Previously, I mentioned I have bronchitis. Last night, I felt the Bug's head and there most certainly was a temp. He told me, as wel, that his ear hurt.

URRRRGH! Ear infections!!

The Bug has had so many, I really don't know why I am surprised anymore. For the better part of two years, every time I turned around, he had an ear infection. And I was exhausted from dealing with them all. the. time. Within one year, we had 18. That's just not right (and that was 10 after getting tubes).

This morning, I scratch my appointment at the doctor's office and make one instead for him at the pediatrician's office. My son goes to said appointment in his Superman pajama top, motorcycle pajama bottoms, Teen Titan socks and Batman shoes, by the way.

After meeting with the (new, very cool) doctor, the doctor announces he can't see in my son's ears due to so much wax build-up. The doctor informed a nurse, and sent us into the minor procedure room to irrigate the wax out with water.

I take off the Superman top, lay him on the table. He gets to wear cool glasses, but this does not convince him at all. Instead, the nurse cranks on the water machine without really giving him any warning, and he flips out. Hell, I about flipped out. The Bug scrambled up and off the table and into my arms.

It's important to note, by the way, my son is three-and-a-half, but he looks as big as a five or six-year-old child. In fact, the doctor apologized to me later because "I am talking to him as if he is 6! I forget he is only 3".

The nurse called in for reinforcements, and soon enough, three of us were holding my son down while the nurse irrigated his left ear. Without much effort, out came a relatively small glob of ear wax.

They move onto the right ear, and this is where the trouble really begins. They can see the wax, but they are unable to jar it from the ear canal. Meanwhile, my son is screaming, crying, begging me to make them stop, saying the 'safe words' of "ALL DONE!", and I am still holding him down. We are both covered in water and my hair is now standing up from the first blast that didn't work.

About two minutes later (or, what seemed like an eternity), something comes out of this ear. But it doesn't just land on the table. It doesn't even end up in the little tray next to his ear. NOPE! It hits Mommy square in the face (and we can all be thankful my mouth was closed at the time).

It was a giant (and I mean, BIG) glob of gross, dirty brown ear wax, complete with ear tube. He had ear tubes placed back in January of '05, and this one never really dislodged. I'm sure he was SUPER COMFORTABLE all this time with that thing in the way.

Doctor revisits, looks in both ears, and announces that yes, my son does have a double ear infection. Goody. I bet those streaming jets of warm water felt GREAT on that infection. Ouch! But, totally worth it to get that stuff out of the way. I'm sure it was trapping all sorts of stuff back in there.

And now we are home. We've both had a nap. He's still talking about his battle wounds and telling me that he "got scared' and 'no more water in the ears, mommy'.

Couldn't agree more.

Labels: house of sickness and viral death