Two Months Post-Op

(Beware this is a long post - mostly for my memories, but feel free to read)

This last week was jammed pack with doctor visits.  On Monday, Santiago had a helmet appointment where we got news to leave the helmet off a for awhile until the slight fever he had been running since Sunday wore off.  Tuesday we went to see Dr. T for a post-op check up and Wednesday, I had to take Santiago to the pediatrician.  It was three very long days with work and doctor appointments involved and it really made for a long week. 

Last Sunday, Hector and I noticed a bump behind Santiago's left ear and a rash that had started on Santi's forehead and neck after he got his haircut.  We also noticed he was running a very slight fever - 99.3.  He was acting pretty normal so weren't too worried.  Monday I had to leave work just a little early to pick Santiago up and take him to the Woodlands to the Orthotic place for his helmet.  I noticed that the bump behind his ear was bigger and Santi did not want me to touch it.  It was about the size of a nickel.  His helmet is fitting just fine and although he has been hot in it and pushes up on it quite often, Erin did not make any adjustments to it.  She looked at it while he was wearing it and decided the fit was still good.  She did not think the rash on his forehead was from the helmet and when I told her he had a slight temperature, she said we should leave it off until the fever was gone.  She thought I should get more information from Dr. T and let him make the decision about the other things Santi had going on.  She didn't know what the bump was behind his ear.  So although I was a little worried about what this bump could be, we had a very nice evening snuggling with our little boy without a big plastic thing on his head. We had forgotten how wonderful it is to see and feel his sweet head!  Deep down inside I was a little nervous that Dr. T was going to tell me that it was a cyst or something worse and that we might need another surgery because of this so I asked my in-laws to go with me to his appointment to Dr. T on Tuesday for a little moral support. 

On Tuesday, I left work and met Santi and his grandparents close to the freeway so we could ride together to the medical center to Santi's appointment.  When we were called back to the exam room, both the nurse and Dr. T asked if Santi had chicken pox because of the red bumps he had on his forehead!  That hadn't even crossed my mind and I was hoping that wasn't the case.  Dr. T talked to us about Santiago's head and he recommended me taking him to the pediatrician because the big bump behind his ear was a swollen lymph node and he found a few more in the back of his head that were swollen.  He predicted that the lumph nodes were swollen because of whatever was going on with his scalp and head.  He thought the rash and now flaky scalp had to be related.  He told us to leave the helmet off until we got all the skin issues resolved.  He made fun of me in a playful way when I told him why I had brought Hector's parents with me. I explained to him how hard it was for me to be alone last May when we came for a regular checkup and I found out Santi needed a second surgery.  It was a LONG drive back to Spring from his office that day because I was an emotional wreck.  He told me that he now knows that I am scared of him whenever I bring back up! HAHA  I feel blessed to have family here that can support us in these scary situations.  I trust Dr. T and I told him that I do 100% - I've let him take my baby away from me twice before and he has done a wonderful job with him.  Dr. T was very pleased with the way Santiago is looking.  He said that last month when we came in he still wasn't completely happy with the way Santi's orbital rim was looking on the right side but this visit he is much more pleased.  He told us last time that with time, he would continue to improve and he has been right.  Santiago's eye brows are beginning to move together with facial expressions and his eyes are a lot more symmetrical.  He still isn't completely symmetrical but he is getting more and more perfect to me.  I thought he was perfect before he had any surgeries though! His little forehead is very rounded now and I was glad to hear that Dr. T was pleased again. He said it is going to keep improving with the helmet and with his normal brain growth.  The brain helps to form the skull as he grows.  So Dr. T's appointment was a success but we still didn't know what was going on with Santi's skin and scalp and why his lymph nodes were swollen.

Wednesday I took Santiago to the pediatrician after work.  We didn't get to see his normal pedi but we got a very nice one.  She diagnosed him right away with impetigo.  I didn't know much about this but she said it is very common with kids and most kids get it at least once growing up.  Basically it's a skin infection caused by the bacteria we have normally on our skin.  She said he probably had a small break in his skin somewhere on his head which could have been caused by his helmet, a bug bite, or anything really.  The bacteria got in his skin somehow and became infected.  He may have even caught it from someone at Mother's Day Out. Who knows?!?  I was relieved to hear that it was an easy fix with antibiotics for 10 days.  She instructed me to keep his fingernails shorter than normal and to put neosporin under his nails. She also said not to wash his hair more than one time a day and to keep his skin dry.  He should be cleared up real soon but it may take a little while for his lymph nodes to completely go down.  We kept Santiago home from Mother's Day Out just in case he was contagious.  He has been on his meds for a few days now and his rash has already cleared up alot.  It still isn't  completely gone but it's a lot better.  Now his scalp is flaking and that is a little gross but that too will pass. 

By Wednesday I was beat and I still had two more work days to go to get through the week.  Friday was a doozy and I was glad to be able to just hang out at home on the couch and watch a movie after Santiago went to bed.  Only bad thing is that I woke up not feeling the best today.  Stress and exhaustion are not a pretty combo and that always puts me under the weather.  I'm going to try my best to take it easy and not let this get the best of me - it's probably just allergies!