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Friday, October 08, 2010

No More Tonsils For Caleb! No More PFAPA?

UPDATE July 2011: Removing Caleb's tonsils cured his PFAPA! Amazing!

We drove 1.5 hours away today to visit with an Ear Nose and Throat specialist for 2 year old Caleb. Our boys have what is called (short version) Periodic Fever Syndrome. Some of you may have picked up on the trend. To most (including us, it feels like Caleb is always sick. This is because on a regular basis (almost like clock work) he will get either a fever, severe body aches, stomach ache, or horrible throat and mouth sores. Or he will have a combination of the four. Every month. Sometimes more then once a month. The episodes last around four days to a week. Jakob had the same episodes. Gratefully he grew out of it by the time he was 4 years old. Caleb will most likely grow out of it too. However, we just recently found out that having the child's tonsils removed sometimes helps take away the condition. If we can cure Caleb two years earlier then Jakob, we'll do it.

So anyway, we went to the specialist. The bitter/sweet thing was that Caleb is in the middle of an episode. So his throat is raw and he is sick! In the Very Beginning of the consult he told us that it would take convincing discussion to get him to remove a 2 year olds tonsils. Well, we convinced him. It really didn't take too much convincing. We had credible evidence and knowledge of what was going on and then he just looked in Caleb's throat and agreed that this is a miserable thing to let him have if there is a possible way to cure it. So, it looks like we're in for a journey in about two weeks from now. I'm not looking forward to the surgery and especially not the recovery. But I do hope it makes a big difference.

Now for the fun part. We get to drive 3 hours away to get to the hospital where the Dr. does his surgery. Living on the border of Utah and Arizona has some serious draw-backs sometimes. Our insurance will only accept Arizona doctors for special procedures. So, it's off to Flagstaff we go. Ahh, the joys! I've wanted to see Flagstaff. But this isn't quite what I expected.

So, that's the update for today!

7 comments:

Sandra said...

I'm sure he will bounce back fast. Kids get over that much quicker than adults, just ask Kevin he he. Good luck!

Molly said...

Ahh, we just did the tonsil thing with two kids this summer. :) I'm so glad they will do this and hopefully it will help him a lot.

Molly said...

PS, Flagstaff is really pretty. Tall, beautiful mountains and I'll bet this time of year is really lovely.

Faith 'n Family said...

Congrats on your mountains conquered! I know a 4 year old that had his tonsils taken out recently. His parents are so glad they did the surgery. It's made a big difference for him. Best Wishes!

Amy and Kris said...

Hey Lena! I haven't checked anyone's blogs for a while but I saw your link on fB & thought I'd check it out again! I saw this post about getting his tonsils removed for the PFAPA! My son is now almost 7 & only gets the PFAPA episodes about once a year or even once every 2 years. It's spreading out quite a bit, but I always wished we would have taken his tonsils out! Anyway, I changed the name of our blog to ourlifescribed.blogspot.com so you can updated your records if you want!
Amy

Katelyn said...

Wonderful news for your son! My daughter now 3 has had PFAPA since she was born but they didn't diagnose it until a few months ago. I just went into the ENT with a large binder of medical history, documenting multiple blood draws, monthly fevers and temps, hospital stays and papers and papers of testing.
The ENT had never heard of PFAPA. So, I had to convince him that it was a good idea, luckily I had a specialist that suggested it.
I really hope this works! How has your son been since?
Take Care,
Katelyn

Lena Baron said...

Katelyn, It's been years since Caleb had his tonsils out and he's the healthiest out of my three boys! It really cured the PFAPA. I wish I would have known about it with y first son. He doesn't have the fevers anymore. But he is weaker then Caleb. Good luck with your daughter! I really hope it works for you!

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