Up until yesterday, Connor had eaten essentially nothing. Neither popsicles nor ice cream nor pudding could tempt him enough to be worth the pain of swallowing. Getting him to drink fluids (which the doctor insisted was the key to recovery) involved at least twenty minutes of pleading and threats, which usually resulted in him drinking two ounces of juice, then collapsing in more tears. Slobbery tears. He wouldn't even swallow his own saliva because it hurt too much, so we've had to keep his pocket-bib on him at all times, and have a towel nearby. He seriously salivated more than he took in in fluids. The worst part, though, was seeing my little boy in so much pain, and not being able to do anything about it. No, even better, the only thing I could do about it was force him to take his pain medicine or drink more fluids, which felt like torture. I called the doctor's office several times to explain that he couldn't sleep, even fully medicated, but they told me there wasn't anything they could do. "Just make him drink more", they said.
Oh, and Elise has had the stomach flu all week, so that's been fun, too. We've been running a Home for Gimpy Children here.
Okay, enough wallowing in self-pity. Here's the story of yesterday! We decided that we needed to get out, so we planned a trip to the Americana (overly expensive outdoor mall) to eat at the Cheesecake Factory. We told Connor that he didn't have to eat (he was worried), but that he could play gameboy when we got to the restaurant. After we sat down, the server brought out the bread. Then something happened. A light went on in Connor's eyes, and he snatched the bread, started tearing pieces out of the soft middle, and cramming them into his mouth. He was so hungry he forgot to be afraid of swallowing, and ate nearly the entire loaf, along with a portion of Ryan's pasta. When we left, he tried to fit the hollowed-out bread loaf in his pocket. We spent about an hour at the playground chatting with friends we happened to see, then as we left for the parking garage he insisted that he needed a pretzel and lemonade, too. He didn't quite finish the pretzel, but Elise helped, and the curse had been broken.
I can't overstate how relieved I was to finally see him eat! So happy. Thanks to everyone for your prayers and thoughts. It looks like he'll be back to normal pretty soon!
Oh, and on the positive side, he no longer snores while sleeping, and he can hear us when we whisper. I guess the best quality earplugs reduce noise by up to 30 decibels, and his hearing was impaired by 35, so I can see why he was so frustrated. I'm so thankful for modern medicine!
3 comments:
Sometimes I coveted his hearing loss when I try to sleep while our neighbor is jamming to Johnny Cash. He doesn't even start listening to his loud music until 10pm. THat's why we're moving. But I'm so glad the curse is lifted. I do the same thing when I go to the dentist. I can't eat on the side that they worked on until I forget.
I just read all your posts! Poor Connor. I'm naturally deaf, and Jeff is naturally quiet. But I HATE not being able to hear stuff, and it seems that I miss stuff all the time.
I was so worried when I read about Conner not eating--that's how Cole is every time he's sick, and you can literally SEE them losing weight. Their eyes get sunken in and you try to bargain with them to eat anything...anyway I do.
I'm so glad that he found something that looked so tasty it was worth risking his sore throat. As a mom, nothing is more of a relief than healthy kids. SO glad he's all better!
And so it begins. Soon he'll be an insatiable glutton like his uncle.
But in all honesty, I'm really glad. I was feeling really worried for you guys.
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