PCMC - AGAIN!!

Ok, this is getting old -- Ammon is back in the hospital. As we diminished the amount of steroids we were giving him per doctors' instructions, I could tell that his voice was tightening up again by last Friday. He still seemed well and happy. He went to school all day for the whole week (Tuesday-Friday at least) and loved being there. He was so excited to tell us what he learned. He has done very well with the bi-pap machine and it has seemed to help him feel better during the days. By Sunday night, the rattles started to come back. He attended church and even went to Stake Priesthood with his dad on Sunday night. By the time he went to bed, I suspected that the granulation was inflamed again. He went to school on Monday, but apparently it was pretty scary for the aides because from noon to 3 p.m., he did another nose dive and sounded truly awful when he got home.
I slept in his armchair by his bed most of last night so I could monitor the alarms and oxygen levels. The first 3 hours were pretty scary, but he started to settle down by about 1 a.m. enabling me to go to my own bed for a few hours. I was so worried that he would stop breathing that I got up about every half hour to check on him, never getting a good sleep.
Jim called the ENT doctor's office this morning only to learn that the doctor (Dr. Smith) who had worked with Ammon two weeks ago was in surgery all day today and then out of town for the rest of the week. When Jim asked if there was another doctor that could take a look at Ammon, she told him that they legally can't take another doctor's patient. Can you believe that?! So Jim said, "Well, what do you want him to do? Die?" She told him to go through the ER in order to get a doctor so that's that they did.
They admitted Ammon but Jim doesn't know if there is a plan or not. They increased the steroids again and when I talked to Ammon, he sounded quite a bit better. This time they did not wait to give it to him and so he was somewhat comfortable when I talked to him. Hopefuly he will come home tomorrow or Thursday. Jim is staying up there with him.
I can't tell you how much I appreciate Jim. He is a trooper. Anyone that can sit through the ER experience is a saint! The shortest time we've ever spent in the ER in the 13 years with Ammon has been 5 hours. I don't think they beat that record today. I will go to work for two days and if Ammon is still there on Thursday, I will switch Jim places and go up for the weekend.
Once again, we ask that you remember Ammon in your prayers. I don't know how this situation is going to be solved - possible laser surgery to remove the granulation but then there is no guarantee that more won't grow back - and how do you intubate an inflamed throat? No one wants to do surgery on Ammon. We especially don't want him to have surgery. So we are praying that the steroids will really zap this stuff this time around.
Enough already!!
Mom