Audrey- Surgery Update

Paul spoke to the doctor yesterday-- called his office as it had been almost 10 days since her surgery and we hadn't heard anything (and I think he got tired of me asking).  It turns out the physician in Cincinnati didn't ever respond about Audrey's results (didn't I SAY that was going to happen??) and so he consulted a peds ENT who just recently left our area (the one we would have used in the first place, had he still been here). 

The news is not good/not bad.  Apparently she does not *quite* meet the specifications for a Type 1 Laryngeal Cleft, as we initially thought.  He (peds ENT) thinks that she will simply grow out of it and we should continue on with life as usual (so thickening all drinks, monitoring her closely during baths and swimming, etc). 

 I would be lying if I said I was not disappointed.  Believe me-- it's NOT that I wanted her to have another surgery. I didn't.  But I DID want to have this problem fixed once and for all.  Waiting this out, however long it may be, is sort of torturous.  She misses out on things because of this- I won't send her to places where I am not 100% sure that she will be monitored closely.  For instance, my good friend Andrea invited Audrey to go to summer day camp a few days/ week over in Huntington with Andrea's girls...and I said no because I just can't let her go someplace like that yet.  She is supposed to go to Emily's preschool 2 days/ week starting this fall and I am not sure if I will let her go if it's still happening.  The risk is simply too great for her to get access to someone else's cup, or to be given an unthickened liquid.  It's not that anyone is "out to get her" or something like that-- usually it's a well-meaning person who simply doesn't want her to be thirsty...and so they fill up her cup with water, or juice, or whatever...and she chokes and gags and potentially aspirates, which could lead to pneumonia (again).  It is so frustrating! And we just booked that trip to Great Wolf Lodge and I am pretty sure she won't be able to go there with us since an accidental ingestion is almost certain to occur at a water park.  :( That will make 2 vacations now that we haven't brought her on this year, and I feel really guilty about that...but there is no way she can safely go to a water park and have a problem with swallowing, you know?

 I did ask Paul how long the ENT thinks we will have to wait for her to "grow out of this" and he said that the doctor offered no time frame for it at all.  We were already told it would be by the time she turned 1, which obviously wasn't true.  I know that no one has a crystal ball but I hate that we didn't really get an answer out of the study. :( And I hate that this is so open-ended and we have no end in sight for the gel.  I am very discouraged. 

 Nevertheless, I am very happy that she was fine during the surgery, and I guess I'm sort of relieved that we aren't facing some risky procedure to fix it.  BUT...... I still wish we had some answers.