Liam's Exciting Pulmonology Update

Liam went to a routine pulmonology appointment yesterday, and I'll admit that I had high hopes going into it.   Can I just say that every single thing I'd hoped for AND MORE was met at this appointment?!?  It was amazing.  Brief, but wonderful all the same.

First of all, the biggest news. Liam has been declared free of his NEHI symptoms!!!!  He may develop asthma later on down the line as is common with NEHI kids, but I can deal with that. I'm a pro at asthma by now.  He also still has a little trouble coming out of anesthesia, but he goes inpatient for surgeries, so that will be fine as well.  The doctor and I had fully expected him to make many, many visits to doctors and hospitals throughout the winter, but he only went three times all year. One of those times was a follow-up to his sleep study.  I can totally handle that.  We are now down to just once a year to say hello unless something happens and he gets really sick.

I decided to take a risk and talk to the pulmonologist about Liam's cochlear implant surgery. It's been a royal pain getting it all set up, but it looks like we're finally almost there.  The ENT wanted to do one ear now and go back in later for the other ear because each surgery is three hours and he was afraid to have him under for a full six. The recovery is easier with just doing both at once, and it's what I really wanted so I asked the pulmonologist what he thought. He said that the ENT gets the final say because he has to feel comfortable doing it. BUT, he also said he'd call the ENT and recommend doing both ears at once.  This means Liam gets to be free of O2, free of constant doctor appointments, AND has a fighting chance at finding his voice and succeeding in the hearing world.