Mommy Instincts

So, I DVR Oprah every weekday. I usually only watch one or two a week, but I DVR them just in case. This week when I heard Jenny McCarthy and Holly Robinson Peete were on the show talking about healing autism I went to my DVR, sat down and watched.

Jenny talked a lot about "Mommy Instincts". Although neither of my kids have autism I could totally relate to being in a situation and having these mommy instincts. It made me think about the many times I took Gabe to the doctors asking about his runny nose and why he stuck his tongue out all the time knowing something wasn't quite right.

All they would do is look at him and tell me it's a virus and there's nothing they could give him for it. So we would go back home until I got fed up, once again, with a constantly running nose and took him back in. I took him to a couple of different doctors thinking they would help, but to no avail. One doctor actually told me that sometimes a kids nose just runs constantly for no reason.

I knew something was wrong.

I ended up taking Gabe to an ENT for a hearing test and there was a little fluid in his ears so we continued to see the doctor afterwards. It wasn't until I could see the lining of Gabe's brain through his nostril that we found out what was going on.

Gabe had to have a bi-frontal craniotomy (brain surgery) and endoscopic nasal surgery to remove a mass that was totally blocking his left nasal passage. There was a hole in the bone between his brain and his nasal cavity and the lining of his brain fell through the hole and filled with fluid. During the surgery he lost his left olfactory nerve (sense of smell - there are two so he can still smell somewhat) because it was entwined with the mass. If this mass would have burst there would have been major consequences - one being meningitis.

Well, duh. If my entire left nostril was blocked and my nose was running all the time I would stick my tongue out so I could breathe too. Imagine having a sinus infection for most of your life. It had to have been pretty painful, but if you have it your entire life you don't know any difference.

Trust your Mommy Instincts no matter what. They are there so you can protect your child. Doctors may think you're crazy, but at least your child will be safe.

P.S. Even after you figure out what is really going on the doctors that couldn't figure it out will never admit it.