Earbuds

Tuesday after work, Brian and I attended a happy hour with some of my social work pals. We had a lot of fun and really enjoyed getting to go out as adults socially. Brian hadn't ever met/spent time with most of the people there, so it was good for him to put faces to names, etc.

On our way home, Muddy called to see how close we were.  She then followed that question with "I just wanted to let you know that Addie has a crayon in her ear." Um, what? Apparently she stuck a crayon piece in her ear while riding in their minivan and watching a movie.  Her reasoning, "I was trying to make ear phones."  I told Muddy it was no big deal and that I'd remove it with tweezers when I got home.  

Well, it was in her ear...like waaaay in her ear canal.  And clearly based on clever design, the diameter of a crayon is just that of a four year old's ear canal.  There was no way I was removing it. After consulting with the on-call, who told me that it must come out via my trusty tweezers or those of the ERs, I tried some more.  By 11pm, Addie was no longer interested in having me stick anything in her ear. So off to the ER we went.  

In order to coax a 4 year old way beyond her bedtime that going to a hospital and having someone stick something in her ear again, parents must be very resourceful. So I asked Addie what she would like to wear to the hospital.  Not surprisingly, this is what she chose:

Actually her shoes were on her feet when we got there. 

Note the accessorizing here. Her "C" necklace (C is for Cutie, by the way), her butterfly bracelet and her butterfly princess dress that Muddy made her years ago. Everyone who saw her made a comment about her beautiful she was or how there was a princess in their midst, so it went well.

Oh, the crayon extraction? Not so well. The ER doc couldn't get it either.  We even tried suction, which Addie called the vacuum and didn't like the sound of in her ear. So after an hour visit, we were sent home to call the ENT specialists first thing in the morning.

Now I should tell you that I was being very selfish, because we had planned on going to the Jersey Shore for two days, just the four of us. Brian and I've been looking forward to this for a long time.  All week long we told the kids about a special place we were going, etc.  So the thought of having to delay that trip wasn't the happiest, but that's what happens when there's a foreign body in your child's ear.

We called ENT Wednesday morning and were told to come in at 9:30.  The ENT doc said there was no way he could get it out with Addie awake. I totally agree with his assessment. There will be a lot of digging required and Addie is not too keen on the idea of someone looking inside her ear, let alone scraping out the crayon.  We talked about when surgery could be scheduled for.  The doc said she could be added on for 2pm, but that that meant she probably wouldn't go back until after 4pm. We were told in the ER not to have her eat/drink anything in case OR time was needed. The thought of losing the whole beach day with a starving child was not my first choice. The doc assured me there was no rush to remove it. It wasn't going anywhere. He told us to just schedule time for next week and to enjoy the beach. We even discussed the fact that the ocean might knock the crayon out. 

So surgery is scheduled for Tuesday. I have to take her in this afternoon to do her pre-op anesthesia work up. 

Oh and to answer the question I've been asked the most: it is a green crayon.