He Can Breathe!

Jonah has had a runny nose since the day we brought him home. All the kids at the Horizon House had runny noses and a congested chest. We used a nebulizer for the first 6 months. We got sick of being confined to a nebulizer, twice a day mind you, and stopped using  it.  He never seemed to improve. 
He also always had ear infections. Not that he ever showed signs of discomfort but he had drainage coming from his ears. Gross, I know. We finally had to stop using Amoxicillin because he was getting immune to it. So we used ear drops. He failed his hearing test completely and at the time, could not hear. Tubes were put in his ears and the ear infections stopped. (for awhile anyway)His hearing was improving and he qualified for Speech Therapy.  About 6 months later, more drainage was coming from the ears. Jonah just smiled through it all.  Back to the ENT we went.
The ENT said the tubes were still in and if they are not doing their job maybe it was time to look at the adenoids. If you don't know what they are, like we didn't, they are like tonsils behind your nose that you don't see. They do us no good and you don't need them. I am not sure why we have so many body parts that are useless and cause us trouble! God needs to catch up to the times here and start making us with only necessary parts!
After looking down Jonah's nose, which was so cool by the way, we saw there was blockage from the adenoids. Surgery was suggested. We wanted a child who could breathe through his nose, not have snot coming out of nose 24/7, could close his mouth and stop drooling and be able not only to taste food but to eat food without gaging on it because he couldn't breathe while chewing.  So, surgery it was. They were also going to give him new tubes in his ears.
We were told it would take about a week for Jonah to not be in any pain and be himself again. Jonah was of course groggy from  the anesthesia but when he woke up from his nap, he was back to his old self. Amazing child, we know! 
Jonah had 100% blockage from his adenoids. They were very infected and for those who like the gorey details, when the were removing them, they were so infected that puss and all the other junk was so bad it drained into his trach tube and that had to be cleaned out. Gosh, how I wish I was in that surgery room! The doctor said he should be a whole new man now.
Well, he is! Jonah can breathe through his nose! He has not had a runny nose since the surgery. He can eat without throwing up, has a dry shirt at the end of the day and can drink from a water bottle or anything for that matter. He still keeps his mouth open most of the time. I will go in his room at night and try to close his mouth when he is sleeping but he just wakes up and looks at me and says, "Hi." I tell him he can breathe through his nose now and he doesn't need to keep his mouth open. Then he goes back to sleep, with his mouth open. The doctor said it will take a long time for him to brake that habit. 
With therapy his speech is improving. It's a whole new world out there when you can hear and breathe. 
Jonah has had two surgeries this year, Kevin and I have both had one each. We are hoping to stay away from hospitals this year and enjoy a year full of health. JT is leading the way! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year.

Getting Ready for the big race.

All the boys are ready to go....

The pilgrim hat brings good luck.

Jonah's first race.

They finished the race. Until next year....