful.

She spent the weekend like that then first thing Monday we took her to the ENT (a different one) who got it out in 15 minutes. LOVE Dr. Katz at Alta View. He was great!! Lesson to parents: IF you can stand it, wait the weekend and go STRAIGHT to the specialist. They are called that for a reason. If not, if the ER cannot get something out of the ear, nose or throat in 15 minutes or less, it is not coming out. That is what Dr. Katz told us. Good to know.

Then the drainage began. Were not talking just a little, it was dripping from her ear lobe for a week! She would not leave my arms and left a puddle each time she lifted her head up. GEW!! Ear drops, cold medicine and the fever still did not break, with the cold she got on top of that we again went to our pediatrician and currently she is on a pretty heavy antibiotic for; a double ear infection, swollen tonsils and sinus infection. Yeah. Go ahead and nominate me for Mother of the Year. I sooo deserve it!

It was a pretty miserable few weeks for our family over Christmas. HOWEVER. I am pleased to announce that we are on the mend! Were trying to beef Ella up as she lost over a pound during this whole fiasco, and I came through VERY grateful for wonderful friends, family, and the power of prayer. No matter what you belive in or how feel about prayer, there is power there. And it's real.

I may be up to the humorous jab or two like "just add milk!", "was it crunch berries or peanut butter crunch?" In about 5 years or so...But for now? I'm just glad this is now a memory and no longer my reality.